We may write out the letters now with their suitable serifs, and we see that the Pen character and finish, given to the “Essential, or Skeleton, Forms” (fig. [142]) result in a very formal and highly finished alphabet (fig. [147]).
| Slanted-pen characters and serifs (see fig.[145])— | |
|---|---|
| (a) Hooks or Beaks | Suitable for most of the letters, but tending to be informal. |
| (d) Thin Finishing-Curves | |
| (b) Straight (or Curved) THICK Strokes | Formal and strong. |
| (c) Triangular Heads | Formal and suitable for small-letters, and free capitals (see fig.[168]). |
The alphabets (fig. [148]), produced from the skeleton forms (fig. [142]) by the slanted pen, while not having such a conscious air of finish as the straight-pen letters, are much easier to write, and have in a greater degree the virtues of strong,[54] legible, natural penmanship.
They are eminently suitable for general MS. work (see p. [305]) when the beginner has mastered an early form of round-hand (see pp. [70], [304]).
DISTINCTIVENESS
(As having the distinguishing characteristics of each letter strongly marked)
The “Characteristic Parts” are those parts which most particularly serve to distinguish one letter from [p250] another (fig. [149]). We should therefore, when constructing letters, give special attention to their preservation, and sometimes they may even be accentuated with advantage—always with an eye to the life-history, or evolution, of the letter in question, and allowing for the influence of the special tool with which it is to be made (see Proportion, below).