The influence of nationality is strongly shown in the modern lettering of all countries; and it is generally as easy to recognize a specimen as the work of a German, French, English, or American artist, respectively, no matter how individual he may be, as it is to tell the difference between the work of two different designers.
The modern German seems to have an undeniable freshness of outlook on the Roman alphabet. He treats it with a freedom and variety and a certain disregard of precedent—induced, perhaps, by his schooling in Blackletter—that often produces delightful, though sometimes, be it added, direful results. But if the extreme and bizarre forms be thrown aside the designer may obtain suggestions of great benefit and value from the more restrained examples of German work. Many eminent German draughtsmen, whose work is all too little known in this country, are
using letters with the same distinction that has of late years marked their purely decorative work, as the specimens shown in [68] to [76] will evidence. Figures [68] and [75] show forms which are perhaps especially representative of the general modern tendency in German work and many German artists are using letters of very similar general forms to these although, of course, with individual variations. Figures [70] and [73] show two very original and pleasing styles, also markedly German. In spite of the national drift toward the Roman, much modern German lettering still takes the Gothic and Blackletter forms; and the specimen reproduced in [71] shows a curious combination of the Gothic, Uncial and Roman forms pervaded by the German spirit. The beautiful lettering in [72] seems to have been inspired from a stone-cut Uncial. Figure [74] shows an almost strictly Roman letter, and yet is as unmistakably German in handling as any of the other examples shown.