Writing & Illuminating, & Lettering
Edward Johnston's 1906 handbook in the Artistic Crafts Series, edited by W. R. Lethaby and published by John Hogg in London, with diagrams by Johnston and Noel Rooke and 24 pages of collotype plates.
What it is
Edward Johnston's 1906 handbook in the Artistic Crafts Series, edited by W. R. Lethaby and published by John Hogg in London, with diagrams by Johnston and Noel Rooke and 24 pages of collotype plates. It argues that tools shaped the letters: a broad-nibbed pen held at a steady angle explains most historical hands, so a learner can rebuild the tradition through practice. Part I teaches the scribe's craft in order: cutting quills and reeds, desk and pen position, model alphabets starting with a modernised half-uncial, planning a page and a manuscript book, versals, black and red rubrication, and laying and burnishing gold. Part II turns to lettering: a table that judges lettering by readableness, beauty and character, the proportions of the Roman alphabet taken from the Trajan inscription, uses from title pages to shop signs, lettering for reproduction, and a chapter on stone inscriptions by A. E. R. Gill.
Why read it now
Much of modern British lettering traces back here: Johnston went on to draw the London Underground alphabet in 1916, and Gill, who wrote the stone chapter, later drew Gill Sans. For a marketer the lasting ideas are practical. Readableness comes first and every other quality serves it. Keep a sign or poster to two or three display faces, because overdone display type defeats itself, a rule that current layout and accessibility guidance still repeats. His test for wall lettering is worth copying: paint a word or two at full size, fix it where the sign will go, and read it from where the audience will stand. Gill's line that names and advertisements should be plain and easy to read suits shop fascias and wayfinding. What has dated: the gilding recipes, quills and parchment belong to hand craft, and the claim that early printing beats modern printing is taste, not evidence. The book covers the Latin alphabet only, though its principle that the tool makes the letter maps well onto the qalam. Use: before approving shop signage, run the full-size wall test and count the typefaces.
Passages worth keeping
No one has ever invented a form of script, and herein lies the wonderful interest of the subject; the forms used have always formed themselves by a continuous process of development.
لم يخترع أحد شكل الكتابة دفعة واحدة، فالحروف تطورت تدريجيًا بالاستعمال، وهذا ما يجعل دراستها ممتعة.
The first general virtue of lettering is readableness, the second, fitness for a given Use.
أول ما يُطلب من الحروف أن تُقرأ بسهولة، ثم أن تناسب الغرض الذي كُتبت له.
When in doubt, use Roman Capitals.
إذا ترددت في اختيار الحروف فاختر الحروف الكبيرة الرومانية، فهي الأوضح والأكثر وقارًا.
"Display Types" commonly defeat their object by being overdone. A simple contrast is the most effective
كثرة الخطوط البارزة في الإعلان تُضعف أثرها، والتباين البسيط بين خطين أقوى من الزحام.
Names and Advertisements should be easily read, and usually entirely unornamental.
الأسماء والإعلانات تُكتب لتُقرأ بسرعة، فالأفضل أن تكون خالية من الزخرفة.
The scanned text has OCR errors. The passages are quoted from it, with only obvious slips fixed.
What it teaches best
Read the original archive.org
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