Koester School, Chicago.
Semby School, Minneapolis, Minn.
The length of time required for the completion of courses depends upon the student; one very good course covers eight weeks. Some students after the fifth or sixth lesson have done work sufficiently creditable to bring a money return. Proper and methodical training is very necessary. Care and exactness must first be acquired and speed will naturally follow.
Courses given in show-card writing cover such subjects as how to mix and when to use water colors, inks, and oils; the care of brushes and pens; the proper kind and color of cardboards to use; and how to apply bronze and diamond dust. The formation of pen and brush letters is, of course, fundamental, and the principles of lettering must be taught in a simple, thorough, and correct way. Proper instruction, with application, is bound to bring success.
Lesson plates Nos. 1 to 6.—Improved method for teaching, correct formation and relative proportions of letters and numerals.—Brush method.
General instructions.—Proper material, student’s worktable, light, how to care for brushes, show-card paint, how to practice, kind of practice that counts, lesson plates explained, how to fill the brush, how to bring the brush to working point, how to hold the brush, position at table, position of paper.
Lesson plates Nos. 7 to 10—Single stroke rapid Roman lettering.—How to begin the practice, time-saving methods, how to hold the brush, various positions of the brush explained, how to manipulate the brush to produce clean-cut strokes, purpose of single-stroke vertical and italic roman lettering.
Lesson plates Nos. 11 and 12—How to shade letters.—Various styles of shading, proper colors for shading, shading as an embellishment, shading to give emphasis.
Lesson plates Nos. 13 to 16—Single stroke Egyptian lettering.—Brushes to use, how to hold the brush, how to manipulate the brush to produce the proper stroke, how to practice the elementary lines and curves.
Lesson plates Nos. 17 and 18—Single and double stroke alphabet and numerals.—Purpose of this style of letter, brushes to use, method explained, different methods of finishing the letters.