Illumination and Its Development in the Present Day

by Sidney Farnsworth

Fig. 15.

For the purpose of illumination, Roman lettering is not by any means ideal. It is much better to select a true pen-formed alphabet; but for modern usage, such as the various branches of commercial work, Roman lettering is used a great deal. It possesses one very great advantage, that is, its legibility. As the man in the street has his daily newspaper printed in a form of Roman lettering, he is therefore more familiar with this type than any other. The greater bulk of the commercial art of the present day aims to attract the attention of this individual, so that it is necessary that it should be just what he can understand. To letter a popular advertisement in a late Gothic lettering would be foolish in the extreme, as he would, in all probability, experience difficulty in deciphering it. The thing to aim at, in this case, is to do it so that he cannot help seeing it. The most important thing, in the eyes of the advertiser, is not so much the design of the poster as the goods advertised, and the lettering calling attention to these must be clear, distinct, and prominent. Lettering, therefore, that is based on the Roman type is best for this kind of work.

Illumination, in general, appeals to a different type of individual. Something is required that is away from the ordinary. Also as illumination is so inseparably bound up with writing, it is almost essential that a true pen-formed lettering should be used.

The Roman capitals, as shown in [Fig. 15], are based, to a great extent, on those used in the Trajan Column inscription. It will be found that the more practice that one has in forming letters with simple pen-strokes, as already shown, the easier it will be to form the letters by building them up, as in this case.

For general purposes the easiest way to form Roman letters is with a pen cut with a medium point and a fairly long slit. The outward strokes should be made first, then the ones that come inside the letter. The serifs are then added, the outline filled in, and the letter is complete. The lower-case letters given are a type that may be used in conjunction with the capitals. Apart from the utility of this alphabet, the student will find that forming these letters in this way will be extremely good practice. He should also practise forming them with a brush. For this purpose he should use a small, but firm, sable water-colour brush. Construct the letters in exactly the same manner as when using the pen. After a good amount of practice in this way he will be surprised at the dexterity he is acquiring with the use of the brush. Then, using a larger brush, he should endeavour to form large letters in this way. This will be extremely useful for writing large notices and announcements.

For work where very accurate lettering is required, such as high-class commercial art, title-pages, etc., the outlines of the letters should be produced by means of tee-square, set-square, and compasses. The serifs also should be carefully drawn. In this case it is not wise to go straight ahead with the pen, without drawing first carefully in pencil.

The letters given in [Fig. 16] are a type of Roman lettering made with simple direct strokes of the pen. These will no doubt be useful, as they may be very easily and quickly written. They should be very helpful for writing quickly announcements, notices, etc.

A few notes may be useful to the student with regard to the characteristics of the various Roman capitals.