"To understand the language and development of type is to know its history. Letter Forms is a collection of essays by and about Stanley Morison, adviser to Monotype, and the greatest type historian of our time. An essay by Beatrice Warde is an illuminating introduction to the man referred to as a "typographic firmament." In his own words Morison then relates the history of classifying typographical variations and delves into the literature on the subject of letterforms. Finally, the author uncovers the significance of the discovery of a 16th century manuscript by Horfei in the Vatican Library."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Printed in letterpress, with 24 duotone offset illustrations, this book examines the calligraphy of the sixteenth century from Arrighi to Ugo da Carpi, from Tagliente to Celebrino da Udine. As always with Morison, it is full of surprises, for this was Morison s particular passion, and in the area of stylistic comparisons and close observation, Morison was an undisputed master. This is, then, not only the last major Morison text to be published, but also one of fundamental importance, covering the most important period (and the most beautiful examples) in the history of calligraphy.
Stanley Morison provided the impetus and judgement behind the programme of typographical revival carried through by the Monotype Corporation in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Tally is an account, historical, critical and functional, of the types cut under Morison's direction during this period.
The revolution in typesetting - a revolution that over the past two decades has eliminated a five-hundred-year-old system of hot metal production and replaced it with one of photo-generated and computer-driven composition - shows no sign of winding down. This book, more than any other we know, traces the steps that went into that revolution and simultaneously makes the argument that the letter forms themselves are in process of evolution. Tracy argues that, whether they are of the sixteenth or the twentieth century, the forms that comprise our alphabet are subject to the same rules of good taste, proportion, and clarity that have always obtained. But what we face today is vastly different from fifty years ago. For the first time, new technology has made the proliferation (and, as some would maintain, debasement) of letter forms fast and easy (or quick and dirty.) With fifty years of professional experience on both sides of the Atlantic (including thirty years as head of type design for the British Linotype Company), Tracy is in a unique position to make this argument and arrive at his sad conclusion: the design of distinguished, contemporary typefaces is far outnumbered by the mediocre and downright bad. Part of the reason for this deplorable deterioration is a lack of critical analysis of the particular esthetics involved. This step-by-step examination of type-design esthetics is precisely what Tracy provides here, while avoiding both the promoter's hype and the manufacturer's claims. Here are the gut issues of what makes type good or bad, legible or unreadable. Extensively illustrated with both typefaces and line drawings, this book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in thehistory of letters or in the artistry and peculiar problems that lie behind their production.
Presents more than fifty texts, familiar and rare, about the history, aesthetics, and practice of type design and typography. Includes essays by such leading type masters as Frederic W. Goudy, Hermann Zapf, and Paul Rand. [back cover].
