Fig. 41.
Design for a Menu.
By kind permission
of Messrs. Marshall
& Snelgrove, Ltd.
For very careful writing the best brush is the kind known as a sable writer. This is a sable brush with rather long hair. Practice is necessary before the student becomes expert in the use of it, but it will be found that the long sweeping curves of the round letters, as also the straight strokes of the other letters, may be formed much more easily with this type of brush than with the ordinary kind used for painting.
Writers are generally in quills, so perhaps a word may be useful here with regard to the method of fixing a quill brush on a handle. It is not wise to take the quill as it comes from the shop and push it on to a stick. The quill is very liable to split if pushed on too tightly, while, on the other hand, if it is not fixed securely it will drop off, probably whilst doing some important work, and will almost certainly spoil it if it falls off when well charged with colour. The proper way to fix a quill brush is, first of all, to soak the brush well until the quill becomes quite soft. The stick is then carefully tapered with a sharp knife until it exactly fits the quill. Then, while the quill is still soft, it is carefully fitted on to the stick. The result of this method is that when the quill gets dry and hard it will be found to be fitted quite tightly on to the stick, and will certainly not fall off; while, at the same time, there is no danger of splitting the quill.
When writing posters in black and red, the red should be used to give emphasis to words that are important. For example, in the specimen shown, the word “CONCERT” may be in red; also the place, date, and time may well be written in this colour to make them more conspicuous. A simple border may be added composed of some slight decoration formed with direct brush strokes if so desired. This may be either in one or two colours.