Writing & illuminating, & lettering

The Artistic Crafts Series of Technical Handbooks

by Edward Johnston

Classic study of penmanship, lettering and illumination covers fundamentals of acquiring a formal hand, creating manuscript books, techniques of illumination, lettering and methods of constructing and arranging letters, the Roman alphabet and its derivatives, lettering on metal, wood and stone, other topics. Many useful exercises. 250 illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Design, Reference

439 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1906

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The father of calligraphy as we know it. Of the numerous books I have on this subject this is by far the best: charming , straightforward, practical and brilliant . A super-essential volume for anyone interested in writing. Cutting and curing quills, pouncing paper, grinding ink , and, of course , creating beautiful letters.

[Kim from Hiraeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the quintessential tool box for the calligrapher. Covers the history of lettering, tools, practice, methodology, illumination, use of color as well as providing historical examples of classic works.

Highly recommended!

[Psientist]

Am actually reading the Gutenberg copy released in 2014¹. Originally published in 1906 this seems (to my as yet inexperienced eye) to be a good historical introduction to calligraphy. The Gutenberg edition is dated 2014 and based upon full original scans² available at the Internet Archive.

1. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/47089...
2. https://archive.org/details/writingil...

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un manuale come quelli che si facevano una volta, scritti da una persona che ama profondamente quello di cui scrive e che ha accumulato una forte competenza sulla base di ciò.

Ha delle parti molto utili per i font engineers/designers di oggi.

[Bert Piedmont's Book Sale Items]

different cover

[Dominic Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for a graphic designer. Fascinating and detailed treatise on practical calligraphy and the history of our alphabet. Filled with gems of knowledge from a man who taught Eric Gill.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

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