A history of alphabets from around the world
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A history of alphabets from around the world | |
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The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering by Frederic W. Goudy Chapter 11: Notes on the plates No.2 Slanted pen capital, originally produced by reed or broad quill pen, later developing into the straight pen uncial of the seventh and eighth centuries. The letters shown are not from any particular manuscript, but illustrate the form naturally produced by the scribe using a broad pen with the square capital as a model. No. 3 Gothic or black-letter capital, the gradual outgrowth of the round Roman uncial shown in figure 18. This form, which has persisted & is still in use as an ornamental letter, is descended from the fifteenth-century writing of northern Europe. It is one of the most picturesque forms, and very ornamental, although individual letters may seem illegible. The letter shown is a free rendition of a type form from the Caslon Foundry, called "Caslon's Old Black." No.4 Lombardic Gothic versal. Manuscript versal forms [so called because used to denote the beginnings of verses, paragraphs, etc] were built-up Roman letters which in the tenth & twelfth centuries departed from the more severe Roman form by the addition of ornamental features, or by curving and fattening the strokes. They developed or degenerated into the Lombardic - not invented by the Lombards, or even confined to northern Italy, but first developed in Lombardy and hence so called. These capitals are used mainly as initials & often are not written, but painted in, which accounts somewhat for the fatter strokes. See figures 26 and 28. br> No.5 Italian round-hand minuscule - from the writing book by Vespasiano, 1556. It varies but little from the manuscript hands of the fourteenth century. It is based on the old Roman uncial [see fig. 18] and retains some of its peculiarities, preserving its roundness. This letter form never acquired the extreme angularity of the Gothic, and became the foundation of our roman small letters or lower-case forms, which have superseded all others. With this letter, Gothic capitals, either black-letter or Lombardic, are used. Note the word "Alphabet" on the title page, also figure 24, showing type of Ratdolt, both being variations of the Italian round hand. No.6 Gothic or black-letter minuscule, the type form used for the first printing by Gutenberg & Fust - taken from a facsimile of the type of the Bible of 36 lines [fig. 38]. The medieval minuscule of Germany Stands apart & never attained the beauty of either the northern or the southern hand; nevertheless it furnished the model for the first types. In Italy a more refined taste went back to an earlier time in search of a more beautiful standard of writing, which was brought to perfection soon after the middle of the fifteenth century, just at the right moment to be adopted by early Italian printers. Continue to page 3 |
The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering by Frederic W. Goudy Introduction What Letters Are Letters in General The Development of the Roman Capital Letters Before Printing The National Hands The Development of Gothic The Beginnings of Types The Qualities of Lettering Some Practical Considerations Notes on the Plates |