"The typical 'old style' serif at the top (k) tilts as the pen is tilted; the loop is a tilted sweep of the slanted pen; while the serif and loop of the 'modern' letter (l) partake of the perpendicular position of the pen. These characteristics of tilt or perpendicularity appear in all the lower-case letters and to a limited extent in the capitals."
To check the distinctions in different characters in the following twenty types, a magnifying glass will be helpful.
"The artistic quality of a type letter," Mr. Dwiggins concludes, "is determined by its degree of grace of line and proportion. The standards of grace and proportion are to be looked for in the natural motions of the pen. But the quality called art is dependent, too, upon the artist's appreciation of the material in which he works—namely metal. The draughtsman does not attempt to copy exactly the form of his pen-written model, but modifies the pen form to a shape suitable to its final state—that of a metal punch."
NOTES ON THE TYPE FACES
USED IN THIS BOOK
By Paul A. Bennett
NOTE: The following specimens are set in a 10 point type size, except Centaur, in 14 point, and Eldorado, in 11 point, which were the only sizes available for this book.