E L E ME N T S OF L E TTE R IN G

S IG N P A IN TIN G

P R E PA R E D FOR S T UD E N T S OF

TH E IN T E R N ATIO N A L C O R R E S P O N D E N C E S CHOO L S
S C R A NT ON . PA .

A T R A SE
E TI ON TH E H IS R
LASSI F I CAT I O N
TO % ,
C ,
A N D P RAC I CAL
T

A PPL I CAT I O N O F T H E V AR I OU S S T % L E S O F L E TT E RS
OF TH E A L PHAB E T

TH E L A S
TE T IM P R OV E D S
M E T H OD PR A N D O C E SS E S US E D I N
-
S I N
G

P AI N I N
T G, A N D AN DL I N
TH E H G O F CO L O R S ,

BR SH S
U T ES ,
A N D O OL

FI R S T E D IT I O N

S C R A N T ON
T H E C OL L IE R% E N G IN E E R C OMP A N %

1 8 99
 51 369

E n t er e d accor d in g C g
to t h e A c t o f on r es s , in t h e y ea r 1 8 99 ,

By T H E C I E R NGINEE R C
OL L % E OM PNA % ,

In th e ofii ce o f th eLi b i C g
r ar a n of on r e ss , a t W hi g
as n ton .

S E CON D

P R IN E
C I E R NG INEE R C N
T D B%

E
S R N N P ENN
OL L % OMP A % .

C A TO , A .
 P R E FA C E .

TH E bou n d volu m es of our Courses in Letteri n g h ave bee n

prepared on so m ewhat di fferen t li n es fro m those of our oth er
Course s Believi n g that th e plates w o uld be of m ore valu e to
.

th e stude n t if he could ha n dle each o n e separately tha n i f th ey

were bou n d togeth e r in on e large vol u m e we h ave pri n ted th e m ,

in folio for m with a plate on o n e leaf an d th e i n structio n s for

,

drawi n g it on th e oth er All th e plates bel on gi n g to each

.

Course h ave bee n placed in a ha n dso m e an d durable portfolio ,

which is se n t to th e stude n t i n stead of a bou n d volu m e Th e .

studen ts in th o se Courses that give i n structio n in Sig n Pai n ti n g

receive in additi o n to th e plates tw o I n structio n Papers with
, , ,

their acco m pa n yi n g Questi o n Paper s e n titled Ele m en ts of

,
“

” “
Letteri n g an d Letteri n g an d Sig n Pai n ti n g .

”
Th e first Elem e n ts of Letteri n g co n tai n s th e i n s tructio n
,
“
,

n ecessary to e n able th e stud e n t to p roper l y apply h is k n owledge

of letters a n d th eir form atio n to suit every requ ire m e n t both in ,

treat m e n t an d m odi ficatio n an d als o in thei r v arious arran ge

,

m e n t in all for m s of i n scriptio n an d co m bi n atio n desig n s This .

Paper gives a c o m plete educatio n in th e ar t of l etteri n g in all

its bran ch e s wh erei n a k n owledg e of colors is n ot n eces s ary .

Th e seco n d Paper Letteri n g an d Sig n Pai n ti n g gives th e

,
“
,

stude n t a co m plete k n owledge of al l tools applia n ces an d , ,

m aterials used by th e adva n ced sig n pai n ter It i n clu de s also

.

i n structio n in th e us e of th e bru sh for all pu rposes an d the ,

preparatio n co m bi n atio n an d practical applicatio n of colors to

, ,

all m aterials It co n tai n s all th e m ethods processes an d

.
‘

, ,

form ulas for produci n g l etters o n such surfaces as m etal an d

glass by th e us e of acids an d al so i n structio n for th e prepara
,

tio n of all surfaces on whic h letteri n g is to be placed The .

prese n t volu m e co n tai n s th ese I n struc tio n Papers .

These Courses in Lett e rin g h ave bee n prepared by a ge n tle m a n

wh o has h ad a very wi d e experie n ce in s tu dyi n g th e o rigi n o f
iii
 A
P R E F CE .

letter for m atio n an d in teachi n g th e art of letteri n g an d o n e

,

who i s a th or o ugh m aster of the su bj ect in all its bran ches .

G reat care h as bee n exercised in the selectio n of th e plates

co n tai n in g th e variou s styles of th e alph abet We feel co n
.

fid e n t that n othi n g equ al to th ese plates has ever before bee n

published Th e utm ost pai n s h ave been take n to give th e
.

s tude n t th e true for m of th e various styles of l etters sh ow n

on th e plates Th e Cou rses h ave bee n carefully arra n ged to
.

m eet th e require m e n ts of every o n e e n gaged in an y busi n ess

whatever th at de m a n ds a k n owledge of letters an d th eir
co n structio n . O n ly such i n stru ctio n an d plates are g ive n as
have a direct co n n ectio n with the particular Course selected by
th e stude n t .

TH E INT E RNAT IONAL CORR E S PONDE NC E S C H OOLS .

 CO N T E N T S .

E LE M E NT S OF L E T T E R ING .

I n troduc t io n
History of th e Alph abet
G e n eral Rules
Mechan ical an d Freeha n d Letteri n g
Co m po n e n t Parts of a Letter
Spaci n g of Lette r s
Pu n ctuatio n
Rules fo r Pu n ctu atio n
Shadi n g
Letter Face Lighti n g an d Shadi n g
-

Th e Highlight
Cutti n g In Letters
Classificatio n of Letters
Or n am e n tal Letters
Grotesque Letters
Illu m i n ated Capitals
Effects in Letteri n g
Co n de n si n g Elo n gati n g Telescopi n g
, , ,

I n terlac i n g
Outli n i n g an d Filli n g In
Desig n i n g
Ribbo n s.

Pa n els
I n scriptio n D e s ig n i n g
Ste n cil Patter n s
Purpose of Sten cils
Materi al for Ste n cil s
 CON TE N T S .

Geo m etrical Figures

Trian gles
Circles
Or n am e n tal Curves
Th e Ellipse
Mod ificatio n s of th e Fu n dam e n tal
Mecha n ical Letteri n g
H o w the W o rk Should be Se n
.

t
Plate s

LE TT E R ING AND S IGN PAINT ING .

I n tr o du ctio n
Practice an d Material
Tools Necessary
G e n eral Tools an d Applia n ce s
B rushes
Th e T Square
Positio n of Han ds
Stripi n g.

Colors
Cla s s ificatio n of C o l o rs
Ha n dli n g of C o lors
Har m o n y an d Co n trast
Gr o u n d Fi n ish e s
S m al tin g
Variegated Gr o u n ds
Preparatio n of Surfaces
Sizes fo r Gildi n g
Gildi n g Water
Size for Oil Gildi n g
Gild in g
G ild in g on Glass
Gildi n g on W oo d or Metal
Pearl Filli n g an d Etrusca n Gildi n g
E m b o ssi n g
E m b o ss in g o n B rass Plates
E m bos s in g on Glass
 CON TE N T S .

Letter Sh adi n g .

Colors Used
Th e P r eparatio n of Colo r s
A pplicatio n to Variou s Materials
Relief Letters
Wood Metal an d G lass
, ,
 E LE ME NT S OF LETT E R I N G .

IN T R O D U C T I O N .

1 . Pu r po s e of Th i s C o ur s e .
— It is th e pu r pose of this
c o urse of i n structio n to co m bi n e th e clas s ical with th e p ractical
so as to m eet th e n eeds of all studen ts desirous of studyi n g the
esth etic an d an tiqu e as w ell as th e plai n an d si m ple styles of
, ,

letteri n g The plates are th erefore ar ran ged an d classified on a

.

si m pl e but progressive syste m calculated to lead th e stude n t

,

gradually fro m the plai n an d si m ple to th e m ost difficult styles ,

but o m itti n g fro m th e c o urse all such as are obsolete or n ot in

co m m o n u se .

B efore requiri n g the stude nt t o apply hi m self to a k n owle d ge

of th e prese n t for m s an d classificatio n s of th e letters of ou r
alph abet h e should beco m e fa m iliar with their history an d th e
,

pri m itive form s of writi n g H e sh ould also n ote th e i m portan t

.

n atio n al ch an ges that h ave caused a tra n sitio n fro m o n e for m

i n to a n other u n til ou r prese n t advan ced era has bee n reach e d

,

with its great vari ety of styles disti n ctively differen t in ,

“

character on e fro m an oth er an d each arisi n g fro m som e

,

i m portan t period in th e world s h istory in which th e fu n da

’

m en tal or pare n t st y l e was closely allied to a correspo n di n g

style of architecture .

In order that the stu den t m ay derive th e greatest be n efit fro m

this course in letteri n g h e should n o t r est co n te n t wi th m e r ely
,

r eadi n g this I n struction Paper carefully o n ce o r twice but ,

should study its co n te n ts carefu l ly through ou t his e n tire course .

It is o n ly by practice an d steady progress in acquiri n g a k n owl

e d ge of th e styles an d form atio n of lette r s that th e re al valu e
an d i m portan ce of m u ch of the i n structio n give n in this Pape r

c an b e rightly u n derstoo d an d its full m ean i n g app r eciated .

gi
 ELEM ENTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§1

H I S T O R% OF T H E A L PH A B ET .

2 . Cl ass ifi c a t ion — Th e wo n derful achi eve m e n ts

th e in
arts o f pri n ti n g ph o to e n gravi n g lithography etc h ave bee n
,
-

, ,
.

th e m ean s of tra n sfor m i n g th e letters of th e alphabet i n to a

varie ty of for m s or styles wh ich m ay b e classified u n der three
,

gen er al heads Plai n Or n a m en tal an d Grotesqu e Th e h istory

, ,
.

of our alphabet an d of th e for m s k n ow n as th e fun d amen ta l

styles will be fou n d n ot o n ly of i n terest but also of great profit
to o n e who is to devote hi m self to the art of letteri n g Th e .

degree of perfectio n attai n ed in th e alphabet n ot o n ly in ,

pho n e tic valu e b ut also in si m pl ici ty an d co m plete n ess m akes

, ,

it a m on u m e n t of th e i n tellectual ad va n ce m e n t of th e prese n t
day —a co n ditio n to which th e people o f al l ages h ave co n trib
ute d —although th e reade r m ay n ever h ave co n sid ered its
.

source n or th e m an y chan ges n ecessary to its growth an d per

fection Th e twe n ty s ix sign s o r letters th at w e call th e
”

,
.
,

a lp ha b et are separated i n to tw o classes : th o s e represe n ti n g n o

s yllabic sou n ds in th e m selves which are called con son a n ts ; ,

an d

those possessi n g tw o or m o re su ch sou n ds called v ow el s Th e ,

.

l atter i n so m e cases are scarcely m ore tha n a breath sou n d but ,

each has a clear ph o n eti c value an d fills a n i m porta n t place i n ,

our writte n la n guage By m ean s of o th er characters placed

.

ab o ve th e vowels every word m ay b e writte n to express its

,

prope r sou n ds We are th erefore e n j o yi n g today th e fruits of

.
, ,

th e achievem e n ts of th e h u m a n i n tellect through forty ce n turi es

of develop m e n t for in traci n g th e origi n of the alph abet an d
,

the sign s th at led to its co n structio n w e are co m p elled to go ,

back to the dispersio n of th e h u m an race through a period of

o ver four th o u s a n d years each epoch o f which fur n ishes i n te r
,

es ti n g d evel o p m en ts in th e growth of our l etters I t will be .

i m possible in this short treatise to fully co n sider this i n teresti n g

history an d growth or g ive m ore th an a passi n g glan ce at th e
,

world s pri m i tive history ; although in it is to b e fou n d th e

’

'

source of the f o r m s whose tra n sitio n s fr om on e syste m of char

ac te r s to a n o ther give us our prese n t alphabet Nor can we .

dwell eve n on the relatio n the s e characters bear to o n e a n other .

The degree of i n tellige n ce attai n ed in each period of hu m an

§ 1 ELEM E NTS O F LETTE RI N G .

hi s tory i s m arked b y th e progress m ade in the m eth o d s of

w riti n g wh ich e n abled its p eople to r ecord eve n ts i m part
, ,

k n owledge an d tra n s m it messages to on e an o ther

,
.

3 . Id e og r am s .
—The Scriptures i
f r m u s th at when B aby n o

l o n an d Ni n eveh were b uilt all p eople w ere of o n e la n guage an d ,

th e si m ilarity of th e B abylo n ian Egyptian an d Assy r ia n sig n , ,

la n guages gives so m e evid e n ce of this fact Th e desce n da n ts of .

Noah are supposed to h ave occupied the s e localities after the

dispersio n : S he m that of B abylo n an d Eastward H am Nor th
, ,

eastern Africa an d % aph eth Wester n Assyri a an d Asia Mi n or ,

.

Each syste m of writi n g bega n with ru de pictures of obj ects ,

m ore or less co n ve n tio n al which gradu ally beca m e the r e pr e,

s en tativ e s of words afte r wards beco m i n g th e sy m bol s of letters

, ,

or ele m e n tary sou n ds We can therefore trace th e tra n si tio n

.
, ,

fro m th e id eogr am o r expressio n of th oughts by m ean s of pic

,

tures to th e phon ogr am or expressio n of sou n ds by m ea n s of

, ,

draw n o r writte n sy m b ols Man y ideogra m s are in co mm o n .

us e at th e prese n t day which proves th at th e Egyptia n m eth od

,

was n o t with out so m e m erit For i n sta n ce the sig n is de r ived

fro m th e m o n ogram U S The barber s pole—the red s tripe of
.
,
’
. .

”
which sy m bolizes a blo o d letter ( a custo m of past ages )
“ -

the th ree balls used b y th e p aw n broker the A m erican fl ag , ,

th e sig n pe r ce n t the algebraic sig n s an d m a n y oth e r s

.
,

are all ide ogra m s .

4 . C un Wer i t i
i fo r
n g
—
mTh e letters o f o ur alph abet are .

th e outgrowth of th e a n cie n t H ebrew alphabet an d Egyptian

hieroglyphic s ( the earliest for m of w r iti n g ) as well as of th e ,

Assyria n cu n eifor m ch aracters In traci n g to its origi n th e .

fo r m of each letter w e are surpri s ed at th e m arvelous tra n s

,

for m atio n s th ese ch aracters h ave u n dergo n e b efore reachi n g

th e si m plici ty th at m arks thei r prese n t co n structi o n While .

alphabe tic syste m s h ave b eco m e si m pli fied th e Chi n ese syste m , ,

o n th e oth e r h an d w hich is n ot alphab etic has grow n m or e

, ,

an d m ore co m plicated an d affords an exa m ple of h ow a people

, ,

isolated for four thousan d y ears fro m the rest of th e world ,

we r e u n able to advan ce beyo n d th e a n cie n t syste m of ide o

g r aphic writi n g Th e Chi n es e syste m is evi d e n tly the o utg r o w th
.
 E LE M E NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

of the cu n eifor m characters which are wedge shaped an d are ,

-

arran ged in groups to express a th ough t Th e si m plicity of .

ou r alphabet s yste m co m pared with th e Chi n ese m ay b e appre

c iate d whe n we co n sider that a boy t en years old i n an A m eri ,

c an school has acquired th e sa m e facility in r eadi n g an d

,

writi n g E n glish th at would t ak e a Chi n ese stude n t twen ty fiv e -

y ears to acco m pli s h in th e study of Chi n ese ch aracters .

5 . Th e Ar a bi c an d R a om an Nu m era ls —Without
ge n eral k n owledge of a n cie n t h i s tory it i s i m possi bl e to for m a
clear outli n e of th e history of w riti n g as on e is i n separable ,

fro m th e o th er Fro m th e co n fusio n of to n gu es to th e exodus

.

of the Israelites fro m Egypt a perio d of several ce n turi es we , ,

k n ow th at the three co n ti n en ts of Europe Asi a an d Africa , ,

were larg ely peopl ed ; an d though Chi n ese lege n ds poi n t to ,

periods m uch earl ier tha n thi s the syste m by which th ey h ave ,

co m e to us bei n g based on obj ect pictu re s prod uces n o e v i

, ,

den ce as to thei r r eliabi lity Th e Hebrew wri ti n g supposed .

,

by so m e authorities to be th e outgrowth o f th e s o call e d S e m itic -

writi n g does n ot Ow e its origi n to this e arly p eriod fo r th ere

,

i s su fficie n t evide n ce to show th at th e Hebre w alph abet di d n ot

co m e i n to existe n ce u n til late r In th e m iddl e of thi s S e m itic .

peri o d however occur s th e birth of Ish m ael fro m wh o m th e

, , ,

Arabian race is d esce n d ed an d to this race we are i n debted fo r,

our prese n t n u m eral ch ar acters 1 2 3 etc Th e sy ste m k n ow n , , ,

.

as th e R oman was in u se m u ch earlier an d probably origi n ated ,

in ideographi c writi n g Th e digits I I I I I I I I I I were origi

.
, , ,

n ally pictures of th e fi n gers ; th e V w as s h ow n by th e whole

h a n d the fi n ge r s collected an d th e th um b spread apart Th e
,
‘

% w as exp ressed by both h a n ds togeth er each bei n g in the ,

p ositio n u sed to i n dicate th e V Th e i n cre ase o r decrease of .

valu e w as i n dicated by placi n g a digit before or after th e V or

% . This s y ste m is still in us e fo r certai n purposes on e of ,

wh ich is th e n u m beri n g of th e h ours on th e cl o ck dial .

6 . Th e H b e r e w Alp h a b e t
p rogress an d develo p —Th e
m e n t of all syste m s of wri ti n g are m arked by n atio n al cha nges ,

an d therefore wh e n e n teri n g on a sec o n d historical period of

, ,

about a thousan d years begi n n i n g with th e exodus fro m Egypt

,
§ 1 ELEM E NTS O F LETTE R I NG .

an d reachi n g to th e captivity of I srael an d Judah w e fin d a ,

n atio n of at least peop l e leavi n g Egypt an d afterward

for m i n g a m ost i m porta n t ele m e n t of th e divisio n s of n atio n s
an d on e stro n gly i n flue n ci n g th e m an y syste m s of writi n g To .

this great people i t is believe d was giv e n an alph abet an d a

, , ,

l a n guage in laws an d co mm an d m e n ts e m bodyi n g civil as well ,

as ecclesiastical polity Th e puri ty of thi s alphab et has

.

re m ai n ed to th e prese n t ti m e survi vi n g thirty ce n turies the

, ,

o n ly chan ges bei n g th e presen t H ebrew characters which ,

assu m e m ore of th e square co n structio n tha n the origi n als

F r o m this n atio n also spri n gs a n othe r syste m o r alphabet—that
.

of th e Sa m aritan s—but before co n sid eri n g this let u s tur n ou r

atte n tio n to a n oth er cou n try an d people th e Phe n ician s The ,
.

Israelites o ccupyi n g Palesti n e were n eigh b ors of thi s aggressive

an d th rifty p eople an d were br ought i n to h ar m o n iou s r elatio n s
,

with the m Th e chief cities of Phe n icia Tyre an d Sido n we r e

.
, , ,

duri n g th e r eig n o f Solo m o n m ariti m e cen ters of great activity

,
.

I t is assu m ed th erefo r e that th e Greek alphabet c a m e directly

‘

, ,

fro m th e Hebrew an d Phe n ician while the Phe n icia n in tur n ,

was ev o lved fro m th e Assy rian Egyptian an d Moabitish , ,

.

7 . Th e that the Sam ar i

S a m a r i t a n Alp h a b e t .
—W e fin d
tan alphabet has Hebrew as a base with a stro n g i n terspersio n ,

of Assyrian an d Chaldaic Israel about th e m iddle of this .

,

p eriod was divide d i n to two ki n gdo m s th e tw o tribes c on s titu

I
, ,

ti n g th e ki n gdo m of Judah an d th e te n tribes th at of s r ael .

Th e l atter as w ell as th e Egyptia n s an d Ph e n ician s suf

, ,

fere d severely fro m th e Assyrian an d Babylo n ia n i n vasio n s .

Th ese powe r ful easter n e m pires took captive th e ten tribes of

Israel th ere b y causi n g th eir co m plete dow n fall an d loss of
,

n atio n al id e n tity Th e M osaic laws prescribed that th e soul

.

th at did n o t observe certai n cere m o nies afte r eight days would

b e cut off fro m Israel ; th e te n tribes failed to observe these
cer em o n ies as a n atio n an d therefore lost th eir in d en tity in the
,

Heb r ew fam ily They r etur n ed to Sa m aria subseque n tly h o w

eve r an d h eld to a r evised Pe n tateuch —h e n ce th e lost ten tribes
,
.

of Israel an d th eir relatio n to th e Jews Me n tio n i s m ad e of .

this to assist the stude n t in locati n g th e origi n of the Sam arita n

 ELEM E NTS OF LETTE RI NG .

alphabet which is s o m ade u p of oth ers th at little or n o

refere n ce is usually m
,

ade in regard to its origi n beari n g as i t ,

does so close a re s e m blan ce to th e pri m itive Hebrew Th e .

o n ly exa m ples o f th e earlie s t alph abets are to be fou n d on

m o n u m e n ts or t abulated i n scriptio n s on coi n s a n d o n frag , ,

m e n ts of ute n sils A m o n g th e s e th e p ri n cipal o n es duri n g this

.

perio d are th e Baal Leba n o n Bo w l l 0 th ce n tu ry B C ; th e

-

,
. .

F IG . 1 .

Moabite Sto n e 9 th ce n tury B C an d th e S iloam I n scriptio n

, . .
,

7th ce n tury B C . Thi s p eriod close s with th e captivity o f th e

.

re m ai n i n g tw o tribe s in B ab y lo n 58 8 B C . .

8 . Th e Ph en ic ian Alp h a b e t
Phe n ician as previ
.
—The ,

o us l v stated i s th e source of ou r pho n etic alph abet

, ; an d th e
asce n den cy an d decli n e o f th e G recia n e m pire an d th e establi s h
m e n t of th e R o m a n m arks a n o th er p eriod duri n g which th e ,

alphabet ch ar acters attai n ed their prese n t d evelop m e n t as ,

s how n by th e i n scriptio n on th e A rch of Ti tus built 70 A D . .

, ,

a cut of which is sh ow n in Fig 1 In recapitulati n g wh at h as

. .
 ELE M E NTS O F LETTERI N G .
§1

characters of th e first ce n tury are practically th e sam e as th e

o n es in us e today k n ow n by th e n a m e of Egyptian A n tique ,

E gyptian an d Fren ch Ro m an
,
.

1 2 . Th e R e n ais s an c e .
—Fro m
th e begi n n i n g of the
Christian era th ere see m s to h ave b ee n n o appare n t growth of
th e alphabet for m an y ce n tu ri es Th e dark ages were evid e n tly .

a ger m i n ati n g o r bud di n g p eriod an d u n til the 1 5th cen tury ,

bri n gs u s to an era historically k n ow n as th e Ren aissan ce or ,

revi val o f art w e fin d n o progress wh atever A bout th e m iddle

,
.

o f this ce n tury ( 1 443 ) p ri n ti n g was i n ve n ted but i t w as m a n y ,

y ears b efore thi s i m porta n t disc o very acco m plish ed m uch to

be n efit m a n ki n d ; for i t m u st be re m em bered there was n o ch eap
m aterial o n which to pri n t th e parch m e n t u sed to e n g r oss o n
,

b ei n g far too exp en sive for th e p urposes of pri n ti n g The .

process of pri n ti n g h ad a very be n eficial i n fl ue n ce on th e

m ethods of writi n g h owever an d i n ci de n tally o n the alphabet
, ,

itself Th e letters h ad beco m e s o elaborate b y this ti m e as to

.

appea r al m ost like or n am e n tal en ig m as Th e process of pri n t .

in g n ecessarily re q uired for th e sep arate types th e si m pl est

for m s of characters an d th e pri n ters were co m p elled therefore
, , ,

to retur n to th e for m s used duri n g th e first ce n tury th e Lati n

an d Wester n Ro m an styles were th erefore u sed th e for m er ,

b ei n g k n ow n at th e presen t day as A n tique Egyptian an d the

lat ter as Fre n ch R o m an .

1 3 .It S hould be bor n e in m i n d that or n am e n tation in

letteri n g such as m arked th e p eriod j ust prio r to th e 1 5th
ce n tury is n ot an m prove m en t in s tyle Th e first pri n ciples to
I .

be observed in for m i n g letters is si m plicity as th e m ost i m por ,

tan t qualificatio n s of th e letters should b e thei r legibility .

Or n a m e n tatio n whe n r esorted to i s al w ays an evide n ce of

failure to prod uce th e p erfect letter for if the perfect i s attai n ed ,

th e additio n al work is su per fluous .

1 4 . R esu lt s of th e R e n a is s an c e .
—Th e Germ a n s duri n g
th e 1 5th ce n tury the n located in N o r th er n Italy were n ot s l o w
, ,

to beco m e i m bued with th e spirit of this n e w d evelop m e n t in

art an d Spai n Fran ce E n glan d an d in fact all E urope was
, , , ,
 § 1 ELE M ENTS O F LETTE RI NG . 9

affected by th e great i m pulse largely on accou n t of th e achieve ,

m e n ts of a n I talia n fa m ily k n o w n as th e M edici Previous to .

this th e art of letteri n g was co n fi n ed al m ost exclusively withi n

,

the m o n asteries Th e eccle s iastical devotees or m o n ks w ere

.

skilful in th e art of calligraphy an d exhibited wo n derful d ex ,

te r ity in th ei r wo r k of d esig n i n g an d illu m i n ati n g capital l etters

o n th ei r m a n u scripts m an y o f wh ich are exta n t today ; so m e
,

dati n g back as far as th e 5 th or th e 6th ce n tu ry are especially

clever It i s to b e regretted h o wever that these early m o n ks
.
, ,

possessed a k n owledge of ch em icals for re m ovi n g th e i n s c r ip

tio n s fr o m e arlier m a n uscripts fro m which th ey C opied thereby ,

deprivi n g th e world of rec o rds far m ore valuabl e th an th eir

ow n . D uri n g this wh ole p eriod prio r to pri n ti n g th ere were
m a n y varieti es o r styles of th e alphab et origi n ated Th e style .

k n ow n at prese n t as th e Egyptia n was origi n ally k n ow n as th e

plai n Ro m a n or th e style in which th e early Greek an d Lati n
,

alph abets w ere writte n while th e Ro m a n l etter of th e prese n t

day i s al m ost id e n tical with the M edi eval Ro m an o f th e p eriod
i n dicate d b y its n a m e Th e Gothic th e earliest speci m e n of
'

.
,

which dates to 1 349 A D was p ossibly th e n ext st y le an d

. .
,

d erived its origi n fro m th e o gival o r poi n ted arch ch aracter ,

i stic of the G o thic style o f architecture .

1 5 Th e Old E n gli sh 1 400 A D ( s peci m e n s of which are

.
,
. .

still in West m i n ster Abbey ) was possibly th e ou tgrowth of the ,

8 th ce n tury Ro m a n esqu e the Old G erm an letters followi n g ,

closely o n th e O ld E n glish There are m a n y o f th e G er m an

.

an d I talian Re n aissa n c e styles th at still r e m ai n Th e Script .

writi n g ( th e ordi n ary cursi ve ki n d ) out of whi ch has developed ,

th e m ost gracefu l an d classic cu rves possi b le to produce was of ,

A n glo Saxo n origi n Th e style k n ow n as Fre n ch Ro m a n

-
.
,

h avi n g th e h orizo n tal strokes co n sid erably n arr o wer tha n th e

vertical th e extre m ities of these bei n g fi n ish ed with an an tique
,

S pur were of firs t ce n tury origi n an d were used by th e Wester n

,
-

Ro m a n provi n ces Th e I talic script i s a m o der n i n terpretatio n

.

of th e Medi ev al Italia n pri n t There are sev eral for m s of th e

‘

Church Texts which or igi n ated fr o m th e Old G er m a n as well

,

as th e Old E n glish .
10 ELEM E NTS O F L ETTE RI NG .
§ 1

1 6 . M od e r n S t y le s —Of th e
styles of m ore rece n t date ,
.

th e s ty l e k n ow n a s Ru n d Sch rif t ( r o u n d writi n g ) which is a n

- -

adaptatio n of th e G er m an Ren aissan ce was th e i n ven tio n of a ,

G e r m an A sid e fr om this w e n a m e with m uch p r id e sever al

.

styles k n ow n th e world o ver as A m erican writi n g ; th ese are

th e Full Block H al f Bl ock both plai n an d a n tiqu e Rail r oad
, , ,

Block Rou n d Full Bl ock Spe n ceria n Script a n d Shipp ers Bo x

’
, , ,

Marki n g Th ese styles are used chiefly by let terers whil e th e

.
,

vari eties in type wh ich ar e of purely A m erica n o rigi n are s o

n u m erou s th at w e would n o t atte m pt to classify o r n a m e the m .

Th eir for m an d style are peculiarly ide n tified with pri n ti n g ,

a n d are sel do m i f ever u sed b y let t erer s ; w hil e to th e art o f

pri n ti n g u n der its m a n y h eads i s d ue all progress m ade in th e

i n ve n tio n of s ty l es o f w riti n g si n ce th e 1 5th ce n tury .

G NE E R AL R UL E S .

1 7 .Th e few g e n eral r ules followi n g are very i m p o rta n t to

th e s tude n t an d i t i s n ecessary theref o re that th ey sh ould be
, , ,

carefully observed an d followed .

1 . D o n ot atte m pt a n y for m or style o f le tter o ther tha n th e

s t r l e fur n ish ed for e ach lesso n .

2 . D o n ot all o w th e e y e to dw ell o n tha t which i s i n artistic

”
for j ust as truly as evil associatio n s corrupt good m an n ers
, ,

j ust so surely does associati o n of th e ey e wi th that which is o ut

o f proportio n distorted or irregular l eave an i m pres s io n which
, , ,

i s lasti n g in its effect o n a n d by n o m ea n s easy to dispel fro m

, ,

th e m i n d IV h en th e stude n t h as adva n c ed to th e s tu dy o f
.

i n scriptio n design i n g an d or n am e n tatio n h e will be tte r appr e ,

ciate th e i m porta n ce of this advice .

3 . D o n o t b eco m e di scouraged if you do n ot m ake as rapid

progress as you sh o uld lik e to Th e a s s erti o n i s of te n m ad e .

that it i s n o t p o s s ible fo r o n e to b eco m e a m aster of a n art

“

or professio n wi th o ut a n atu ral tale n t for i t

, thi s m ay b e tru e
alo n g so m e li n es but i t is n o t tru e in regard to letteri n g
, ,

especially if behi n d th e e ffort th ere is p ersiste n t will power an d

a pati e n t d eter m i n ati o n to succeed C o n ce n tra ti o n of t h ou g h t .

an d co n sta n t practice m ust of n ecessi ty follow th ese qualities .

§ 1 ELEM E NTS O F LETTERI NG . 11

4 .Give as m uch ti m e to practice as possibl e ; do n ot be

satisfied to m ake a letter several ti m es o n ly but p ractice each ,

letter un ti l y ou h ave m astered it an d h ave learn ed perfectly ,

all th e rul es govern i n g its co n structio n in every ch a r acteristic

li n e an d stroke .

5 .B e su re you thoroughly u n derstan d all of th e i n structi o n

p ertai n i n g to each plate before begi n n i n g t o practice Study .

th e i n structio n s carefully with th e plate b efore you .

S tr iv e t o e xce l ; d e s p is e m e d ioc r it y .

Th e advan tages o ffered in this course sh ould i n duce every

stud en t to aim above a g e n er al k n owledge of letters o n ly an d ,

to seek to attai n a p ositi o n equal to that occupi ed by th e fe w

th at fully u n derstan d th e m a n y for m s of alphabetic characters
a n d all th ei r applicatio n s .

1 8 . M ate r ia ls
th e e v e R e qu i r e d —Wh e n practici n g
. in
n i n g us e a good steady ligh t a n d place this directly i n th e
, ,

rea r of th e table on wh ich you are worki n g an d fro m 1 2 to 1 8 ,

i n ch es above th e work w h ile th e eyes sh ould always b e p ro ,

tec te d fro m i t by m ean s of an eye shade Th e stude n t will ,

.

n eed th e followi n g m aterial s

D raw in g in s t rum e n t s 1 ve vet l ru bb er ; 1 Fa b

er s
’
im
D r a w in g b o ar d 1 6 in % 21 in d
p r o v e i n k e r a se r
d
. .
,

T s quare 22% i n c h e s % d oz s h e e ts h at m a n s
’
W r a w in g

le l
.
,

2 t r ian g an d paper , 1 2 in in ;
° °
s, 45 60 r oy a

z
. .

1 sc ale si e

d oz t h um t ac ks b 2 re d s a bl br h
e us es, N os 3 an d 4
l l dp p
. .

D ra w in g pe n c i 1 p ad ru e a er , 2 in % 7 in
b
. .

1 % Oz . o tt e l w at erp roo fd raw in g in k

1 9D rafts m e n an d o ther stude n ts i n teres ted in a si m ilar
.

class of work will fin d th e s e tools su ffic i e n t for p ractice an d

speci m e n work But fo r th e be n efit of th e stude n ts that wish
.

to apply a k n owled g e of letteri n g to S ig n pai n ti n g w e w ould

advise th at th e practice w o rk b e do n e o n cardb o ard o r Ma n ila
pa tter n paper u si n g a cam el s hair brush an d card black the
,
’ -

, ,

preparat io n of which will b e give n h ereafter B y thi s process .

th e letters c an b e m ad e an y S iz e but th e plate se n t in for ,

correc tio n m u s t i n var iably be 8 1 in % 1 5 in i n s ide th e border . .

,

l i n es which are 1 s i n ch es fro m th e edge of th e paper

,
.
12 ELE M E NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

D R A WIN G TH E L E T T ER S .

ME C HA N I C A L A N D F R E HAN D LE T T E R I N G
E .

20 I n str um en tal an d F h d Dr ee i g anD r aw n e fi

—D rawi
.

n ition s g i s th e art of r eprese n ti n g obj ects on a

n

co n ve n ie n t surface such as pap er by m ean s of li n es or colors

, , ,

o r both Th e r eprese n tatio n of an obj ect in this m an n e r i s

.

called a d r aw in g I f th e pe n cil brush pen or m arke r b v

.
, , ,

which a drawi n g i s m ad e is guide d wh olly or p artly by i n s tru ,

m e n ts as for exam pl e by a strai g htedge o r by co m passes the

, , , ,

drawi n g is called an in s trumen ta l o r mechan ica l drawi n g If n o .

i n stru m e n t s are u sed th e li n es d raw n by th e fre e h a n d an d all

, ,

di m e n sio n s lai d off by ey e on ly th e drawi n g is called a fr ee ,

han d drawi n g A preli m i n ary r ough or u n fi n ish ed drawi n g

.

is u sually called a s ketch .

21 . Pu r po s e a drawi n g
of a D r aw in g .
—The purpose of
i s eith er to assist th e m e m ory or to con vey to others an i dea of
th e shape size co m bi n atio n for m color o r appearan ce of so m e
, , , , ,

obj ect Drawi n gs also ai d u s in perfecti n g id eas wh e n w e are

.

design i n g or i n ve n ti n g Th e practice of freeh an d drawi n g

.

trai n s both th e h an d an d th e eye I t e n ables on e to esti m ate .

distan ces an d lay th em o ff on a drawi n g correctly an d to c o m ,

pare th e relative sizes of a n gles li n es an d figures i n ge n e r al , ,

.

I t thus trai n s th e h a n d to d raw quicker an d b etter with in s tru

m e n ts Th e ability to d ra w well freehan d is on e of th e m ost
.

useful o f acco m plish m e n ts .

22 There are b u t tw o plates o r st y les in this c o urse that

.

are in th e true se n se m echan ical styles that is m ade exclusively , ,

with th e aid of a straightedge an d oth e r i n stru m e n ts Th ese .

are th e F ull B lock Plate an d th e Half Bl o ck Plate The

- -

oth ers are m ade u p of straight li n es an d c urves These curves .

,

though sligh t in m a n y cases are all d raw n by th e free use of ,

th e ha n d an d th erefore so lo n g as freeh a n d drawi n g e n ters i n to

, ,

thei r c o n structi o n w e h ave ch o s e n to cl assify th e m u n der this

,

h ead We advise th e u se o f th e straightedge h owever in

.
, ,
§ 1 ELE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG . 13

m aki n g all straigh t li n es , wh eth er i n me ch an ical or freeh a n d

styles , but do n ot reco m m e n d th e u se o f th e co m pas s es in
m aki n g curves in freeh an d l etter style s , u n l es s a perfect ci cl e r
is r equired .

COM P O N E NT P A R TS OF AL E TTE R
—
.

23 . S t r o ke
strok e is th e ter m applied to th e width
. The
between th e outli n es fo r m i n g th e letter ; whe n appli ed to
letters possessi n g m ore tha n o n e width betwee n its outli n es it
.
,

always refers to th e greatest width an d u sually th e vertical ,

”
portio n of th e letter as disti n guished fro m th e fin e li n e
,
“
.

24 . Fi n e Li —
Th e fi
l i n e i s th e li n e co n n ecti n g th e
n e . ne

strokes o r li n es at tach ed to the m for m i n g a part of the letter , ,

an d i s u sually a horizo n tal li n e .

25 S pu n
.
—The
pur i s a s m all proj ectio n fro m th e
S

extre m ity o f a letter an d exis ts in several varieties accordi n g

, ,

to th e style of letter on which it is u sed .

26 . F —The
face of a letter u su ally i n cludes all th e
ace .

space for m i n g a recta n gle e n closi n g th e extre m ities of th e

letter but is ofte n applied to the surface withi n th e outli n e
,

of th e letter .

27 . Sh a d e .
—This
ter m is u sed to describe th e treatm e n t
o r fi n ish of a letter an d is applied to a letter to give it the
,

appeara n ce o f reli ef fro m th e backgrou n d ; also to cause on e

part of th e stroke to appear proj ected o r depressed fro m
the surface .

28 . B lo c k .
—Thi s i s sim ilar to
th e sh ade in effect an d is ,

used to gi ve a letter thick n ess or as its n am e expresses t o give , , ,

it a solid bl ock e ffect in which case th e shade al s o is so m eti m es

,

used b eyo n d the block in the for m of a n atural sh adow .

29 . O ut li n —Th e
outli n e of a le tter i s th e li n e that
e .

fo r ms th e letter leavi n g the body of the str o k e ope n

,
.

30 W i d
. t h —The w i dth of letters always applies to the
.

S pace occupied betwee n th e v ertical li n es to th e extre m e right

a n d left a n d n ever refers to th e h eight
,
.
‘

14 ELEME NTS O F LETTE RI NG .

§ 1

31 . B ac kg r o un d —T h
. e backgrou n d is th e surface o n
which th e letteri n g is placed ; it i s also so m eti m e s called th e
gr oun d or fiel d
,
.

32 . Con d e n s in g
—C
de n s i n g is a ter m applied to th e
on

closer spaci n g of th e letter s or to m aki n g the m n arrower tha n

,

n or m al width .

33 . E l o n g a t i n g —El o n g ati n g is th e ter m applied wh e n

.

th e letter s are draw n o ut to a greater width than th e n or m al .

This ter m s h ould n ot b e c on fused with th e appeara n ce of a co n

d en s ed letter with th e relatio n of its h ei gh t to i ts width
,
.

34 . Cy m a .
—
The cy m a is
a character e m ployed to equalize
th e spaci n g o f irregul ar let ters by pl aci n g it where th e space i s
Ope n an d r equires so m ethi n g m ore t ha n th e plai n lette r to

m ak e th e word appear solid Thi s ch aracter d erives its n am e .

fro m th e G r eek its u n d ula ti n g for m rese m bli n g a wave Th e

,
.

cy m a i s u s ual l y attache d to th e letters A L M V V e tc ; i t is , , , ,

.

us ed in but fe w styles of letteri n g while in so m e styles i t for m s ,

a p ar t o f th e le tt er i tself .

S PAC ING OF LE T T E R S .

35 . Im p or tan ce i m portan ce to
o f S pa c i n g .
—Next in
th e for m atio n of letters sta n d s th e art of arra n gi n g the m in
words in a way calculated to m ak e th e word n ot o n ly legible
bu t sy m m etrical ; thi s i s called sp acin g Nothi n g will destr o y .

th e h ar m o n y of a li n e of p erfec tly for m ed l etters m ore e ffect

iv e l y th a n a disregard of this ar t Asi d e fro m a fe w ge n eral .

rules th e letterer m ust d epe n d o n hi s o w n g o o d j udg m e n t an d

,
'

cultivate th e abili ty to pr o p o rtio n all spaces accordi n g to the

co m bi n atio n s of letters Irregu l ar co m bi n atio n s occu r in m an y
.

ways b u t true proportio n m ust always r eig n in a wor d accu

,

r ate l
y spaced s o that i ts regularity is appare n t to th e ey e at a
,

gla n ce To acc om plish thi s spec ial atte n tio n m ust be g ive n to
.
,

th e followi n g rules
36 . Co r re c t an d I
th e i n ter
n cor r ec t S pa c i n g —Mak e
spaci n gs equal to on e a n oth er or as n early s o as possi ble To , .

do this m ay require th e sho r te n i n g of so m e exte n ded letters ,

an d th e spreadi n g apar t o f letters h avi n g vertical or parallel

16 E LE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§1

th e ri g ht L an d th e strok e of th e N Th e letters therefore .

, ,

with which w e shall exp eri en ce th e m ost di ffi culty in spaci n g ,

are th e slan ti n g str ok e letters A % V W an d % an d th e p ro

-

, , , ,

j ectin g letters F J L an d T
, , ,
.

37 . F u ll B lo c k spaci n g such
an d R om a n .
—Whe n

styles as th e Ful l Bl o ck an d R o m an ob s erve the fol l owi n g

ru l es When two letters h avi n g spurs co m e tog eth er as ,

leave th e wid t h of th e stroke of th e letter b etwee n the spurs .

Whe n a spur an d a plai n stroke letter co m e together as

-

leave 1 % width of strok e b etw een b o dy or stroke of letters .

Wh e n t w o s purless letters as ,

c om e t ogether leave space of on e stroke b etwee n the m Slan t

,
.

in g stroke letters su ch as th e W an d th e % leave th e half s trok e

'

- -

, ,

space betwee n the spurs an d th e sa m e space if the n ext letter

,

b e a spurless let ter .

38 . E gy pt i a n , H a lf B lo c k , an d F r en c h R o m an .
—Th e
E g yptian Half B lock an d Fre n ch Ro m an c an b e spaced by th e
, ,

followi n g r ules : Leave wi dth of strok e betwee n al l parallel

strok e letters a n d o n e h alf this width betwee n pr oj ecti n g letters
,
-

B etwee n rou n d letters co m i n g togeth er o n rou n ded sides as ,

leav e stroke . B etwee n words n ever allow les s than the space
§ 1 E LEM E NTS O F LETTERIN G . 17

of a full sized letter i n cludi n g spu rs ; an d if po s sible leave

-

, , ,

1 5 spaces Neve r allow letters to touch each other except

.
.

shaded letters an d n ot the n u n less it is u n avoidable T w o

,
.

r ou n d letters co m i n g togeth er such as ,

in co n de n sed styles havi n g n o spurs m ay be allowed to al m ost

, ,

to uch each oth er without h avi n g th e effect of doi n g s o while

such letters as

produce th e e ffect O
f bei n g cl o ser together th a n they really ar e .

39 Care m ust always b e exerci s ed in selecti n g a style of

.

letter to sui t a space as w ell as a word Th e placi n g of a word .

in a give n space n o t appropriate to i t will cause th e letters to

b e either so separated by spaces or so co n de n s ed for wan t of
S pace as to m ake the m u n sightly an d di ffi cult to read U n de r .

“ ”
th e h eadi n g of I n scriptio n D esign i n g th e s ubj ect of th e ,

F IG . 6 .

selectio n of style s to m eet all requi re m e n t is fully treated .

Th e appearan ce of the spaci n g of letters i s si m ilar to th at of a

co m pan y of s oldiers If a portio n o f th e co m p an y b e separated
.

by a space greater th an th e m an u al prescribe s it h as th e ,

appearan ce of a separate detach m en t an d i s n oticeable at a

glan ce In the sa m e m an n er i f a word i s S paced pr o perly
.
,

thr o ughout with but on e excepti o n i t h as th e appeara n ce of ,

two words For exa m ple take the word S en a te show n in

.
,

Fig 6 wh ere th e s pace betwee n th e N an d th e A g ives it th e

.
,

e ffect of two wor d s .

18 ELEME NTS O F LETTERI NG .
§ 1

PU N C UA I O N T T .

40 There is seld o m suffi ci en t atte n ti on paid to this i m p o r

.

tan t subj ect am o n g letterer s as m ay be observed o n th e sign s ,

o n al m ost an y public street .

41 . Or ig in of apostroph e i s fre
th e Ap o s t r o p h e .
—Th e
que n tl y m isplaced in th e pl ii r al possessiv e case To fully .

un der s ta n d th e r ule g o vern i n g th e possessive ca s e an d the

origi n o f th e m ark u s ed to de n o te possessio n w e shoul d fir s t ,

k n ow that the apo s troph e is used to i n dicate that so m eth i n g ‘

h as bee n o m itted If we should look o n th e fl y leaf of so m e

.

v ery old book w e woul d see th e n a m e o f th e ow n er

,
Joh n ,
” ”
S m ith an d u n dern eath th e words his book which was
, ,
“
,

t h e early for m of expressi n g th e posse s sive Later i t becam e a

custo m to co n tract the n am e an d article possessed—th us
,
.

,
”
“
Joh n S m ith s book an d to i n sert th e ap o s troph e to i n di
’

cate that th e his w as o m itted B y beari n g in m i n d th is

” “
.

si m ple cu s to m on e c an always locate th e p roper place for th e

,

ap o str o ph e accordi n g to th e locatio n o f th e pro n ou n To

,
.

further illustrate take for exa m ple th e w o rd s ,

m e n s an d
, ,
“ ’

”
’
b o y s cl othi n g
.
To us e th e m ethod of our an cestors we
.

would expre s s i t m e n th eir clothi n g a n d boys th eir cloth

, , , ,
” ”
in g . Acc o r d i n g to th e rule th e apostr o phe a n d fi n al s ,
“

sh o uld be s ub s ti tuted fo r th e pro n ou n m aki n g th e phrase r ead ,

” ”
“
m e n s an d boy s cl o thi n g
’
Th us th e letter s would n ot
’
.
,

be n ece s sary afte r th e ap os troph e in th e word as th e

” ”
is used ; but fo r
“ “
pr o n o u n their which h as n o fi n al s , ,
”
eupho n y o r to o bviate harsh n ess of s o u n d th e s i s ofte n
,
“
,

add ed after m a n y word s an d als o o m itted fr o m word s e ndi n g ,

with s for th e s a m e reas o n .

42 . Th e Com m tly used wh ere

a —Th e co m m a i s frequ e n

th e period is th e m ark required Fo r i n stan ce th e w o rd s .

,
”
J o h n S m i th L a w O ffice m ake tw o co m plete an d i n de
. .

pe n de n t state m e n ts an d each S houl d b e ter m i n ated by a,

period H o wever if the word s u sed w ere Joh n S m ith

.
,
“
,
”
Lawyer the ca s e would h ave been d iffere n t as th ere is but
.
,

o n e state m e n t w h ich s h o ul d be ter m i n ated by th e peri o d

, .
§ 1 E LE M ENTS O F LETTER I NG . 19

RUL E S FOR PU N C UA I O N T T .

43 . P er d —Th e
period is put at th e e n d of every
io .

word ph rase o r se n te n ce th at i s co m plete by i tself an d

, , ,

n o t i n terr o gative or e xcla m a tory I t i s a l s o placed af ter

‘

all abbrevi atio n s .

% uit y o ur s e l v e s like m e n Th e M D add re ss e d h is l e tte r t o % am e s

H LL
. . .

o w ar d ,
. D .

44 Co l o n —Th e colo n is
i n ter m ediate poi n t betwee n an

th e se m
. .

ic o lo n an d th e period an d is u sed as follows ,

1 A fter word s th at pro m i s e a series or state m e n t o f s o m e

.

thi n g i m portan t .

H is lis h m e n ts
ac c o m p he s a id w e r e n ot m an y a s t o ut h e ar t , a fir m
l an d —
, ,

re s o v e , fift y ce n ts .

2 . i m p o rtan t re m ark added to a sen te n ce e s pe

B efore an
,

c ial l y wh en it su m s u p t h e se n te n ce or pre s e n ts th e m ean i n g ,

in a n other f o r m .

Av o id evi l d oe r s : in s uc h s oc ie t y an h onest m an m ay b eco me

as h am e d of h im se f l .

45 . Th e S e m i c o lo n
se m icolo n i s used to separate.
—Th e
clauses that are the m selves divided by th e co m m a or that ,

require a p o i n t greater than a co m m a an d less tha n a colo n or

to separate th e parts o f a loo s e series .

H e w as c o urt e o us n o t c r in g in g t o s up e rio rs affable n ot fam il iar t o

an d kin d b ut n ot c o n d e s ce n d in g o r s upe r c i l io us t o in te r io r s
, , , ,

equal s , , .

46 . Co m m a .
—Th e co m m a m
is th e o s t freque n tly used o f
all th e pu n ctuati on m arks . Th e chi ef purposes for which it is
used are th e fo llowi n g :
1 To separate the ter m s o f a closely related series or
.
,
tw o
such ter m s wh en th e co nn ective is o m itted .

He d ge s gr ov e s gard e n s
It w as a d ar k d e s o l at e re g io n
.
, ,

.
,

2 . To separate ter m s th at are co n tras ted or oth erw ise dis

t in g uis h e d an d ter m s of which a part in o n e m igh t be referred
,

i m properly to th e o th er .

H e is p o o r , b ut h o n e s t .
20 E LE M ENTS OF LETTERI N G .
§ 1

3 . off a word phrase or clause that i s paren thetic o r

To s et , , ,

that com es b etwee n oth e r p arts an d breaks th eir co n n ectio n .

% ou w il l th e n h o w e v e r be i n n o b e tte r c o nd it io n
, ,
.

4 .To set off a m odifyi n g word phrase or clause th at is n ot , ,

cl os ely co nn ected w ith wh at it m odifies o r that i s re m oved fro m ,

it by i nversio n .

B e h o l d th e e m ble m o f t h y s t ate i n fl o w e r s w h ic h bl o om an d d ie B y
bl d
.
,

Ame r ic an s ll
g e n e r a y , th e h e r o of t h e B at t le of M a n ila B ay i s e ov e .

5To set
. o ff words or phrases u s ed i n dep en d en tly or
absolutely .

R is tal fo , g iv e m e w h at is m in e , an d t h at r ig h t quic kl y .

6 . To separate th e predicate fro m i ts subj ect whe n the ,

subj ect i s very lo n g an d h as a clause or co n sists of pu n ctu

, ,

ated p arts .

T h e fact t h at h e is all o w e d t o g o un p un is h e d m a ke s h i m m or e ,

in s ole n t t h an e v e r .

7 To separate clauses that are n either very closely

. n or ve ry
loosely co n n ected .

Th e re m oun tain s rise an d cir c l in g riv e rs fl o w ,

.

8 Short si m ple sen te n ces or clauses seldo m require a p oi n t

.

withi n the m an d phrases or clauses th at stan d in close co n n ec

tio n with that on which th ey dep en d seldo m r equire a poi n t
before th e m .

T e ll m e w h e n i t w as t h at y o u s aw h im afte r h e r e t ur n e d .

I P —The
“

47 . n ter r og at i n terrogatio n p oi n t is
ion o in t .

placed after every co m plete direct questio n w hether i t form s a ,

co m plete se n te n ce o r o n ly a part of a sen te n ce .

Wh at m ean s t th ou b y th at
’
Me n dm e, t h ou s auc y fe ll
ow

% ulius Caesar .

48 . E xc la m a ti o n
excla m atio n poi n t i s P o in t .
—Th e
placed after a word phrase clause or sen te n ce that i n dicates
, , ,

great surprise grief j oy or other e m otio n in the speaker

, , ,
.

Woe un to t h ee Ch or az in Woe un to th e e B eth s aida %

, ,

49 . D ash .
—Th e dash i s chi e fly used for th e followi n g
p urposes
§ 1 ELE M ENTS OF LETTERI NG . 21

1 . To sh o w o m i s sio n caused by i n terruptio n .

Cassius % e t I fe ar h im
For i n th e in g r afte d l o v e h e b e ar s t o
.

Caes ar
B r utus . A las g oo dC as s ius , do n ot t h in k o f h im .

2 To show e m ph asis or su ppressed feeli n g o r to sho w

.
,
an

u n expected turn in though t or style .

H eav e n g iv e s t o its fav o r ite s —e ar l y d e ath .

3 . To s e t off a pare n th etical ph rase especially whe n

.

e m phatic o r wh e n th ere are other poi n ts withi n it .

T o re n d er t h e Con s t itut io n perpe tua l —w h ic h G od g r an t it m ay b e

it is n e ce s s ar y t h at it s b e n e fits s h oul d b e p r ac tically fe l t b y a l l p ar t s o f
t h e c oun tr y D W —
eb s ter . .

4 . Beforeechoes or where th e words ,

that “
is
”
n am ely are u n derstood .

Th e fo ur g r e ate s t n am e s in E n g l is h p oe t r y ar e al m os t t h e fir s t w e
c o m e to —Ch auce r S pe n c er S h ake s pe are an d M ilto n
, , , .

50 . P ar e n paren thesis i s used to e n close

th e s is .
—The
so m e i n ciden tal re m ark or explan ati o n th at b reak s th e regular
co n s tructio n of th e se n te n ce an d can b e o m itted without inj ur
in g th e gra m m atical se n se .

% now th en t h is t r ut h ( e n oug h for m an to kn o w ) ,

V ir tue al o n e is h app in e s s bel ow —P op e.

51 Q u o t a t i o n M a r k s —Qu otatio n m arks are used to

e n close words take n fro m th e sayi n g o r writi n g of a n oth er perso n .

Th e d oc t o r ma de th e s ag e re m ark , wh i l e th e r e ’
s l if e, th e r e ’
s h o pe .

52 . Ap o s t r o p h e —Th e
apostroph e i s used to de n ote th e
.

o m issi o n of or m ore letters

’

on e .

’
T is p l e as an t r
su e , to s e e o n e s n am
’
e i n p r in t
A b oo k s a boo k alth oug h
.
,
’
th e r e ’
n o t h in g i n t
—Ch
,
s .

a tter ton .

53 . Hy ph
hyphe n en .
—Th e
is used ( 1 ) at the close
of a syllable that en ds a li n e wh en th e re m ai n i n g part of th e
word m ust b e carri ed to th e n ext li n e ( 2) to j oi n th e parts of
co m pou n d wor d s .
22 ELE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

54 . D itto M ar ks — Th e ditto m ark s are used to avo i d

th e repetitio n of th e w o rd o r expressio n directly above th e m .

55 . Un d e r s c o r e .
—Th e u dersc
re i s a li n e draw n u n der n o

words in m an uscript or copy to give th e m special e m phasis ,

sh o wi n g th at th ey are to b e pri n ted in Italic or capitals on e ,

li n e de n oti n g Italic two li n es den oti n g s m all capitals an d th ree

,
.

li n es large capitals .

SH AD ING .

56 . Sh a d i n g on th e L e ft S i d e —Sh adin g is used to

.

cau s e th e l ett e r to appear i n r elief an d thereby tak e away th e ,

flat or plai n appeara n c e Sh adi n g m ay be placed on th e top.

,

botto m or either sid e of a let ter but it shoul d at first always

, ,

be placed o n th e botto m an d left side ; as for several reas on s , ,

it is b est n ot to try to shad e a letter o n the right si de u n til th e

stude n t i s fa m iliar with th e left as h e will us e thi s side for all ,

practical p urposes Th e reaso n s for gi vi n g this side th e prefer

.

e n ce are ( 1 ) Reg ularity an d sy m m etry o f th e sh ad e o ccurs

F IG . 7. FIG . 8 .

in m o re of th e letters whe n shaded on th e left side such as the ,

S E C R etc Fig 7 illustrates this advan tage an d sh o ws th e

, , , ,
. .

si n gle strok e on th e left at ( a ) an d th e b roke n shad e fro m the ,

strok e on th e right side at ( b ) ( 2 ) B y shadi n g to th e left .

,

th e letterer c an acco m pli s h m ore in a give n le n gth of ti m e an d ,

pr o duce a better e ffect i n his work wh en fi n ished 3

( ) Th e .

m aj ority of str okes in shadi n g t o th e left are draw n towards

th e letterer whil e in shadi n g o n th e right th e bru s h is push ed
,

to th e right wh ich i n i tself is a stro n g argu m e n t i n favor

,

of th e form er .
24 ELEME NTS O F LETTERI NG .
§ 1

lette r th e appearan ce of stan di n g upright either o n a l evel or ,

on a sla n ti n g surface Th e to p of th e shade i s o n a li n e about

.

o n e fifth of th e height o f th e lette r b elow th e top

-

Th e shade .

i s m ade on an an gle of 30 to th e left th e poi n t resti n g on th e

°
,

FIG . 11 .

lower left co rn er of th e letter as in Fig 1 1 where ( a ) shows

, ,

th e letter with a block sh ade an d c ast shadow an d ( b ) sh o ws ,

th e si m ple outli n ed letter an d cast sh adow Th e shade is .

so m eti m es u sed b y duplicati n g th e lette r in th e for m of a

shadow cast o n th e backgrou n d on e fifth of th e h eight of th e ,
-

letter b elow th e top an d on th e sam e a n gle

,
as th e
regular sh ade as sh ow n in Fig 1 2
,
. .

60 . R e li e f Sh a d e —Relief had e is o btain ed by leav in g a

s

S pace betw ee n the letter an d the shade on th e sa m e an gle as

FIG . 12 . FIG . 13 .

th e shade as sh o w n in Fig 1 3 m aki n g th e space an d sh ade of

,
.
,

u n ifor m w idth Wh e n used in co n n ectio n with block shade

.

it i s often of th e n ature of th e n atural shade an d is added to ,

th e block shad in g without an y li n e or space b etween The .

§ 1 ELEM E NTS OF LETTERI NG . 25

relief shade when used as a n atural shad e on a white o r ti n ted

grou n d is m ade to r epresen t th e stre n gth of the shadow cast
fro m an obj ect on th e grou n d o n which th e letters are placed .

This shade i s produced with th e p en b y m ean s of li n e s b ut ,

m ore effectively by the brush an d tran sparen t color .

LE TTE R F A C E LI G H T I N G A N D S HAD I N G
-
.

61 .Im p t f S u bj t
or Th e treat m e t of th e face
an c e o e c .
-

Of the lette r is a very i m portan t co n si deratio n Th e lette r er .

ofte n fi n ds hi m self co n fro n ted with a li n e of extre m ely plai n let

teri n g that eve n after it is sh aded re m ai n s fl at an d un s atis
, ,

facto r y This e ffect c an so m eti m es be overco m e by th e additio n

.

of lights an d shades placed d irectly on th e lette r face itself .

Th e face of the l etter m ay b e vari egated o r ble n ded fro m a light

to a dark sh ade in which case a sharp outli n e m u st s ur r Oun d
,

th e e n tire letter as show n in Fig 1 4 Lighti n g an d shadi n g

,
. .

FIG . 14 . FIG . 15
. FIG . 16 .

ar e used with b est resul ts o n h eavy faced letters as all treat -

m en t of th e face of a letter by sh adi n g h as th e te n den cy to

co n siderably reduce th e appare n t wid th of th e stroke .

62 . E ffe cts P d u d —A
oth er effect i s produced by
r o ce . n

ru n n i n g bars of color ac r oss th e ce n te r o f th e letter an d di m i n ,

ish in g these bars in width to a poi n t m idway fro m ce n ter to top

an d botto m as in Fig 1 5 ,
Di m i n ishi n g ci rcles are also used on
. .

lette r s of lighter face su ch as th e Ro m an an d can b e m ade to

, ,

occupy th e e n tire face or as i s sh ow n in Fig 1 6 ter m i n ati n g at

, ,
.
,

a given poi n t which m ust b e regula r ly o bserved throughou t th e

,

li n e of lette r s .
 ELE ME NTS O F LETT E RI NG .
§ 1

63 . v H
y I I
eai g h l i g h t —Th e h eavy highligh t is used in
.

th e treat m e n t of th e face o f th e le tte r by m aki n g th e upper h alf

of the letter a u n ifor m ti n t ei th er b y li n i n g as show n in , ,

Fig 1 7 or with colors Th e darker sh ade b i s placed o n the

.
,
.

lower h alf of th e l etter allowi n g a highligh t On th i s equal in

,

stre n gth to a or th e upp er h alf Th e highligh t c o n th e upper

,
.

h alf o f th e letter is l eft white By a co m bi n atio n o f th e sh ades

.

of colors m an y beautiful e ffects c an b e pro duced b y this m ean s ,

usi n g such co l o rs fo r a as blue g ree n gray o r gol d color th e , , , ,

last of which co m bi n es with sien n a for the lowe r p ortio n an d ,

with cream c o lo r fo r th e upper hi g hl ight Blu e o r gree n whe n .

used sh ould h ave ti n t an d sh ade o f th e sam e color .

64 . B e v e le d Sh ad in g —Shadi
g o n th e face o f a lette r to n

represe n t a bevel ed appeara n ce is an other trea tm en t th at give s

a l in e o f letteri n g a fi n ish ed an d plea s in g effec t In thi s .

FIG . 17
. FIG . 18 .

process it i s n ecessary on l y to observ e th e rule s of l ight a n d

shad o w as sh o w n i n Fig 1 8 by sh adi n g th e l e tter on th e lef t
,
.
,

an d botto m sides fr o m a li n e draw n thr o ugh th e ce n ter of t h e

face of th e letter T h is f o r m of shadi n g i s ofte n used o n a

.

gold or silver letter by th e us e of tra n spare n t colors such as

va rn i sh stai n ed with asphaltu m which i s used o n gold a n d , ,

var n ish darke n ed with la m pblack i s u sed on silve r letters .

There are m a n y other m ethods of treati n g th e face of l etters by

th e use of or n am e n t whereby i t loses its ide n tity as a plai n
,

an d b eco m es a n or n a m e n ted letter .

§ 1 ELEM ENTS O F LETTE RI NG . 27

TH E H I G H L I G HT .

a m e i n dicates th e highlight i s u se d to il l um i
A s its n ,

n ate o r ligh t u a letter which i t does with wo n derful effect

p ,
.

The highligh t i s place d on th e edge of th e letter opposite the ,

o n th e righ t an d top of th e strokes It i s always a .

fin e li n e o f either gold silver whi te or crea m accordi n g to th e

, , , ,

colo r of th e l etter o n w h ich it i s to b e placed~

If the letter is a .

colored lette r gold o r s il v er c an b e u sed

,
I f th e letter i s gold .
,

n othi n g will serve th e purpose of a hi hligh t so well as cream

g
or whi te On silve r o r alu m i n u m white o n ly ca n be used
.
,
.

To b e m o st eff ectual th is hi ghligh t m ust b e a fin e eve n li n e ,

.

Th e h eavy hi ghligh t i s used in letter face li g htin g an d sh adi n g -

a n d i s explai n e d u n der th at h ead .

C UT T IN G I N LE TTE R S .

66 . Us e s o f C ut I n
-
L
ter m i s appli ed to
e tte r s .
—Thi s
that style of trea tm e n t wh erei n th e le tters are draw n i n o utl in e ,

an d th e backgrou n d i s filled in arou n d th e m In i n scriptio n .

d esign i n g thi s m ethod is r esorted to freque n tly in o r de r to ,

FIG . 19 .

break th e m o n o to n y o f several li n es o f plai n letteri n g The .

’
i n sertio n of a pan el o r ribbo n on w hich the l etters are cu t i n
, ,

provides a colored backgrou n d agai n st which the letters are ,

o utli n ed allowi n g th e sam e color for th e let ters as the m ai n

,

grou n d of th e i n scripti on d esig n as show n in Fig 1 9 Th e ,

. .

colo r of th e pan el an d backgrou n d will g o ver n very largely th e

character of letter to b e cu t in If th e ge n eral grou n d is wh ite
.

or an y l ight color a n d th e cutti n g in o r ou t li n e color i s very

,
-

, ,

d ark a h eavy faced lette r m ay b e used withou t causi n g an y

,
-
28 ELEME NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§1

appearan ce o f clu m si n ess or ill proportio n B ut should the .

letters b e in go ld a m uch ligh ter face d letter would b e n eces

,
-

sary as th e e ffect of th e gold luster is to m ak e th e letter appear

,

larger tha n it actu ally is A very fin e li n e of gold on a black

.

grou n d c an be readily disti n g uished eve n at a great distan ce ,

FIG . 20 .

an d a white letter o n a b lue grou n d c an be read at a greater

di s tan ce than an y other c om bi n ati o n of colors .

67 . P oin ts to b e O b
th e p ractice of cutti n g
ser v e d —I. n

in let ters th e stu de n t sh o uld b e g i n o n th e plai n er styles such as ,

th e F ull B lock H alf B lock etc b efore e n deavori n g to execute

, ,
.
,

th e R o m an o r Script Fig 1 9 sh ows th e l etters in outli n e

. .
,

an d also with th e b ackgrou n d filled in In order to i n s u r e .

u n ifor m ity o f width in th e h oriz on tal ele m e n ts of th e letters ,

fai n t li n es m ay b e draw n throu g h the e n tire w o r d b y m ea n s of

a thread o r stri n g ch arged with charc o al chalk or o the r m aterial , ,

th at a fterwards m ay b e r eadily du s ted off Cut in letters m ay .

-

FIG . 21 . F IG . 22
.

u sually b e per m itted to s ta n d cl o ser than o th er styles o f work ,

as they are seldo m shaded though wh e n th ey ar e shaded t h e

, ,

regular spaci n g should be u sed .

68 . Ir r e gu la r S ur fa c e
-
L e tte r in g .
—Where ’

letters are
cut in o n an irregula r surface such as a ribbo n , ,
as in Fig 20 .
,
§ 1 ELEM E NTS O F LETTE RI NG . 29

th ey m ust be m ai n tai n ed at a u n ifor m a n gle an d n ot chan ged

to suit th e a n gle of th e r ibbo n as at a Th e i m portan ce of this
,
.

will b e co n sidered m ore fully later on but its co n n ectio n with ,

th e subj ect n ow u n d e r discussio n m ust n o t b e o ve rl o oked .

Whe n le tters are cut in on an i n cli n ed pan el o r ribbo n th e let ~

ter s sh oul d b e m ai n tai n ed in a ve r tical p o sitio n as in Fig 21 ,

.
,

or p er pe n dicular to th e li n es of th e p an el as in Fig 22 . .
,

C L ASS I F I C A T I O N OF LE T T E R S .

OR NAM E N T AL L E TTE R S

69 . S c o pe o f th e S u bj e c t .
—T h e p lai n letters i n clude all
alphabets in w hich n o li n e
or curv e e n ters that i s n ot
absolutely n ecessary to
S how th eir form or outlin e
a l i n e thus added m ay
place the m am o n g th e orn a
m e n tal letters . Although
it wi l l b e i m possible to go
ove r th e e n tire grou n d
covered by this subj ec t ,

as th ere are e n dless vari FIG . 23 .

e tie s of or n am e n tal letters ,

th e styles fou n d to b e m ost esse n tial wi

ll b e co n sid ered Th ere .

are m a n y letters i n to which

o r n a m e n tal co n structio n
e n ters but slightly while ,

othe r s are co m posed en

tir el y o f or n am e n tal form s .

Th e or n a m e n tal letters of
m ost value to th e stud e n t
are th ose on th e face of
which th e or n am e n t ap
F IG 24 . .
pears eith er in th e form ,

of r elief scrolls ge om etrical figures or desig n s in arabesque

, ,
.
30 ELE M E NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

70 . Or n am e n ta l Fo r m s —Letters classified as o r n a m en
tal are of great
variety that such as are u sed in co n n ectio n
so a

with th e shade to produce

a be n t or r ou n ded effect as
s how n in Figs 23—
,

w 2 4 m igh t ‘
.
,

b e cla s s e d with this style .

Fig 23 shows th e grou n d .

to b e a pla n e surface an d
th e le tter ben t o r warped ,

while Fig 24 sh o ws th e .

FIG 25 l
.
e t t e
.
r to b e p e r f e c t l y
strai g ht an d faste n ed wi t h ,

screws while th e gro u n d h as th e e ffect o f bei n g be n t o r warped

,
.

71 A let ter th at in itself

. 18 p erfec tly plai n but surro u n de d
by or n am e n tatio n as show n ,
in Fig 25 i s called an or n a
.
,

FIG . 26 .

m e n tal letter al s o th o ugh ,

as a m a tter of fact th e let ter it s el f
m ay b e p erfectly plai n .

72 . Oth er F or m s .
—Othe r o n r a m e n tal form s are as fo l
l o ws The rel i ef or n am e n t letter s
-

show n in Fig 26 c an be m ade in

.

vari ou s ways The whol e f o r m

.

of th e letter m ay b e treated in
th is m an n er as at ( a ) or by
, ,

s im ply suggesti n g it in th e m iddle

or edge of th e let ter as in ( b ) , ,

FIG 27
( c ) an d ( d )
,
A letter mav b e
.
' ‘

plai n so far as its face is co n cer n ed

, ,
b ut on acc o u n t of i ts
32 ELEME NTS O F LETTERI NG .
§1
great skill in their arran ge m e n t A n d while th ey m ay b e .
,

pleasi n g to th e ey e th ey are of n o practical i m por ta n ce to th e

'

stu de n t in th e study of th e for m s of th e letters as their pro ,

portio n s are purely arbitrary Fig 30 sh ows th e f o rm s of . .

F IG . 30 .

so m e of th e gr o tesque letters in wh ich ( a ) is for m ed b v a ,

hu m an figure ( 6) by br o k en b o ards an d ( c ) with a piece o f

, ,

r ope A n y alphabet m ay b e co n s tructed of th e s e f o r m s as the

.

fan cy of an y ar tis t m ay dic tate eve n th ough h e m ay b e

.
,

ig n o ran t of th e tru e f o r m or prop o r ti on o f th e si m ple s t styl e

of th e alph abet .

I L LU M IN AT E D CA P IT A L S
74 . Hi s tor y an d G en er a l
of th e Us e .
—Th e m on ks
Middle Ages were the first to m ak e us e of this art m an y ,

speci m e n s of which w o ul d i n dicate that they m ust h ave spe n t

day s in desig n i n g an d ex ecuti n g a si n gle letter In treati n g .

this subj ect here our purp os e is si m ply to call atte n tio n to th e
,

m ost si m plified for m s of il l um in atin g e s p ec ial l v tho s e for m s ,

design ed for th e us e of the average le tterer Th e p ractical us e .

of this art is n ow c on fi n ed to li th ographi n g e n gr o s s i n g card , ,

work an d eccle s ia s tical decoratio n s Th e pri n ti n g an d litho

, .

graph i n g arti s ts h ave displayed wo n derful skill in rece n t years

in illu m i n ated work especially o n show bill desig n s
,
The use -
.

of colors to ligh t u p th e c apital letter gives a surprisi n g e ffect

to a co m ple te li n e o f l etteri n g an d i s d o n e b y a si m ple c o m bi
,

n atio n of desig n s of m ost har m o n i o us colors wi th th e le tte r

executed an d by usi n g colors of striki n g co n trast to th e ti n ts

,

used to for m th e backgrou n d Such co lors as c an b e com .

b in e d to give a brill ia n t e ffect are u sed i n th e for m of a plaque ,

§ 1 ELE ME NTS O F LETTERI NG .
33

part pan el or b oth o n which th e l et ter i s b rought ou t m os t c o n

,

s pic uo us l y as sh o w n in Fig 3 1
,
Th e illu m i n atio n pract iced
. .

by e n gros s ers i s u s ually o f su ch a n a ture as to produc e a

fin is h e d a n d plea s i n g e ffect wi th o u t resorti n g to colors There
’

m
.

are a n y ways by which thi s c a n b e acco m plish ed On e .

m eth o d is si m ply by th e us e o f a pen a n d black i n k as sh o w n ,

in Fig : 32 outli n i n g th e letter fir s t th e n m aki n g th e or n a

, ,

FIG . 31 .

m e n tatio n surro u n di n g it c o n fo r m to a n y de s ired desig n ,

th ereby givi n g th e letter p ro m i n e n ce Great care shou l d b e .

taken that th e or n a m e n tatio n i s n ot m ade m ore pro n ou n ced

th an th e le tter bu t rather th at th e for m er is used as a m ea n s to
,

bri n g o ut o r i llu m i n ate th e l e tter .

75 . C a r d NV or k .
—F card w o rk th e illu m i n atin g of capi
or ,

tals gives t o n e an d fi n is h an d relieve s a S h o w c a rd o f extre m e

,
34 ELEME NTS OF LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

plai n n ess Fo r p ractical purposes such as attractive ad v er

‘

.
,

tis in g card s ba n n er s etc

,
th e illu m i n ati n g of capital s will b e
,
.
,

fou n d to h old an i m portan t place an d i s co m i n g i n to favor an d

,

m ore ge n eral us e Th ere are also .

m an y f o r m s an d desig n s e m pl o yed
as a pa n el o n which illu m i n ated ,

capitals are pl ace d in a soli d or ,

outli n ed l etter ; th e outli ne letter ,

however b ei n g th e m ost c o n v e n i en t
, ,

i s m os t frequ en tly used especially ,

wh e n eith e r th e pa n el o r th e letter ,

o r b o th are to b e treated in water

,

c olor s Th e letter outl in e d is so m e

.

ti m es filled ih wi th car m in e or other

FIG 32 . .

brigh t col o r while th e pa n el sur ,

r o u n d s i t with a ti n t o f crea m w h ite y ellow o r green T w o or

-

, ,
.

th ree sh ade s of c o l o r a r e s o m eti m es use d ei th er varie g ated or i n ,

th e f o r m o f li n e w o rk o n top o f ti n t as in Fig 33 ,
. .

76 . E cc le s ia s t i c a l D e c o r atio n s —For
eccle s ia s tical
d ecoratio n s ,
s uch as wall pan els c o n tai n i n g i n s cri p tio n s which ,

are usually i n th e Old E n gli s h Go th ic o r Ch urch Tex t s tyle of

, ,

l et ter as w el l as fo r d is play m o t to e s i n sch o o l s h all s e tc wh ere

, , ,
.
,

t h e Old E n gl is h o r o ther suitable le tteri n g is u s ed th e first ,

§ 1 ELEM E NTS O F LETTE RI NG . 35

capital ( an d s om eti m es al l capitals ) is illu m i n ated eith er o n ,

a pa n el of gold sil ver or c o lor In all ca s es th e pa n el i s m a d e

, ,
.

FIG . 34 .

to c o n for m in a ge n eral w ay to th e le tter as Fig 34 shows If ,

. .

gold o r s ilver i s u s ed fo r a grou n d th e l etter m u s t b e a dark ,

col o r If a col o red grou n d ( w hich is preferable ) is used a

.
,

g o ld or silve r le tte r will b e

f o u n d to ligh t u p with c o lor s
an d pro duce a m o s t sa tis
factory r e s ult
.
.

77 . H era ld i c S h ie ld .

An h erald ic shiel d i s ofte n

brought i n to u se o n which th e ,

ill um i n ated capital is placed .

There are m an y d esig n s o r

“ Ci 35
f o r m s of this shield w hich ,
-

c a n be chan ged t o suit a n y for m of a l e tter ,

as s h ow n in Fig 35 . .

E FF E CT S IN L E TTE R IN G .

C O N D E N S IN G E L O NG AT IN G T E L C P IN A N D
E S O G

IN T E RLAC ING
, , ,

78 . Con d e n sin g L e tte fill

r s —In c on fo rm i n g letters to
a requ ired space w e are ofte n c o m pelled to resort to vari o us
,

m ea n s of ac com plishi n g ou r p ur pose wi thout m aki n g the ,

i ns criptio n appear d is tort ed or out of pr o portio n Wh en .

the pa n el or space to be lettered i s m uch sho rter tha n would -

ad m it of a reg ularly proportio n ed letter we are co m pel l ed to ,

re s o rt to the co n de n s i n g of th e letters observi n g ge n erally the ,

36 ELEM ENTS OF LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

rules of th eir proportio n ate width All s tyles o f letters c an .

be co n d e n s ed excep t Railr o ad B l o ck which was i n ven ted ,

exclu s ively for th e Opposite purpose T o illu s trate m ore ful l v .

,

FIG . 36 .

th e w o rd Comp a n y is u s ed to sh o w th e tw o form s of c on de n s in g ,

as well a s th e tw o f o r m s o f el o n g a ti n g .

79 . E xa m p le Of Co n d Fig 36 is
en se d L e tte r .
—I n .

show n th e co n de n sed f o r m as m ay be see n by c o m pari n g

,

the pr o p o rtio n s o f t h e l e tter s with those of th e H a l f Block

Plate Th e letterer m ay c on de n se
.

h is letters to th e width of those o f

Fig 36 an d fin d they are still too
.
,

larg e fo r th e required space ; th e

ver tical s trokes c a n th e n be reduce d
to o n e half th e regul ar width an d
FIG 37
-

,
. .

the h o ri z o n tal strokes m ai n tai n ed at

the reg ular or eve n grea ter wid th a n d less space allowed
, , ,

betwee n le tters as in Fig 37 ,

This reduces th e w o rd to
. .

al m o st o n e th ird that of Fig 36

-

. .

80 . E l on g atin g L
el o n gat e th e s am e word in
e t te r s —T o

the sa m e s ty le of l e tter m ake th e h eigh t fo r co n ve n ie n ce on e

, , ,

h al f that o f Fig 36 ; thu s i t will be ob s erved that if this

.

elo n gated letter were twice th e h eigh t i t is in Fig 38 it woul d .

,

FIG . 38 .

occupy a s pace al m o st f o ur ti m e s th at o f Fig . 36 . To f ur th er

el on gate this word revers e th e rule s o f Fig
, . 3 7, by reduci n g
 ELEM E NTS O F LETTER ING 37
§ 1 .

th e h o r iz o n tal stro kes o n e h alf th e regular wid th keepi n g th e

-

vertical str ok es regu lar width ; o r these m ay b e i n creased to

’

twice th eir regular wid th i f de s ired also g iv in g m ore space

-

betwee n the le tters as s ho w n in Fig 39 By thi s m ea n s a word

,
. .

F IG . 39 .

c an be m ad e to fill a s pace m uch to o l on g fo r th e reg ular

prop o rtio n g ive n th is s tyle o f le tter .

81 .
T l e esc op in g —Telesc
pi n g is n o t o f s o m uch prae o

tical a dva n tage as c on de n s i n g or el o n gati n g an d i s used m os tly ,

t o produce a r el ief effect This is d o n e by givi n g th e letter s

.

the appearan ce o f overlappi n g on e a n o th er as sh ow n in Fig 40 ,

. .

FIG . 40 .

Every alter n a te letter is dr o pped e n o ugh bel ow th e li n e to

preven t co n fusio n of h o r izo n tal li n es an d to pre s erve th e c om
l e te ide n tity o f each The s e le tters c an b e sha d ed o n th e
p .

backgr o u n d but n o t o n t h e face as this w o uld te n d to destr o y ,

their l egibility .

82 . I n te r l a c i n g —I n terlaci n g
. fulle s t exte n t e n ters to its
i n to th e c on structio n of a m o n ogra m ; bu t th e for m of i n ter
laci n g at prese n t u n d er co n siderati o n i s s o m ewh at differe n t ,

a n d i n cludes th e i n terlaci n g of an e n tire word This is very .

o fte n r esorted to by th e design e r especially in th e u se of ,

ecce n tric lette rs which are m ad e to exte n d far bey o n d th e

'

li m its of the fu n da m e n tal s tyles fro m which th ey are derived ,

as show n i n Fig .
38 E LEM ENTS O F LETTERI NG .
§ 1

OU L INI T N AN D I LL ING IN
G F .

83 . Wa t e r Co lo r s —Wate r colors are u sed

all cla s ses fo r
of d e s ig n i n g an d esp ecially in c o m m ercial ad vertisi n g work as
, ,

a s m all qua n ti t y of lith ographic o r pri n ted w o rk executed in

black ou tli n e c an be very e c on om ic al l y c o l or e d o r filled in with
water colors by ha n d A k n owledge o f th e ha n dli n g of water
.

col ors is theref or e a n ecessity to th e le tterer D ry color in

, ,
.

powdered for m is u sed wh e n larg e areas of ble n d ed co l o r a r e

r equired Th is is applied wi th a wad o f cot to n with wh ich th e
.
,

FIG . 41 .

dry color i s spread eve n ly over th e surface by ge n tle rubbi n g

—
.

Th e outli n e of th e des ign is th e guid e for all wa ter color work

in letteri n g pa n els floral desig n s etc ,
Th e wi d er this outli n e is ,
.

m ade th e e asier will b e th e w ork o f fl o wi n g th e c o l or eve n ly

, ,

a n d th e less th e liabili ty of ru n n i n g ove r th e li n e ; th e fin e

o utli n e h owever is used in m an y place s e s pecia l ly for
, , ,

floral design s etc ,

.

84 . WV a Us e
t e r C of
o l o r s — Wa ter colors are u s ed to th e
best adva n tage o n whi te sh o w car d s h avi n g a dull fi n i s h which , ,

readily absorb th e m ois tu re Th e outli n e is m ade w ith the.

glossy black to which th e water color will n ot adh ere but flows
By this ou tli n e m
,

to th e edge an d stops e th o d beau tif ul

.
O ,

d esig n s i n flo w ers an d hi ghly illu m i n ated e ffects c an b e pro

d uce d Water colors als o serve the purpose of shadi n g or
.
40 ELEM E NTS OF LETTE RI NG .
g r

Next i n i m porta n ce is th e co m pou n d curve o r ogee which i s , ,

used w h e n th e i n scripti o n is c o m p o sed o f t w o w o r d s of about

equal le n gth as i n Fig 43: H ere t w o o gee curves are used
,
.
,

FIG . 42
. FIG . 43 . FIG . 44
.

u n der a S i n gl e curve an d above a stra igh t li n e Wh ere on e .

w o rd o ccurs w e us e th e double ogee wh ich is m ad e by u n iti n g

, ,

tw o ogee curve s as sh o w n i n Fig 44

,
. .

In m a n y d e s ig n s th e i n cli n ed str aigh t li n es are u sed as

, ,

S h ow n in ( a ) o f Fig 45 o r di m i n i s h ed in wid th fro m the

.
,

out s ide to the ce n ter o f th e i n scrip ti on as s h o w n in ( h) of ,

th e sa m e figure .

Wh ile th ese a n d m a n y oth er li n es an d cu rve s are u s ed in

design i n g an i n s crip tio n s everal s traight li n es of letteri n g
,

FIG . 45 .

require a great a m ou n t of skill in equalizi n g an d arra n gi n g

the m proper l y eve n in straight li n es In such desig n s o n ly
,
.

o n e style of letter ( bu t m ad e o f v ari o us sizes as th e arran ge

,

m e n t m ay require ) i s ofte n u sed through ou t th e i n scriptio n .

R IB B O NS .

87 . Th e R bb i on .
—Th e
ribbo n i s used i n m a n y for m s ,

an d c an b e m ade to suit al m ost an y style of i n s criptio n by

foldi n g o r exte n di n g Wh e n folded th e part represe n ti n g th e

.
,

back of th e r ibbon i s called th e r etur n an d m u st be S how n by ,

colo r or S hadi n g Th e ribbo n is m ade eith er in a regular cu rve

.

or with irregular an d br oke n edges Fig 46 S h ows the ribbon . .

in so m e of its m a n y for m s of which th e n a m es of its co m po n e n t

,

parts are as follows : a th e bow ; b the broke n ban d ; c th e , , ,

regular ban d ; d th e retur n i n g ba n d ; e th e strea m er ; an d

, ,

f th e roll
,
.
 § 1 E LE MEN TS O F LETTE RI N G . 41

The ribb o n i s use d als o in a s qu are o r geo m etrica l for min ,

w h l c h case th e graceful a n d n atural wave does n o t e n ter as

S h o w n in Fig 47 Thi s fo r m of ribb o n s erves its pl ace in co n

,

. .

v e n tio n al o r set de s ig n s .

FIG . 46 .

Th e ri bbo n is u s ed al s o in th e sam e f o r m as th e d o u ble o g ee ,

an d wh e n th u s u s e d i t m us t b e m ad e sy mm etrical o n b o th e n ds .

Th e fo l d c an al so b e m ad e in m iddle o f o gee as S how n in ,

Fig 48 wi thou t distorti n g its sy mm etrical e ffect b u

.
,
t rath er ,

FI G . 47 .

giv in g it ease a n d grace which ,

s h o uld always be th e ai m
Of th e desig n er .

88 . Sh a d i n g th e R bb —I S hadi
i on . h ng a ribbo n to
,

m ake i t appear n atu ral al w ay s ob s erve th e l aw o f ligh t a n d

FIG . 48 .

shade I f th e light sh ou ld s trik e o n o n e part o f th e ri b bo n

.
,

th e opp o site S i d e c o rre s p o n di n g with i t m us t n ece s s arily be

in shad o w .

Th e study of li g h t an d s ha d e is the first pri n ciple o f desig n ,

42 ELE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§1

an d has b ee n co n s idered with refere n ce to i n d i vidual le tters

”
u n der th e h ead o f Shad i n g “
In d esig n i n g as in drawi n g
.
,

fro m n atur e s tr ict adh ere n ce to this l aw i s absolutel y n ec essary

, ,

a s th e slighte s t disregard of it is n o ticeable to th e skilled eye .

We h ave see n th e advan ta g e of s h ad in g si n gl e le tt ers to th e left ,

an d it is well to prac tice th e shadi n g o f d esig n s o n th e left also ,

in o rder to av o i d such m istakes as are li k ely to occu r by sh o w ,

.

in g a sh a de on tw o oppos i t e s ides of an
o bj ect o r of s everal o bj ect s wh e n t hey are ,

co m bi n ed to for m o n e S i n gle d esign .

89 . R e fl e c ted L i g h t —I . h th e Sh a

di n g o f ribb on s o r an y r o u n ded Obj ect th ere ,

o ccurs wh at is called th e r efl ected l ight .

I t sh o ws th e ed g e o r li n e which Wi t hout ,

th e o b s erva n ce of th is pri n ciple w o uld ,

F 49
o therwise b e l o st wh ere the darke s t shaded
IG '

par ts c o m e t og e ther Fig 49 S h ow s this pri n ciple of reflec ted

. .

l igh t th e g reatest s tre n gth o f th e shade b e in g s o m ewh at re m oved

,

fro m th e extre m e e d g e o f th e o bj ect as at a w hile th eS h ad o w , % ,

cas t by th e o bj ec t i tself is st ro n g e s t agai n s t th e e dge at b .

PAN
LS E .

90 . R ec tan g u la r P a n e l s — Th e pa n el h as m o re fo rm s
th a n th e ribb on ,
an d is m ade to s er v e m an y purp os e s . The

FIG . 50 .

si m ple s t f or m is that of a recta n gle wi thi n which is so m e ti mes

“

,
“

draw n a n i n n er pan el Of th e sa m e or d iffere n t S hape S h o w n , ,

in Fig 50 . Th e s urr o u n di n gs of th e p a n el c an b e m ade eith er

.
§ 1 ELE M ENTS O F LETTERI NG . 43

si m ple or elaborate as th e m aterial at h an d in this style of

,

desig n is i n exhaustible On e of th e m an y for m s of th e exterior

.

of th e p an el i s such as sh ow n i n Fig 5 1 This w ork m ay be

. .

FIG . 51 .

so elaborated that th e i n n er pan el on which ou r letteri n g is to

be placed b ec o m e s of m i n or i m porta n ce as s h ow n in Fig 52
,
. .

Th is o f c o urse i s n ot such a d e s i gn a s s h o ul d b e u sed to dis

, ,

play a co n spicu o us i n s crip ti o n We m u s t therefo re keep in

.
, ,

FIG . 52
.

min d th e fact th at th e i n scripti o n i f i m porta n t i s o f g reater

, ,

value th a n th e or n a m en tatio n th e latter be in g e m ployed o n ly

,

to em bellish it wi th out d etracti n g fr o m its pr o m i n e n ce

,
.
44 ELEM ENTS OF LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

91 . P ar t P an e ls —A
oth er for m of pan el is that which
n

is co m bi n ed with s o m e oth er desig n in which the pan el is n ot ,

in th e foregro un d of ou r d esig n as show n in Fig 53 When ,

. .

th e p an el i s left u n fi n ished o n on e e n d as i n Fig 53 it is ,

.
,

k n ow n as a part pan el an d m an y b eautiful effects can b e

‘

pro duced by its us e In thi s th e da m ask pri n ciple i s used th e

.
,

pa n el bei n g ble n ded i n t o th e grou n d by m ean s o f col o r o r with

th e p en Th e letteri n g is al s o bl e n ded ; th e extre m e o f light
.

c o lor is th u s c on trasted agai n s t th e dark est part of th e pan el ,

FI G . 53 .

an d th e dark letter in g is c on t in u ed on th e lig ht grou n d

o ut s ide o f th e pa n el .

92 . E ll i p t i c a l an d R o un d P an e ls —E l liptical an d

rou n d pa n els are also used an d c an b e m ade extre m ely o r n a

m e n tal . A touch of si m ple o rn a m e n t in a d esig n will ofte n
c o u n terbala n c e a qu a n tity of p l ai n w o rk a n d giv e a ge n eral ,

effect of o r n a m e n tati o n th roughout Fig 54 sh ows an e l l ip

tical d e s ig n with S i m ply a fra m e o f or n a m
. .

,
e n tati on which i s ,

s u ffi c i e n t for th e purpose of o r n a m e n ti n g a desig n wh e n such

work is placed o n other pla in er m a terial in a d esig n it gives ,

the w h ole th e ap p eara n ce of co m plete n e s s .

93 . R ococo P an e l s —A n oth er s tyl e of pa n el tha t h as

co m e i n to m o d er n
d e s ign s is th e r o c o c o pan el n o t o n ly is
o ur

th e scrollw o rk used for th e pa n el i tself b ut it is freque n tly ,

applied to th e e m bell is h m e n t Of m a n y par ts o f th e d e s ign .

§ 1 ELE M E NTS O F LETTE RI NG . 45

Fig 55 . Sh
ws on e of th e great variety of S h apes th e rococo
o

pan el assu m e s as this style c an be m ade to co n fo r m to th e

,

FIG . 54
.

li n es of an y i n scriptio n or to for m a part o f n early an y ,

style of a desig n .

Th e sam e style of scroll i s frequ e ntly used for th e purpo s e o f

filli n g up an op e n space in a de s ign alth o ugh thi s i s do n e al so ,

through th e e m pl o y m en t o f n atural for m s such as pal m s o live , ,

or la urel bran ch es fl ow ,

ers leaves an d co n ve m
, ,

tio n al obj ects vases , ,

la m ps lio n s gri ffi n s etc

, , ,
.
,

an d in fact an y obj ect

, ,

p ertai n i n g to or in har ,

m o n y with th e in s c rip ,

ti o n I f th e i n s criptio n
.

of a design pertai n s to
m us ic th e lyre m ay b e
,

used to e m b ellish th e
desi gn ; if it p ertai n s to
th e trades su ch t o ols as ,

are ide n tifi ed with the

trades m ay appea r in th e FIG 55 . .

desig n I f literature or scie n ce is th e s u b j ect s y m bolic obj ect s

.
,
46 ELEME NTS O F LETTERI NG .
§ 1

c an b e us ed in a variety o f ways A l arge collectio n of ch o ice

.

d esign s S ho ul d al w ays be o n ha n d for refere n ce fr o m a revi ew ,

of w hich a suggesti o n m ay o f te n be obtai n ed th at lead s th e

desig n er s th o ugh t i n to an o rigi n al ch a n n el which as w e h ave
’
, ,

stated before is th e chief aim of th e desig n er

,
.

INS C R I P T I O N D E S IGN I NG
94 . P r o p o r t i o n —A piece of let tered work
.
,
no m a tter h o w
artistic or elab o rate it m ay b e in i tself i s n ot sa tisfac tory if
,

i m properly pr o p o rtio n ed o r bala n ced Th e te n de n cy in desig n

.

ER MA N E NT

O F C H IC A G O .

FI G . 56 .

in g i s to distr ibute th e stre n g th over th e e n tire surface I f we .

k eep in m in d th e l a w o f art in a picture i t will h elp us i n ,

d e s ign i n g Th e for egr oun d sh ould b e th e stre n gth of a picture

.
,
48 ELEM E NTS OF LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

ST E N C IL P AT T E R N S .

P U PO R SE OF STE N C I LS .

95 . L e tt e r S t e n c i ls .
—T h
letterer i s so m eti m es forced e

i n to co m petitio n with th e pri n ter e s pecia l ly w he n h a n dli n g a ,

large order for advertisi n g sig n s ; th e m eth o d o f han d work ,

therefore m u st b e laid a sid e for so m ethi n g th at will h ave the

,

effect of ha n d work an d still b e acco m plish ed with m ore

,

rapidity observi n g at th e sa m e ti m e clean li n ess an d fi n ish

, , ,

whe n th e work is co m ple ted The ste n cil p atter n m ost effe ctu .

ally fills this place an d is m ad e to ste n ci l eith er th e le tter o r

,

th e backgrou n d Th e sten cil for th e for m er purpose i s m ade by

.

cutti n g out of paper or oth er m aterial th e greater portio n o f the

letter b ut allowi n g par t s called ties to r e m ai n as th ese tie
,
“
,

th e i n sid e of th e letter an d parts l ikely t o cu rl u p wh e n in us e .

A secon d ste n cil i s also required which i s lai d ov e r th e w ork ,

d o n e by the first ste n cil wh e n i t h as dried th ereby coveri n g up ,

th e s paces left by th e ties an d thus m ak in g a s o li d an d c om

,

pl e te letter Th e sa m e rule i s observed i n regard to th e cut

.

ti n g in ste n cils which are used to m ake th e back g rou n d an d

-

, ,

leave th e letters th e origi n al colo r of the surface o n which the

c olor is S pread L arge ties are used fo r cutti n g in ste n cils
.
-

reachi n g from th e l ette r to th e edge of th e sten cil or border .

A seco n d ste n cil s o cut as to Overlap th e edges of th e ties is

, ,

also u sed thereby c o m pleti n g th e e n tire backgrou n d leavi n g

, ,

the letter clear an d disti n ct .

96 . V ar ie g ate dG r o un d s fo r St e n c i le d L e tt e r s —Th e
grou n d havi n g bee n prepared an d th e i n scrip tio n design ed
th e spaces occupied by each li n e of letters c an b e ble n ded—a
,

pr o ce s s k n ow n a m o n g let terers as v ar ieg a ted s ten cilin g This is .

acco m plish ed by layi n g variou s colors o n a grou n d an d ble n d ,

in g th e m togeth er As colors are to o s tro n g for this purpose

.
,

two or th ree delicate ti n ts are used an d are laid o n hori ,

z o n tal l y an d
,
with o ut regard to wh ere th e color is placed ,

except where th e l etters S h o w In al l c as e s th e selec tio n of .

,
§ l ELE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG . 49

the ti n ts used to variegat e th e letters should be gover n ed by th e

color to be used for the backgrou n d accordi n g to th e rules o f ,

har m o n y an d co n trast .

M A TE R I AL FOR STE N C I LS .

97 . P a pe r .
—Th e
toughest m ediu m weigh t Ma n ila paper -

S hould be u sed for ste n cils oiled th o roughly wi th b oiled li n seed ,

oil an d allowed to stan d at least twe n ty four h ou rs before

,
-

coati n g b oth side s thi n ly with oran ge shellac

‘

If a ligh t .

quality o f fiber board i s u sed n o preparatio n is n ecessary A ,

.

sh eet of glas s laid on a p erfectly eve n table provides a surface

o n which th e ste n cil c an b e cut with a good steel k n ife
sh arp en ed to a thi n poi n t It is well to m ark th e ties with .

so m e brigh t c o lor to avoid cutti n g through th e m as a si n gl e tie

, ,

cut through d e s troy s th e whole ste n cil an d an i m perfect ste n cil ,

will cause m o re both er in its use than it i s worth It is best .

,

therefore n ever to us e a patch ed or repaired sten cil

,
.

98 . T in -
F o i l S t e n c i l s —Tin foi l ste n cils for glass S ig n
.
-

pri n ti n g are design ed an d cu t in th e sam e way as th e paper .

A r o ller o n ly is u sed in Op erati n g this ste n cil while eithe r brush ,

o r r olle r c an b e u s ed with th e paper ste n cil A large soft .

brush wil l produce better results than a sti ff brush an d b e less ,

likely to destroy th e p attern In dippi n g th e bru s h in color .

,

g reat care sh o uld be used to rub i t o ut well s o th at b ut little ,

re m ai n s before applyi n g to th e ste n cil This is th e secret o f .

c lean li n ess in ste n cili n g .

99 . C ut t i n g S t e n c i ls —Figs . 58 an d 59 S h ow on e m ethod
of cutti n g ste n cils First Fig 58 shows th e ste n cil that m akes
.
,
.

th e l etter allowi n g ties to re m ai n where m ost stre n gth is n eeded

,

for th e preservatio n of th e ste n cil Thi s ste n cil bei n g c om .

p l e te d a ,
s m all tria n g l e is cut in each cor n er show n at a called , ,

th e r egis ter or guid e by which the ste n cil c an alway s b e placed

, ,

in proper positio n This sten cil is placed on m aterial prep ared

.

fo r th e No 2 ste n cil as S how n in Fig 59 Letters are eithe r

.
,
. .

m arked or ste n ciled with a brush wh ich should be al m ost free ,

fro m colo r s o that the seco n d ste n cil for the ties c an be cut out
, ,
50 E L E M E NTS O F LETTERI NG .
§1
allowi n g e n o ugh lap to fully i n sure its coveri n g th e Ope n space ,

as S how n in Fig 59 Register o r guide m arks are cut in this

. .
, ,

ste n ci l also though th ese m ark s are n ever u sed except where a
,

borde r color i s to b e place d afterwards an d serve o n ly for ,

FIG . 58 . FIG . 59 .

a seco n d s te n cil Th e edge or corn er o f a S ig n will in m o s t

.
,

cases serve as a guide in ste n cili n g Ties should always b e cut

,
.

so as to do away with poi n ts o r proj ectio n s as well as to secu re

stre n gth wh ere n eeded If th ese rules are n ot followed serious
.
,

di fficulty will b e experie n ced wh e n usi n g a sten ci l an d m ay ,

n ecessi tate th e m aki n g of a n e w ste n cil b efo re th e first o n e h as

bee n m ade to fully serve its purpose .

1 00 . B a c kg r o un d S t e n c i ls —T o m ake ste n cils fo r back

grou n d s everythi n g i s
,

r eversed fro m th e first

form Th e letters m ust
.

b e covered an d al l ties ,

out so as to keep th ese

letters w h e r e th ey
b elo n g If a b order i s
.

required w e m ust treat

,

i t th e sam e as a letter .

Th e ties m u st b e cut
wi der on borde r e dge ,
FIG 60 . .

as they thereby giv e

m ore stre n g th wh ere n eeded . In m aki n g this ste n ci l i t is
§ 1 ELEM ENTS O F LETTE RI NG . 51

better to h ave too m a n y ties tha n l eave on e pl ace weak .

Th e ge n eral te n de n cy is to l eav e o n e or m ore s uch places

in this for m of ste n cil Fig 60 sho w s tw o letters R O an d
. .
, ,

th e ties n ece s s ary for stre n g th an d protecti on Fig 61 shows . .

th e No 2 s t e n cil o r th e o n e to be u s ed to c o ver spaces left

.
,

by th e ties o f N o 1 th e parts to be cut o ut are repre s e n ted by

.

th e s haded s paces .

1 01 . Si g n S te n c l
i in g .
—Ste
ciled sig n s are ofte n relieved n

by a few touches of h an d w o rk ei th er in ou tli n i n g the letters

,

or by arti s tically u si n g so m e brigh t colori n g th at pr o duces th e

effect of study an d labor This is ofte n acco m plish ed by shadi n g
.

o r or n a m e n tatio n For ste n ci l work a colo r m ust b e used of a

.
,

slow dryi n g n a ture o therwise th e sten ci l w ill soo n beco m e

-

clogged an d m ore liable to beco m e broke n There is also .

dan ger of usi n g color to o thi n an d thu s causi n g it to fl o w ,

u n der n eath th e edge o f th e le tter thereby destroyi n g th e ,

clean li n e s s of th e w o rk .

1 02 . C le a n i n g S te n ci ls —Th e
s te n c il m ust be clea n ed
ofte n w h en in us e Not m ore th a n fiv e or s ix si gn s should be
.

ste n ciled before clean i n g th e ste n cil which m ay b e do n e by ,

layi n g it face dow n o n

a clean board or oth e r
surface an d rubbi n g well
o n b ack w ith a cloth

rolled in ball S hape .

Th e ste n cil m ust be

thoroughly clean e d wi th
be n zi n e after u si n g an d ,

n ever pu t away wi th
an y color re m ai n i n g o n

it This if n eglected
.

wil l eithe r cause th e

FIG 61 . .

ste n cil to b reak easily o r th e c o l o r to fl o w u n der n eath by th e

,

extra thick n ess of th e dri ed color Colo r left to dry on .

the s te n cil ofte n warp s i t s o as to re n der i t practically u seless ,

or cau se th e letterer m uch u n n ecessary trouble .

52 ELE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

G E OM E T R I A L F I GU
C R E S .

T R I ANG L E S .

1 03 . D e fi n ition Of T r ian g le .
—A
tri an gle i s a closed
fi g ure h avi n g three an g les an d th ree straigh t side s .

1 04 . I s os c e le s T r ian g le s —A
is o sceles trian gle h as
n

tw o equa l S i de s an d tw o e
q ua l a n gles ( Fig Th e l e n g th of
.

F IG . 62 F IG . 63 .

th e third S id e is u sually di ffere n t fr om th at of the tw o equ al

S ides ,
an d i s called th e b as e The ter m base is however .
‘

, ,

applied wi th out disti n ctio n to an y S id e on whi ch a t rian gle is

supposed to sta n d .

1 05 . Al t i t u d e —Wh a tever S id e i s take th e ba s e o f a

n as

trian gle th e altitu de

, ,
or h eight ,
of th e tr ia n g le is th e p e r p en

FIG . 64 . FIG . 65 .

d ic ul ar distan ce fro m th e base to th e ver te x o f th e opposite

an gl e . That v ertex is al s o called th e ap ex of th e tria n gle .

1 06 . An g u l a r P e d im en t .
—
Wh e n th e h eight of an
isosceles t ria n gle i s sh ort in co m paris o n with th e base the ,

tria n gle is called an a n gular pedi m e n t ( Fig .

1 07 .
G b l —A
gable is an i sosceles trian gle whose equal
a e

S id es di ffer but little fro m th e thi rd S ide ( s e e Fig Gable s .

,

h owever m ay also h ave th e shape of Fig 65

,
. .
§ 1 E LE M ENTS O F LETTE RI N G . 53

1 08 . E qui la t e r a l equ ilateral tr ia n gl e

T r ian g le .
—A n

has th ree equal si des an d three a n gles as in Fig 6 6 w hich is ,

.
,

m ade u p o f c q uil ate r al t ria n gles .

1 09 . R ig h t —
A l n g e d T r ian g le .
—A r ight
an gled trian gle -

i s o n e h avi n g on e r igh t a n gle

( Fig . Th e si de opposite the
righ t a n gl e i s th e lo n gest an d is ,

called th e hyp oten use .

FIG . 66 . F IG . 67 .

A trian gle ca n n ot h ave m o re than on e ri g h t a n gle n o r m o re ,

th an on e o btuse a n gle ; tha t is if o n e of th e an g le s is ei th er ,

righ t o r obtuse th e o th er s m ust be acute

,
.

CI C L
R E S .

1 1 0 . D e fi n ition a closed figure

of Ci r c le .
—
A c 1 r CI e is ,

all th e poi n ts of w hose outli n e are at th e sa m e dista n ce fro m a

poi n t wi thi n called th e cen ter ( Fig Th e ter m cir cl e is .

applied both to th e curved outli n e of th e figure an d to the

S pace e n closed by it ; but th e curved outli n e ,
un u
f

is m ore co m m o n ly called th e cir cumfer en ce of

th e circle .
I

R
l

l
1 1 1 . ad i us anTh e d is
d D ia m e te r .

ta n ce fro m th e ce n ter of a circle to an y poi n t

\
o n t h e ci rcu m fere n ce is called th e r a d ius o f
1: I 68 G
th e circl e .

A li n e through th e ce n ter of a circle an d havi n g its e n ds ,

on th e circu m fere n ce is called a d iameter ,

In Fig 69 0 i s the . .
,

ce n ter of the circle O B C D 0 A an d 0 C are ra d ii A B an d

, , , , ,

C D a r e dia m eters .
54 ELEM ENTS OF LETTE RI NG .
§1

Every dia m eter i s equal to tw o radii an d divid es the circle

. ,

i n to two equal parts o r semicir cl es an d the circu m feren c e i n to

, ,

tw o mi cir cumfer en ces

se -
.

Two diam eters p erpe n dicular to each o ther as A B an d C D

, ,

divide th e circu m fere n c e i n to four equal parts call ed qua d r an ts .

1 1 2 . A C ur ve .
—A cur v ed
or a curv e i s a li n e n o
l in e, ,

part of w hich i s straigh t ; it m ay b e

i m agi n ed to b e f o r m ed by the be n di n g
o f a straight li n e A n y portio n of a .

curve is called an ar e .

1 1 3 . A Ci r c u la r A r c .
—
A circular
arc i s an y part of a circu m fere n ce .

Circul ar arcs h avi n g th e sam e ce n ter ,

b ut differe n t r adii ar e called p ar a ll el arcs

FIG
.
,
69
They are i n si de o n e a n other Th ey are
. .

”
al s o called con cen tr i c. whi ch m ean s w ith th e sa m e ce n ter “
.

OR N A M E NT A L CUR V E S .

1 1 4 . A n Og ee .
—A
gee is a li n e cur v ed i n t w o waysn o ,

h avi n g appr o xi m ately th e f o r m o f th e letter S eith er in its

, , ,

FIG . 70 . FIG . 71 .

a tural p o si ti o n as in Fig 70 , or turn ed over as in Fig 71

%

n , . .
,

Th e tw o parts of an o g ee m ay b e c ircular arc s bu t arcs o f o t her ,

FIG . 72 .

F IG . 73 . FIG . 74 .

curve s give a bet ter e ffec t . Fig . 72 is m ad e up of tw o og ee s ,

an d is called a s w ell l in e .
56 E LEM E NTS O F LETTE R I NG § 1
“

arcs w i th c o m pass fr om a to b ; fr o m th e poi n ts

,
c, d escribe
U pper a n d lower li n es fr o m a to a a n d b to b .

1 1 9 .
A n o th er s im ple f or m of th e ellipse is m ade by
describi n g t w o circle s which ,

together for m th e len gth

of th e ellip s e an d drawi n g ,

a h orizo n tal li n e through

th e ce n ter s of b oth circl es
as in Fig 77 ; each se m
,

i .

circle is then divided in to

t hree equal parts as at ,

a a a a an d a li n e i s
, , , ,

draw n fro m each thr o ugh

F W IG '

th e ce n ter o f each circle ,

m ee ti n g at th e poi n t I) ; fro m thi s po in t d e s cribe the curve

fr om a to a tOp an d bot ,

t om ,
an d th e resulti n g
figure will b e an a ppr oxi
m ate ellipse Th e el lipse
.

is so m eti m es s poke n of as
'

an ov a l .Th is wor d how ,

ever i s a m is n o m er as th e
, ,

oval derives its n a m e fro m

th e Lati n ov um m ean i n g ,
”
an egg an d
,
its shape
is th e outli n e of an egg .

Never refer to th e oval th ere '

—
f o re as an egg shaped o val F IG 77 . .

for th e state m en t would be equivale n t to s peaki n g o f a

rou n d circle .

MO D IFI C AT I O N S OF T H E F UN D AM NT A L E ST % LE S .

1 20 Th e vari o us styles of alph abet i n cl uded in this cour s e

.

are k n ow n as the fun d amen ta l s tyles fro m which arise o ther ,

sty les th at though th ey re s e m ble th e above so m ewhat have so

, ,

li ttle ch aracteristic m odificatio n that th ey are s c ar c el y w o rth r

our prese n t co n sideratio n Moreover th e s e alphabets are of

.
,
§ 1 ELEM E NTS O F LETTE RI NG . 57

lit tle adva n tag e to th e stude n t but to avoid th e dan g e r o f co n ,

fus io n w e will briefly refe r to a few of th e pri n cipal varieties

, .

1 21 . L at R
Th e ch aracteristic feat ure of th e
in o m an .
-

origi n al Lati n Ro m a n alphabet was its irregularity which is ,

plai n ly show n on th e Arch of Titus Fig 1 No space is ,

. .

allowed betwee n th e words th e separatio n b ei n g i m plied by a,

dot on a li n e with th e ce n ter o f th e letter Th e tail of th e R .

a n d th e % ofte n pr o j ects th e full width of th e letter Th e .

letter V w as al s o e m ployed to expres s th e sou n d of U but its ,

m oder n u se in th at capacity by so m e design ers i s erro n eous .

Th e other sou n d o f thi s ch aracte r in Lati n r ese m bles th at of

our “7 h avi n g so m ewhat th e sou n d of th e V i n stead of th e
, ,

U H e n ce the origi n of th e W which i s n ot derived fro m

.
, ,

U but fro m V an d origi n ally writte n V V expressed by t w o

, ,

separate character s .

1 22 . An c i e n t R
A n cie n t Ro m an is th e
om an .
—
Th e
p ro totype of ou r pre s e n t Fre n ch R o m a n but in m an y ways is ,

s o departed fro m in m o d er n prac tice th at so m e o f th e m odified

fo rm s of letters have beco m e m ore fam iliar tha n th e origi n al s .

F IG . 78 .

Thi s can b e r ea d il v s een in th el e tter A Fig 78 where ( a ),

.
,
is
the o ri g i n al for m an d ( b ) th e m odificatio n .

1 23 . An t i qu e E gy p ti a n —Th ere are several f o rm s

. of

each letter of the A n tiqu e Egyptia n wh ich if see n by the ,

stu de n t in co n n ec tio n with th e regular o r n or m al letter would

te n d to co n fuse h im o r at least cau se h im to i n quire why
,

h e sh o uld observe an y syste m o r regularity of f o r m Th e l aw .

of u n ifor m ity i s in le tteri n g wh at th e or d er is i n architectu re

, ,

e ach m ust be clo s ely fo llowed or to th e skilled ev e th e w ork is ,

subj ect to criticis m The s e styles th erefore m u st n o t be c o n

.
, ,

fused .If o n e f o r m i s ad o pte d there m ust be strict adhere n ce

58 ELE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

to that f o r m th rough o ut th e l etteri n g o f th e d esig n This m ay .

be m o re clearly sh o w n by two or th ree of th ese f o rm s o f the

capital letters an d their c orresp o n di n g lower case Whe n .

th e sla n ti n g str ok e is
used in su ch letters as
H M N an d V i t also , , , ,

occu rs in m an y of the
F 79
l ower case l etter s as a d
IG . .
-

, , ,

h m n an d u as th e letters N a d in Fig 79 will sh o w

, , , , , , ,
.
,
.

Th e letter 0 is so m eti m es u s ed in t h i s styl e as here show n , ,

an d th e le tter t is crossed ab o ve the li n e .

1 24 . Oth er F or othe r
m s of An t i qu e E g y p t ia n .
—
A n

f o r m of the A n tique Egyptia n s tyle is sh o w n i n th e curved

str o ke in place of th e h oriz on tal m iddle s troke of m an y capital
, ,

FI G . 80 . FIG . 81 .

an d l o wer ca s e l e tt ers as in th e E an d t in Fig 8 0 ; while a

-

,
‘

ch a n g e in th e spu r of th e h o rizo n tal s tr oke s ch a n g es th e charac

ter of th e e n tire letter as sh o w n in th e letters L an d T Fig 8 1
, ,
. .

Th ere are m a n y oth er slight d epartures

fro m th e n or m al style o n e of whi ch occurs ,

in th e m iddle ba r o f the A an d H as ,

show n in Fig 8 2 . .

Th ere is still a n o th er f o r m of letter tha t

belo n gs to th e P l a in E gyp tian style Thi s .

for m i s si m ple in its co n structio n an d does

n o t bear su fficie n t disti n cti o n to classify i t
FIG 82
,
. .

with the fu n dam e n tal styles ; but in o n e respect t h is form of ,

letter is cl os ely allied to th e Fre n ch Ro m a n an d th e si m ilari ty ,

i s sh o w n in its havi n g th e h eavy a n d light li n e as sh ow n ,

in Fig 8 3 . .
§ 1 E LE M ENTS O F LETTER I NG . 59

A fe w l etters of thi s sty l e are th eref o re show n to give th e

stu de n t an id ea of th e c o m parative wi d th of th e strok e an d
fin e l i ne Th e latter sh o uld n ot exceed }; th at o f th e stroke
. a .

There is al m o s t u n li m ited lice n s e gran ted i n f o r m i n g these

F IG . 83 .

letters as show n in th e t w o letters T an d E In m aki n g

,
.

these l etters n ever place a S pu r o n an y part of th e letter as th is ,

at o n ce throws th e ch aracteri stic feature of th e styl e i n fav o r of

th e Fre n ch R om an an d to wi de n th e fin e li n e to n early that
of th e strok e b ri n gs i t with i n clas sificatio n l i m its o f th e
Egyptia n N eve r sh o w a suggesti on of a straight li n e o n
.

the i n si d e of th e r ou n d letters bu t alway s m ak e a perfect ellipse

,

or a sy m m etrical curve Thi s l etter h ol d s an i m p o rtan t place

.

with o u r m od er n desig n e r s bu t a k n o wledge o f th e Egyp tia n

,

a n d Fre n ch Ro m a n o n ly i s n ecessary to produce thi s m o d ifi

cati o n Thi s i s likewise tru e o f al l let ters u sed By a th o r ough

. .

k n ow l e d ge o f th e fe w fu n da m e n tal style s th e stude n t can readily ,

trace al l variatio n s ari si n g fro m th ese to thei r pare n t s ty le .

1 25 . B os ton R o m an .
—Th e B osto n Ro m a n h as a slight
variatio n fr o m th e n or m al for m s h o w n in
Plate 1 4 wh ich occ u rs in th e spu r o n ly ,

but which g i ves i t a m arked d iffere n ce in

appearan ce fr o m th e regular style Th e .

spur i nstead of bei n g fi n i sh ed o n th e e n d

,

a s sh ow n in Plate e n titled Bo s to n Ro m an
FIG 84
,
. .

is cut off on an a n gl e of abou t as sh ow n in Fig . 84

.

1 26 . An t i q u e H a lf B lo c k
third s ty le k n o w n as th e .
—A ,

A n tiqu e H alf Bl ock h as t w o or three varie ties

,
S uch of .

th e capi tal s as w ell as th e s m al l let ters as pos s e s s a m iddle

, ,

strok e h ave thi s str ok e ch a n ged to an a n gle of In on e

60 ELE M E NTS O F LETT ERI NG .
§1
var ie ty the short str okes of th e lower case le tter s are cut o n th e
-

sam e a n gle as th e m iddl e str o ke as s h o w n in Fig 85 th e an gle

,
.
,

FIG . 85
. FIG .
86
.

of th e s b ei n g directly Opp o s ite A n other variety of thi s lette r

.

is th e sam e as Fig 85 except th at th e sh o rt s trok es are altered

.
,

in appeara n c e an d ar e fi n i s h e d w i th a fin e li n e an d a d o t as
'

, ,

FIG . 87
.

sh o w n in Fig 8 6 This for m of le tt er can b e spaced m ore

. .

cl os ely than th e regular style used in co n de n sed sp aces an d ,

th e varie ty show n in Fig 8 7 requires eve n l ess s pace th an eith er

.

of th e o th ers ; an d as the cor n ers ar e n o t cut o ff th e let ter

,
'

possesse s a squ are c o m pact app eara n ce s o m ewh at reli eved of

, ,

severi ty b y th e fi n ishi n g o f th e cor n ers with a s light spur The .

§ 1 E LEM ENTS O F LETTERI NG . 61

sa m e rule of for m ati on appli es to capital s as well as to l o wer

case let te r s except the m iddle b a rs of E an d F which are
, ,

alway s h orizo n tal .

1 27 . F r en c h RFre n ch Ro m a n i s also in
om an .
—Th e
tu r n slightly chan ged givi n g ri se to several disti n ct vari etie s as
, ,

show n in Fig 8 8 In th e l etter E show n at ( a ) th e o n ly

. .
, ,

di ffere n ce fro m th e A n cien t Ro m an style

i s th e spur th at pro j ects at a right a n gle
fro m th e horiz on tal li n es top an d botto m .

In th e lette r show n at ( b ) th e spurs

are th e sam e as at ( a ) except those o f ,

the m ai n upri g ht strokes which are ,

fi n i s hed with a flat en d Th e rou n d .

lette r of this style is show n at ( c ) .

1 28 . T h e F l e m i s h —Th e Fle m i s h .

o r D utch so closely rese m bli n g th e G er

,

m an Text is a n other style that wil l n o t

F IG 89 . .

,
-

b e co n si dered in thi s course Th e characteristic feature of thi s

.

alphabet i s th e diam o n d dot an d plai n vertical stroke an d fin e

, ,

li n e as show n in Fig 8 9 its oth er features b ei n g practically the

,
.
,

sam e as the G er m an styl e In th e lo w er case v ery littl e chan ge

.
-

FIG .

occurs except the ball which i s added to m an y of th e l o n g

,

str ok e letters as show n in th e figure

,
.

1 29 . V ar iat ion s —Th ere

are s o m an y styles of letters ,

a r isi n g fro m so m e si m ple idea that an y stude n t of l etteri n g m ay

,

apply to a fu n dam e n tal style an d su ch i deas are s o n u m erou s ,

th at it will b e i m possible to call atte n tio n to m o re th an o n e or

two o f th e s e in co n clusi o n .
62 ELEM ENTS O F LETTERI N G. § 1

Th e curved stroke i s o n e such style an d i s show n by the ,

letters D R U G in Fig 9 0 A n oth e r of th ese styles is pro

, , , ,
. .

FIG . 91 .

d uc e dby curvi n g th e S pu r an d hor iz on tal strokes form i n g th e

bl o ck l et ters especial ly th e full block as sh ow n in Fig
, ,
. 91 .

N OTE .
—
Th e mod ifica ti on s con sid er ed i n the for eg oin g p ag es of this I nstr uo
‘

tio n P ap er r efer to fun d a men ta l sty l es , ma n y of w hich th e s tud en t w il l n ot ha ve

'

occas ion to r efer to , or ma k e comp ar ison s w ith un til w el l a d va n ced i n his

‘

cour se, w e w oul d a d vise, th er efor e, th at a s tud y of th ese v a r i a ti on s b e d efer r ed

un til the p l ates men tioned in this con necti on ha r e b een r eceived , a n d the fun d a
menta l s tyl es ha ve b ec ome fa mil iar to the s tud en t .

M ECH A N ICA L L E T T ER IN G .

1 30 .Wh e n i n stru m e n ts such as th e T square tria n gles , ,

c o m pas s es , etc are used to ex ecute letteri n g i t i s called

.
,

m echa n ica l l etter in g as disti n guish ed fro m fr eeha n d l etter in g

, ,

F IG . 92 .

which is executed with th e pen o r b r u sh u n aided by a nythi n g ,

except th e j udg m e n t of th e eye .

64 ELE M ENTS O F LETTERI N G .
§ 1

board as show n in Fig 94 Th e upper edge 0 of th e blade B

,
. .

is brough t very n ear to th e poi n t through w hich it is desired to

pass th e li n e so th at th e straigh t e d ge 0 of th e blad e m ay be
,

FIG . 94 .

u sed as a guid e for the pen o r pe n cil I t is evi de n t that all .

li n es d raw n in this m a n n er will b e parallel .

Vertical li n es are draw n b y m ea n s of trian gles Th e tria n gles

'

m ost ge n erally u sed are sh o w n in Figs 95 an d 96 Each h as . .

o n e r ight an gle m arked 9 0 i n th e figures Fig.9 5 has tw o

°
.
,

FIG . 95 . F IG . 96 .

a n gles of 45 each an d Fig 9 6 on e of 60 an d on e of

°
,
.
°

They are called 45 an d 6 0 tr ian g l es r espectively To dra w a

° °
, .

vertical li n e place th e T square in positio n to draw a horizo n tal

,

li n e an d lay th e t ria n gle agai n st it so as to for m a right an gle

, ,
.
§ 1 E LEM ENTS O F LETTE RI NG . 65

Hol d both T s quare a n d tria n gl e ligh tly with th e left h a n d s o ,

as to k eep th e m fro m slippi n g an d draw th e li n e with th e p e n

,

or p e n ci l h eld in th e r igh t h a n d an d agai n st th e e d ge of the

,

trian gl e Fig 9 7 sh o ws th e
. .

trian gles an d T square in

positi on .

1 33 For drawi n g par

.

allel li n es th at are n eith er

vertical n or h orizo n tal th e ,

si m plest an d best w ay ,

wh e n the li n es are n ear

togeth er is to place on e
,
F 97 IG
edge of a tria n gle as a h
. .
‘

, ,

Fig 98 o n th e give n li n e cd an d lay th e o th er trian gle as B

.
, , , ,

agai n st on e of th e two edges holdi n g it fast with th e left ha n d

,

th e n m ov e th e trian gle A a l o n g th e edge of B Th e edge a I) will .

be parallel to th e li n e e d an d whe n th e edge a b r each es th e

poi n t g through which i t i s desire d to draw th e parallel li n e
, ,

h ol d both trian gles statio n ary with th e left ha n d an d draw th e ,

li n e 0 f b y passi n g th e p e n cil alo n g th e edge a 6 Should .

FIG . 98 .

th e tria n gle A exte n d too far beyo n d th e edge of th e trian gle B

after a n u m ber of li n es have b ee n draw n h o ld A s tatio n ary w ith
,

th e left h an d a n d shift B alo n g th e ed g e of A wit h th e r ight

ha n d an d th e n proceed as b efore
,
.
66 E LEM E NTS O F LETTERI N G .
§ 1

1 34 A li n e m a b e draw n at righ t a n gles to a n o th er l i ne

.
y
wh ich i s n eith er vertical n o r h oriz on tal as illustrated in Fig 9 9 ,
. .

Let c d be th e give n li n e ( show n at th e l eft ha n d side ) Place -

.

on e of th e sh orter edges as a b of th e tri a n gle B so that it will

, ,

coi n cid e wi th th e li n e e d ; th e n keepi n g th e tri an gl e in thi s

,

positio n place th e tri an gle A so th at i ts lo n g e d ge w ill co m e

,

agai n st th e l o n g e d ge of B Now h oldi n g A securely in place

.
,

with th e left han d slid e B al o n g th e e d ge o f A with th e right

,

h an d wh e n th e li n es h i m n etc m ay b e draw n p erp e n dicular

, , ,
.

to c d alo n g th e edge b f of th e trian gle B Th e dotted li n es .

FIG . 99 .

sh o w th e p os iti on of th e tr ian g l e B m o ved al on g th e

ed g e o f A .

1 35 .
Th e right ha n d p o rti on of Fig 99 sho w s a n other
-

m ethod o f acc o m pli s hi n g th e sa m e re s ult an d illus trates h o w ,

th e tr ian gles m ay b e used for dra w i n g a recta n gular figure ,

whe n th e sides of th e figure m ak e an a n gle wi th th e T square

such that th e la tte r can n o t b e u s ed .

Let th e si d e 0 d o f th e figure b e g ive n Place th e l on g side of .

th e tria n gle B so as to coi n ci de wi th th e li n e c d an d br in g th e ,

tria n gl e A i n to positi o n agai n st th e l ower side of B as show n ,

.

N o w h oldi n g th e tria n gl e A i n place wi th th e l eft h a n d revolve

, ,

B s o that its other short edge will r es t agai n st th e lo n g edge A ,

g 1 E L E M E N T S OF LETTE RI NG . 67

as sh o w n dot ted positio n a t B

in th e Th e parallel li n es c c ’
.

an d d f m a n o w b e draw n through th e poi n t s c an d d by slidi n g

y
th e tria n gle B o n th e tri a n gle A as described in co nn ec tio n ,

wi th Fig 98 Mea s u re o ff th e required width of th e figure on

. .

th e li n e c e reverse th e tria n gle B agai n to its origi n al positio n

, ,

s till h o ldi n g th e trian gl e A in a fixed positio n wi th th e left

ha n d an d slid e B upo n A u n til th e lo n g edge of B passes
,

through e D ra w the li n e ef th r ough th e poi n t e an d ef will

.
,

b e parallel to e d Th e s t ude n t should practice wi th h is

.

trian g les before beginn i n g drawi n g .

1 36 The c o m p a s s e s n ext to the T square an d t ri a n gles

. , ,

ar e used m ore tha n an y other

i n stru m e n t A p en cil an d a pen
.

poi n t are provided as show n in ,

Fig 1 0 0 ei th er o f which m ay b e
.
,

i n se rted i n to a socket in o n e leg

of th e i n s tru m en t for th e draw ,

in g of ci rcles in pe n ci l o r i n k .

Th e oth er leg i s fitted with a

n eedle poi n t W hich acts as th e ,

ce n ter abou t which th e circle is

draw n In all goo d i n stru m e n ts
.
,

th e n eedle p o i n t i tself i s a sepa

rate piece oi r o u n d steel wire ,

hel d in place in a socket pro

v id e d at th e e n d of th e leg .

Th e wire sh o uld h ave a square

sho uld er at its lower en d below ,

which a fin e n eedle lik e poi n t ,

-

proj ects The l en g then in g b ar al s o

.
,

show n in th e figure i s used to ,

exte n d th e leg carryi n g the pe n

an d th e pe n cil poi n ts wh e n circles
F 1 00 IG . .

of large radii are to be draw n .

The j oi n t at th e top of th e c o m pas s es should h o ld the legs

fir m ly in an y po s i ti o n a n d a t th e sam e ti m e should p er m it their
,

bei n g o pe n ed o r closed wi th o n e h a n d Th e j o i n t m ay be .
68 ELE M ENTS O F LETTERI NG .
§ 1

tighte n ed o r loose n ed by m ean s of a screwdriver or wr e n ch ,

which acco m pan i es th e co m passes ,

.

It will be n oticed in Fig 1 0 0 th at each l eg o f th e co m passes

.

is j oi n ted this is do n e so th at th e co m pass poi n ts m ay alwa y s

be kept p erp e n dicu lar to th e paper wh e n drawi n g circles as in ,

Fig 1 0 2
. .

1 37 .The followi n g suggestio n s for h an dli n g th e c om passes

should b e carefully observed by those that are begi n n i n g the
subj ect o f drawi n g A n y drafts m a n o r le ttere r that h an dles
.

his i n stru m e n ts awkwardly will create a bad i m pressio n n o ,

FIG . 1 01 .

m atter h o w go o d a work m a n h e m a be Th e te n de n cy of all

y .

begi n n ers i s to use both h an d s fo r op erati ng th e co m pas ses .

This is to be avoid ed Th e studen t should lear n at the start to

.

op e n an d close the m with on e h a n d holdi n g th e m as sh ow n in ,

Fig 1 0 1 with th e n eedle poi n t leg resti n g betwee n th e th u m b

.
,
-

a n d the fourth fi n ger an d th e other leg betwee n th e m iddle

,

fi n g e r an d the forefi n ger Wh e n drawi n g circles h o l d the

.
,

co m passes ligh tly at th e top betwee n th e th u m b a n d forefi n ge r ,

or thu m b forefi n ger an d m iddle fin ger as in Fig 1 0 2 A n othe r

, , ,
. .

case wh e r e both han ds should n ot be u sed is in locati n g th e

n eedle poi n t at a poi n t o n the drawi n g about which th e circle is

to b e draw n u n less the left han d i s used m erely to steady th e

,

n eedle poi n t Hold th e co m passes as show n in Fig 1 0 1 an d

.
.
,
 1 ELE ME NTS O F LETTE RI NG ‘

. 69

i n cli n e the m u n til th e u n der sid e o f the h a n d rest s u po n th e

paper T his will steady the h an d so th at th e n eedle p oi n t can
.

b e brough t to exac tly th e right place on th e d r awi n g Havi n g .

placed th e n eedle at th e desired poi n t an d with it still r esti n g

,

on th e paper th e pe n o r pe n ci l poi n t m ay be m ove d out or in

,

to an y d e s i red r adius as i n dicated in Fig 1 0 1

,
Whe n the . .

le n gth en i n g bar is used both ha n ds m u st be e m ployed

,
.

1 38 Th e co m passes m ust be h an dled in such a m an n er

.

that th e n eedle p o i n t will n ot dig large h oles in th e paper .

FIG ’
. 1 02.

% eep th e n eedle poi n t adj usted s o th at it w ill b e p erpe n dicular

to th e paper wh e n d rawi n g circles an d d o n ot b ea r up on i t A
, ,
.

sligh t pressure will b e n ece s sary o n th e p en or pe n cil poi n t b ut ,

n ot on the n eed l e p oin t .

1 39 .Th e i v i d d
show n i n Fig 1 0 3 are u s ed for layi n g
e rs , .
,

off dista n ces up o n

a drawi n g or for dividi n g s traigh t li n es or
,

circles i n to parts Th e poi n ts of th e dividers s hould b e v ery

.

sh arp so th at they will n o t pu n ch h oles in th e paper large r

,
70 ELEM ENTS O F LETTE RI NG .
§ 1

th a n is absolutely n ecessary to b e see n Co m passes a r e so m e .

ti m es fur n is h ed with tw o steel divider poi n ts besides the pe n ,

an d pe n cil poi n ts so th a t th e i n stru m e n t m ay be used either as

,

co m passes o r dividers This i s th e ki n d illustrated in Fig 1 0 3

. . .

Whe n usi n g th e dividers to space a li n e or ci rcle i n to a n u m ber

of equal parts hold th e m at th e top betwee n th e thu m b an d th e
,

forefi n ger as wh e n usi n g th e co m passes an d step off th e spaces

, , ,

tu r n i n g th e i n s tru m e n t altern ately to th e r ight an d left If th e .

li n e o r circle d oes n ot S pace exactly vary th e distan ce betwee n ,

th e divider p oi n ts an d try agai n so co n ti n ue u n til i t i s spaced

equ ally Wh e n spaci n g in thi s m an n er great care m ust be
.
,

exerci s ed n ot to press th e divider poi n ts i n to th e p aper for , i f

FIG . 1 03 .

th e poi n ts e n ter th e paper th e spaci n g c an n ever b e accu rately

,

do n e Th e stude n t s h ould s ati s fy hi m self of th e truth of this

.

state m e n t by actual trial .

1 40 . D ra w in g P a pe r
drawi n g an d P en c i s l —The
pap e r r equired for thi s series of lesso n s i s Wh atm an s hot ’

pressed Royal th e size o f which is 1 2 in % 1 9 in It takes in k

, . .

w ell an d
,
w ith stan ds co n siderable erasi n g The paper i s .

secured to th e drawi n g board by m ea n s of thumb ta cks Four

a r e u sually s uffic ien t—on e at each cor n er of the sheet Place a
.

piec e o f pap er on th e d raw in g b oar d an d press a thu m btack ,

,

th rough on e of th e cor n ers about 2} o r g o f an i n ch fro m each

edge Place th e T square in p o sitio n for drawi n g a h oriz on tal
.

li n e as before explai n ed an d straigh ten th e paper so that its

, ,

u pper e d ge will b e parallel to th e edge o f th e T square blade -

.

Pull th e cor n er diago n ally opp o site th at i n which th e thu m b

tack w as placed so as to stretch th e paper slightly an d push in
, ,

an o th er thu m btack D o th e sa m e with th e r e m ain in g tw o

.

cor n ers For d rawi n g in p en ci l a Dixo n s Arti s ts H p e n ci l

.
,
’ ’
,

No 21 7 ( co mm o n ly called a N o 4 D ix o n s A r tis ts ) m ay b e
. .
’ ’
72 E LEME NTS O F LETTER I NG .
§ 1

b e r agged o n th e edge where th e blad e d o es n o t b ear Whe n .

h eld at right an gles to th e pape r as in Fig 1 0 5 h owever ,

.
, ,

both blades will rest on th e paper an d i f th e pe n is in good c on

ditio n s m
,

,
ooth li n es wi ll result The p en m ust n ot be pressed
.

agai n st th e edge of th e T square or trian g le as th e blades Will

'

th e n close t o geth er m aki n g the li n e u n even

,
The edge should .

serve si m ply as a guide .

In d rawi n g circles with th e c o m pass pe n the sa m e care ,

s houl d be t ake n t o keep th e blades perpe n dicular t o th e paper

FIG 1 05
. .

by m ean s of th e adj ustm e n t at th e j oi n t In b oth th e ruli n g .

p e n a n d th e co m pa s s p e n t h e w i d,
th o f th e l in es c a n b e al tered
by m ean s o f th e s cre w which h olds the blad es together .

1 43 . D r aw in g In k .
—Th e in k
u sed should b e Higgi n s ’

waterproof liquid I ndia in k A quill i s attached to th e cork of

.

every bottle of thi s in k by mea n s o f which th e pen m ay be

,

filled D ip th e quill i n to th e in k an d the n pass th e e n d of it

.
,

b e twee n th e blade s of th e drawi n g p en D o n ot p ut t o o m uch .

‘

in k in th e pe n n ot m ore tha n e n ough to fill i t for a quarter o f

,

an i n ch alo n g th e blades o th erw is e t h e i n k is liable t o drop

,
.

Man y drafts m en prefer to use stick I n dia in k; an d fo r letteri n g ,

§ 1 E LEM EN TS OF LETTERI NG . 73

purposes t h i s is to be preferred to th e prepared liquid in k

,

reco m m en ded ab o ve In case th e stick in k is bought put

.
,

e n ough water in a sh all o w dish ( a co m m o n i n dividual b utter

plate will d o ) to m ak e e n o ugh in k for th e drawi n g th e n place
o n e e n d of th e stick in th e water an d gri n d by givi n g th e stick ,

a circula r m otio n Do n o t b ea r hard upo n th e stick Test the

. .

in k o ccasi o n ally to s e e if i t i s black D raw a fin e li n e with the .

e n an d h o ld th e paper i n a stro n g light If it sh ows b r o w n

p ,
.

( or gray ) gri n d a whi le lo n ger a n d test agai n

,
% eep gri n di n g ,
.

u n til a fin e li n e shows bl a ck which wil l u sually take fro m ,

fiftee n m i n utes to h alf an h ou r d epen di n g o n th e quan tity of ,

water u sed Th e in k s h oul d always b e kept well covered with a

.

flat pl ate of so m e ki n d to k eep ou t th e dust an d preve n t e v apo

,

ratio n Th e drawi n g pen m ay b e filled by di ppi n g an ordi n a r y

.

writi n g p e n i n to th e in k an d drawi n g i t through th e blades as ,

previou sly described whe n usi n g th e quill If Higgi n s in k is .

’

u sed all th e li n es on all th e d rawi n gs will b e of th e sa m e color

, ,

an d n o ti m e will b e lost in gri n di n g I f stick in k is used it is .

,

poor eco n o m y to buy a cheap stick A s m all stick of th e b est .

quality costi n g say a d ollar wil l last as lo n g p erhaps as five

, , , , , ,

dollars worth of liqui d in k Th e o n ly reaso n fo r usi n g liquid

’
.

in k i s that all li n es are the n sure to be of equal black n ess an d ,

ti m e is saved in gri n di n g .

Trouble will probably be caused by th e in k dryi n g b etween

th e b lades an d r efusi n g to fl ow especial l y whe n drawi n g fin e ,

li n es Th e o n ly re m edy i s to wip e out th e p e n freque n tly with

.

a w e t cloth D o n ot lay th e pe n dow n for an y great le n gth of

.

ti m e wh e n it co n tai n s in k ; wip e i t out fi r st Th e in k m ay

,
.

so m e ti m es b e started b y m oiste n i n g th e en d of th e fi n ge r an d
touchi n g it to th e poi n t or by drawi n g a sli p of pap er be t wee n ,

th e e n ds of th e b lade A l w ays keep the b ottl e cor ked . .

1 44 . To S h a r pe n the th e D r aw in g P en .
—
Whe n

ruli n g or co m pass pen beco m es badly wor n it m ust b e sharp

, , ,

e n ed Fo r this purpo se a fin e oilsto n e sh o uld b e u sed If an

. .

oilst o n e i s to b e purchased a s m all fiat cl o se grai n ed st o n e , , ,

-

should b e obtai n e d th ose h avi n g a tr ia n gul a r sectio n bei n g

,

prefera b le as th e n a r row edge can be used on th e i n sid e of the

,
74 E LE ME NTS O F L ETTE RI N G .
§ 1

bla d es in case th e latter are n o t m ade to swi n g apar t s o as to

pe r m it th e us e of a thicker edge .

Th e first step in sh arp e n i n g i s to scre w th e blades togeth er ,

a n d h oldi n g th e p en p erp e n dicular to th e oilsto n e to draw it

, ,

back an d forth over th e sto n e chan gi n g the slope of the pe n ,

f r o m dow n ward an d to th e righ t to dow n ward an d to th e lef t

for each m ove m e n t of the pe n to th e right an d lef t Th e obj ec t .

of this i s to bri n g th e blades to exac tly th e sam e l eng th an d

'

sh ape a n d to rou n d th e m n icely at th e poi n t

,
.

This pr o cess of cou rse m akes th e edges eve n duller than

, ,

b efo r e To sharpen sep arate th e poi n ts b y m ean s of th e screw

.
, ,

an d ru b o n e o f th e blades to a nd fro m th e o perator in a straight

li n e givi n g th e pen a sligh t twi sti n g m otio n at th e sa m e ti m e

, ,

a n d holdi n g i t at a n a n gle of a b ou t 1 5
°
with th e face of the
sto n e Rep eat th e pr o cess fo r th e oth er blade To b e in good
. .

co n ditio n th e e d ges sh o uld b e fairly sharp an d s m ooth b ut n ot ,

sh arp e n ough to cut th e paper A ll the sharp en ing mus t b e d on e .

on the outsid e of the b l a d es Th e i n side of th e b lades should be

.

r ubbed o n th e sto n e o n ly e n ough to re m ove an y burr that m ay

h ave bee n form ed A n y thi n g m ore th an thi s will be likely to
.

i n j u r e th e pen The whole operatio n m ust b e do n e very

.

carefully b eari n g o n lightly as it is easy to spoil a p en in th e

, ,

p r ocess E xam i n e th e poi n ts freque ntly an d k eep at w o rk

.
,

u n til th e p en will draw both fine li n es a n d s mooth heavy li n es .

H O W TH E ‘V O R % S H O UL D BE SE NT .

1 45 Fo r th e le tter plat es of t his Course c opies of th e

.
,

plates will b e se n t you as you n eed th e m Th e tube w e se n d .

you with thi s Pap er should be used by you for se n di n g us your

drawi n g of Pl ate I up o n fi n ishi n g it Se n d on e pla te to u s at .

a ti m e Thus after y o u fi n ish th e fi rst plate sen d it to u s an d

.
, , ,

th e n start on th e seco n d plate In th e m ea n ti m e w e will .

retu r n th e fi rst plate to you On your recei vi n g back th e firs t.

plate fro m us you should carefully n ote all correctio n s an d

,

suggestio n s that m ay be se n t with it a n d observe the m wh e n ,

drawi n g th e succeedi n g plates On n o accou n t sen d us the .

s eco n d plate u n til y o u have r ecei ved th e fi rst on e back Upo n .

§ 1 ELE M ENTS OF LETTE RI NG . 75

fi n ishi n g th e seco n d plate se n d this to us an d start on th e third

,

plate an d i n th e m ean ti m e w e will retur n th e sec on d plate to

,

you .D o this with all th e drawi n g plates in th e Course .

It is very esse n tial that you strictly co m ply with these d ir ec

tio n s si n ce otherwise it will b e i m possible for us to poi n t ou t
, ,

you r m istakes to you This procedure should b e strictly adh e r ed

to while you are drawi n g th e first plates of th e Course—it will
.

e n able you to m ak e rapid progress D o n ot b e discouraged i f .

the r e are a large n u m b er of correctio n s on you r early plates ;

we are m erely poi n ti n g o ut ways in which th e d r awi n g or letter
in g c an b e i m proved so that your later plates m ay be as n early
,

perfect as they c an b e m a d e No o n e can attai n profici e n cy .

u n less th e work is criticize d an d we are doi n g our best to help ,

you to succeed We sh oul d n ot b e doi n g our duty if w e d i d

.

n ot poi n t ou t th e defects Th e n umb er o f correctio n s i s n o

.

i n dicatio n of our appreciatio n of the m erits of th e drawin g .

On all plates that you se n d to us write your n a m e an d ,

address in full in lead p en cil on th e back of th e plates This .

sh ould in n o case b e o m it t ed as delays in th e retu r n of your ,

work will o th erw is e surel y occur .

PL A T ES .

1 46 . P r e li m i n a r y D ire c tion s —Th e siz e of each plate

over all will b e 1 1 5 in % 1 8 1 in Wh e n ever a n y di m e n sio n s are
. .

S pecified they sh ould be lai d o ff a s accurately as possible

,
All .

d r awi n gs s h ould b e m ad e as n eat as possible an d th e pe n cili n g ,

e n tirely fi n ished before i n ki n g i n an y part of it Th e ha n ds .

should b e perfectly clean an d should n o t touch th e paper ,

except whe n n ecessary No li n es should be erased except

.

wh e n a b sol utely n ecess ary ; for wh e n ever a li n e h as o n ce been ,

erased the dirt flyi n g aro un d in the air an d co n sta n tly falli n g
,

o n th e drawi n g will stick to an y spot wh ere a n er a sure h a s

b ee n m ad e an d re n der it very di ffi cu lt if n ot i m possible to

, , ,

e n tirely re m ove it For this reaso n all co n structio n li n es that

. ,

are to be r e m oved or th at are li able to be cha nged should b e

, ,

d raw n lightly that th e fi n ish of th e paper m ay n o t be destroyed

,

whe n erasi n g th e m .
 TT E R IN G

ON I T IN G .
2 LETTE RI NG A N D S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§2
year or tw o of hospital service is i n cu m be n t on h im before h e
i s fully qualified to e n gage in private practice We h ave .

therefore give n in th e E l emen ts of L etter ing th e k n owledge

n ecessary to qualify th e stu de n t that d e s ires to beco m e a
practical letterer But the i n structio n co n tai n ed in th e follow
.

in g pages is of such a practical n ature as to advan ce h im i n

letteri n g s o th at h e m ay e n ter th e sign sh op beyo n d th e y ear
or tw o o f servitude required an d by a co m plete k n owledge of
-

, ,

th e m ethod s an d f o r m u las e m p l oy ed b e fitted to beco m e at ,

o n ce of practical as s ista n ce to h is e m plo y er .

P RA C T I C E A N D MA T ER IA L .

4 . B W o r k —It is n e cessary th at th e stude n t

r us h
desiri n g to apply his k n o w ledge of letteri n g especially to sig n
pai n ti n g should b eco m e accusto m ed to th e use of th e b r ush
a n d pai n t by co n fi n i n g his practice to these m aterials as m uch
,

as possible I t i s o n ly by co n sta n t practice that the han d

.

beco m es skilled in th e use o f th e brush in for m i n g straight

li n es an d curves with accuracy in order to gi ve to each letter ,

its proportio n ate width an d u n ifor m strok e .

5 . B r us h es R e qu i r e d .
—The
brushes for practice work
should be as follows : th e s m all bru sh capable of m aki n g a ,

letter fro m 3 to 6 i n ches in h eigh t h avi n g a quill 3 5 i n ch in

1
,

diam eter an d hai r 2 i n ch lo n g ; an d th e large brush with a

, ,

quill i n ch in dia m eter a n d h air i n ch l on g Cut off

,
.

le n gth of quill after softe n i n g in war m water to preve n t i t fro m

,

S plitti n g This will allo w th e h a n dle ( which m ust be carefully

.

fitted in quill ) to tur n freely in th e fi n gers without touchi n g

th e quill with th e e n ds of th e fi n gers which would on accou n t , ,

of th e i m perfect quill roll u n eve n ly in th e fi n gers an d thus

,

destr o y a perfec t l in e or curve Th e brush sh ould be clean ed .

i n turpe n ti n e bef o re as w ell a s after u si n g ; an d to preven t

, , ,

i t fr o m dryi n g or h arde n i n g w he n n ot in us e it sh o uld be ,

dipped in ker o se n e oil after clean in g .

6 . C ar d B la c k .
—Th e
col o r k n ow n am o n g letterers as
car d b l ack will be fou n d to be a go o d prepara tio n for p ractice
§2 LETTE RI NG AN D S IG N PA INTI NG .

work .Thi s color flows freely fro m th e b rush is an in ten se ,

black an d d ries with a glo s sy s urface a few m o m e n ts afte r

,

th e applicatio n It m ay b e p rep ared by the stude n t as f o llows

.

Us e a vessel that will hold at least 5 pi n t ; in this put coach

b lack ( grou n d in j apan ) in bulk equal to a large E n glish , ,

wal n u t ; add three ti m es this quan tity o f best asph altu m ,

also about a tablespoo n ful of b est coach j apa n Stir u n til .

thoroughly m ixed an d thi n t h i s with a s m all quan tity of

,

turp en ti n e u n til it b ec o m es equal to th e co n sisten cy of cream ,

or so that it will fl o w freely fro m th e brush Put th is m ixtu re .

in a large n eck bottle wi th screw cap or cork t Op

-
This sh o uld -
.

alway s b e well sh ake n b ef o re it is used A n oth er preparatio n .

k n ow n as Letteri n e i s also an excelle n t m ixture .

7 . P a pe r .
—The
light Man ila paper white cardboard or , ,

the ordi n ary white fiat papers will serve th e purpose for
practice work Wi t h th e exceptio n of cardboard th ese sh ould
.
,

b e secu rely faste n ed to th e drafti n g table before begi nn i n g

to practice .

M E T H O D S U S E D IN S IG N P A IN T IN G .

T O O L S NE CE S S A R% .

GE NE RAL OOL AN D A PL I AN C
T S P E S .

8 . P r in c i pa l T l N oo y
—
sThe pri
cipal tools e c e ssar . n

n ecessary for S ig n pai n ti n g an d letteri n g are th e T square ,

boxwoo d square th e co m pass with pe n cil attach m e n t straight

, ,

edge yardstick 30 an d 45 tria n gles easel an d drafti n g table

, ,
° °
, ,
.

With th ese tools on e i s prepared to le tter all ordi n ary sig n s

,

that m ay b e executed withi n th e s h Op ; while those on th e

sides of buildi n gs too high to b e reach ed wi t h an ordi n ary
,

ladder require th e u se of a swi n g scaffold tackle blocks an d

, , ,

ropes Trestle horses an d plan k are also u sed for w o rk above

.

th e reach of th e step ladder Th e T square with swivel top an d

-
.

th u m bscrew c an b e adj usted to an y a n gle an d will be fou n d a ,

very u seful t oo l Thre e c o m passes at least should b e used ;

.
, ,
 LETTERIN G A N D S I G N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

th e largest ( th e w o od c om paSs ) sh ould be capable of an e xpan

si o n of 3 feet Th e sign easel sh o ul d be m ade o f ex tra heavy
.
-

m aterial as the weight put upo n it is so m eti m es very heavy

,
.

Th e drafti n g table sh ould b e co n structed high e n ough to avoid

th e n ecessity of th e letterer getti n g i n t o a stoopi n g positio n
wh e n worki n g Thi s table sh ould be built 3 feet 2 i n ch e s high
.

in fro n t an d with th e V iew of th e letterer al w ays sta n di n g up

,

while worki n g on it For close w o rk which can be do n e as .

,

well or better while sittin g a l o w er table should b e used

, , , ,

adj u s ted accordi n gly ; i n eith er case th e i n cli n e should n ot

exceed 6 i n ch es ri se in 20 i n ch es width .

9 . Im p r ov e are m an y tools an d
ise d Appl i a n c e s .
—
The r

co n trivan ces u s ed in a S ig n s h Op that an i n ve n tive brai n can

alway s i m provi s e such as th e arm rest which is a strip about, ,

3 in ch es wide by 1 i n ch thick with blocks u n der n eath each ,

en d thick e n ough to raise this r est ab o ve th e sig n o n which th e

,

letterer is worki n g th e adj ustabl e fram e o n which cloth sig n s ,

are stretch ed while bei n g lettered which is a fram e us ually ,

faste n ed at each cor n er by setscrews the glass sig n racks u sed ,

to h old glass sig n s an d i n sure th eir safety duri n g the process

of letteri n g ; or the adj ustable fram e u sed to hol d fi n ished
work etc Th e o rdi n ary tools n ecessary in a sign shop s u
,
. ch ,

as palette k nives palette s etc are too well u n derstood to n eed

, ,
.
,

an y d escriptio n A soli d table with a firm level top about

.
, , ,

1 8 in % 24 in . covered with plate glass will be fou n d very

.
, ,

u seful in m ixi n g col o rs ; if m ad e li gh t an d portable thi s c an ,

be u sed co n ve n i en tly b y placi n g i t besi de th e work on which

th e le ttere r m ay be e n g ag ed .

BR U S II E S .

1 0 . Cam e l ’
s -
H
w ill first co n sider th e air B r us h es .
—
\V e

bru shes to be used for let teri n g Of th o se used exclusi vely for .

this purpose th e m os t co mm o n variety is th e ordi n ary ca m el s

’
,

hair brush These are th e least expe n sive an d ran ge in S ize

.
,
”
fro m th e f i n ch k n ow n as No 7 to th e swan quill which is
i e -

,
.
, ,

th e m os t stocky quill brush in us e for letteri n g The goose .

“
§2 L ETTERI NG A N D S IG N PAI N TIN G .

”
quills are m ade in f o ur sizes ,
N os 7, 5, 3, 1
. . N o 1 is . a i i n ch -

quill wi th hair 1 1 i n che s lo n g .

1 1 Ox .
-
H hai r writers
air are Wr i t e r s —Th e ox
-

si m ilar to th e
ca m el s h ai r in siz e an d n u m bers b ut are harder ’
,
”
to bre ak in
“
or b ri n g i n to perfec t worki n g order an d are
, ,

used to best ad va n tage in h eavy c o l o r such as white lead ,

.

1 2 . Wr i t e r s
S up e r fi n e superfi n e Br o w n -
S a bl e —The “

”
brow n s able wri ter s are also of four s izes Their n u m bers are .

1 4 6 8 an d their le n gths correspo n d with th e ca m el s hair ’

-

, , , ,

brushes Th ese w ill be fou n d excelle n t brushes an d whe n

.
,

thoroughly b r oken in w ill give good service wh ile th e cam el s ’

hair are u n reliable in lasti n g quality b ut serve the purpose ,

wh ere th e bro w n sable are of n o us e Thi s is especially tr ue .

“

wh e n used fo r letteri n g on j apa n n ed tin s gl ass or other ,

~

s m ooth surfaces .

1 3 . R e d -
S a bl
water colors
e B r us h es —Fo r letteri n g in
a s wel l as oil the lo n g ha n dled red sa b le brush es are preferable
,
- -
.

These ra n ge in sizes n u m bered fro m 1 to 1 2 successively The ,

.

h air of No 1 is 1 i n ch lo n g while that of N o 1 2 is

. i n ch ,
.

lo n g These brushes are well m ade an d ge n erally give satis

.
,

factio n Th e fiat red sable brush e s a r e chisel shaped an d for

.
- -

us e in m aki n g a letter such as th e Old E n glish will be fou n d , ,

of g r eat advan tage .

1 4 . Sw an Qu i ll —Th e swa
quill ( ca m el s hai r ) r eferred
. n
’

to w ill b e fou n d i n valuable b o th in letteri n g an d stripi n g o n

, , ,

accou n t of th e great a m ou n t of color it can be m ade to retai n .

Th ese brush es are used with light flowi n g color on ly an d to use ,

the m in an y color m ade with white lead would rui n th e m at

o n ce The y are m ad e especially for sig n pai n ters in tw o sizes
.
, .

i n ch an d 1 i n ch lo n g a n d o ne size m ad e fo r carr iage s tripers

2 ,

i s 2 i n ch e s l on g .

1 5 . Ot h er bris tle varn ish

B r us h es —Th e fitc h an d

b r ush es are used for letteri n g on cloth sign s an d other large ,

letters ; an d on accou n t o f their size an d chisel s h ape c an b e

, ,

u sed with great rapidi ty an d will give th e work an app eara n ce ,

of n eatn ess an d clean li n ess The o n ly other brushes u sed by .

 LETTE RI NG A N D S IG N PAI NTI NG .
§2
th e S ig n pai n ter are th e p oun d brush which is n ecessary to coat ,

sign b o ards or oth er plai n surfaces ; th e rou n d an d flat sash

tools ; the fitch or flat bris tle bru sh ; an d th e flat b ear s ha ir
,
’ —
brush ( m ad e ex clusively for va r n ishi n g purposes ) Th ese .

co n s titute all the brush es required fo r S ig n pai n ti n g an d letter

in g excep t th e rou n d d uster th e several varieties of gildi n g
, ,

b rush es blen ders stipplers etc

, , ,
.

TH E 1 S% UA R E .

1 6 . all sig n s h avi n g either a square top or bo tto m the

On ,

T squa r e can be u sed n ot o n ly for m arkin g out the letters but

, ,

also for guidi n g th e han d in usi n g th e b r u s h though to aeco m ,

pl is h this pe rfectly r equires m uch practice It will b e advisable .

,

therefo r e that th e stu de n t take pai n s to acqu i re this m ethod

, ,

an d b eco m e accu sto m ed to th e positio n of th e h a n d an d th e ,

m an n er in which th e brush should be h eld Fig 1 shows this . .

positio n Th e brush i s h eld b etwee n th e thu m b and th e fi rst

.

fi n ger th e h an dl e poi n ti n g towards th e letterer allowi n g th e

, ,

th r ee fi n gers to guid e th e ha n d alo n g th e edge of th e T squ are -

blad e Th e left h an d i s used to sec ure th e square in positio n

.
,

eith er by holdi n g it fir m ly at th e h ead wh en wo rki n g on a

n arrow S ig n or at th e en d of th e bla d e whe n w orki n g on
,

a wi de S ig n wh ich will preve n t th e square fro m slippi n g if th e

,

forefi n ge r i s r ested agai n st th e botto m of th e S ign board as

show n By th e u se of th e T square an d thi s m eth od of stripi n g
.
,

the lettere r can draw all vertical an d an gle li n es havi n g first , ,

by th e sa m e m ethod stripe d all h orizo n tal li n es usi n g a

, ,

straighte d ge for this purpose i n stead of the T square but m ai n ,

tai n i n g th e sam e posi tio n of the h an d an d brush Th e b lock .

,

half block an d all straight li n e letters of an y style can be m ade

-

,
-

with great rapidity in this m an n e r .

PO S TI ION OF I IA N D S .

1 7 Th e left ha n d s hould rest in an easy positio n proj ect

. ,

in g th e little fi n ger to s teady it this also gives a greate r scope

,

in m aki n g a str o ke Th e righ t h an d sh o uld rest co m fortably

.
§ 2 LETTE RI N G A ND S IG N PAI NTI NG .
 LETTER I NG A N D S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

on the left an d be arra n ged in such a m an n er that th e little

,

fi n g er o f th e righ t will co m e betwee n th e thu m b an d th e

fo refi n ger o f th e left ha n d holdi n g th e bru s h in th e sam e
,

p os itio n as in writi n g as sh o w n in Fig 2

,
. .

1 8 Although thi s m ay see m so m ewh a t awkward at first it

.
,

will b e fou n d on p rac tic in g a li ttle that it i s th e m ost n atural

, ,

an d co m fortable positio n as well as th e o n e by which th e best

,

work can b e acco m plish ed It all o ws p erfect freedo m of the

.

han d in m aki n g all strokes of the letter givi n g a greate r scope ,

in m aki n g large le tters tha n a n y other p o s i ti o n o r m ethod ; it

FIG . 2
.

also fo r m s a rest givi n g th e l e tter er e n tire co n trol over his

,

b rush B y co n stan t prac tice a perfectly straight li n e m ay be

.
,

draw n with the bru sh either vertically or horizo n tally Whe n

,
.

m aki n g letter s u n der 1 in ch in h eight it is bes t to u se but o n e

,

han d in th e positio n used wh ile writi n g an d a red sable b rush -

fro m No 1 to 5 acc o rdi n g to th e size of let ter will be fou n d to

.
, ,

fill th e require m e n ts for s m all l etteri n g .

10 LETTE RI N G A N D S I G N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

a right a n gle with th e surface on which he is worki n g an d ,

all o wi n g th e fi n gers to guid e th e h an d The b ru s h u se d for .

this m ethod m u st be o n e th at i s either draw n to a slight

chisel S haped e n d an d tur n ed e d gewi se to pr o duce th e fi n est
-

li n e possible or on e th at possesses a go o d poi n t which will n ot

%

, ,

al low an y o f the h airs to S p read while usi n g .

21 .G reat c are sh o uld b e u sed in the selectio n of b rushes

for an y class of work ei th er letteri n g o r stripi n g Fig 3 shows
,
. .

th e other m ethod of stripi n g r eferre d to It will b e good .

practice for th e stu de n t to lay a straightedge on a s heet of

cardboard an d draw th e fin e li n e b y o b servi n g th e positio n
, ,

show n in Fig 3 u n til th e p erf ectly straigh t h ai r li n e has bee n

.
,

m astered Thi s will require co n sid erable practice Use th e

. .

sa m e brush well fi lled with wate r o r oil color an d practice th e

, ,

broad stripe by th e m ethod show n in Fig 1 Th e b rush for . .

this purpose should b e r ath e r l arge as a sm all on e will n ot ,

S pread th e color to th e full wid th o f th e strip e d esired Th e .

effort to acco m plish thi s by m ea n s o f a brush that i s too s m all

will cause an irregula r o r w avy stripe ; w hile th e large ‘

bru sh will m ake th e broad stri pe with th e hair in its n or m al

posi tio n an d n o g reat pre s sure therefo re is required
, , ,
.

CO LO R S .

CLA I I
SS F C A ION
T OF COLOR S .

22 . Th e P r im N e ut r a l C o l o r s
ar y , Se c on da r y , an d .

Colors are divide d i n to three classes n a m ely : pri m ary s e c , ,

on d ar y , an d n eutral Th e se m i n eutral holdi n g a place b et w ee n

.
,

the seco n d ary an d th e n eutral i s classed with th e latter ,

.

Th e pri m ary colors are red yellow an d blu e By a m ixtu r e , ,

.

of an y two of the s e th e seco n dary colors c an b e produced an d ,

by th e ad d itio n of white an d b lack in co m bi n atio n with the

pri m ary or seco n dary colors all n eutral colors shades an d , , ,

ti n ts are produced A co m bi n a tio n of red an d y ellow pro

.

duces the seco n dar y ora n ge A co m bi n atio n of yellow an d .

blu e p r oduces gree n A co m bi n atio n of red an d blue produces

.

purple The u n io n of black an d white produces lead colo r

. .
§ 2 LETTERI NG A N D S IG N PA I NTI NG . 11

A c o mb i n ati on of th e three pri m ary c o lors pr o duces a n eutr al

color by u si n g a prop er qua n tity of each in proportio n to its
,

stren gth A co m bi n atio n o f th e thre e pri m ary in u n equal

.

proporti o n s p r o d uces c o lors k n ow n as ter tia r y colors .

23 . Co l on —Th e
trade ter m col or always refers to an y
m ixture th at will produce each separate h u e by co m pou n di n g
th e pri m ary an d seco n dary colors while th e spectru m sh ades of
th e colors al w ays r efer to th e b le n di n g of th e pri m ary an d
seco n dary colors in th e followi n g o rd er : red ora n ge yellow
, , , ,

gree n blue i n digo an d violet Th ese c o lors m ake t w e n ty

, , ,
.

o n e disti n c t S hades .

24 . P dur o cvariou s shades of a colo r

in g Sh a d e s —Th e
are f o r m ed by m ixi n g a stro n g pri m ary o r seco n dary col o r with
white m aki n g several shades of differe n t stre n gth u n til th e
,

color h as b eco m e i n disti n ct wh e n i t i s ter m ed a tin t A com ,

.

bi n atio n of r e d an d gree n produces brow n Of this color the r e .

are m an y sh ades Th e b ur n t an d r a w u m ber an d bur n t an d

.
,

ra w sien n a wh e n in th ei r n atural o r raw state are b row n

, , ,

pigm e n ts but by che m ical treatm e n t th e bur n t or darker

, , , , ,

shad e of each i s produced

—Br ow
.

25 . S e m in e ut r a l gray an d m aroo n
Co lo r s n, , ,

also th e colo r produced by m ixi n g blue an d gree n n e utrally ,

give r ise to th e oth er clas s ifica ti o n called th e semin eutr a l color s ,

.

Fro m th e six pri n cipal colors co m e th e great variety o f colo r s

i n to which each prin cipal color i s subdivided .

26 W. a r m a n d C o l d C o l o r s —Colors are in har m o n y

with each othe r whe n th ey partak e of th e sa m e ge n eral e ffect ,

such as th e chro m e yellow an d sie nn a chro m e yell o w an d ,

u m ber o r such colors o r ti n ts p artaki n g of th e re d o r yellow

, ,

called w ar m colors o r those of th e opposite n ature which

, ,

partake of gray lead color gree n blue etc pro duci n g colors or
, , .
,
.
,

ti n ts that are called col d in th ei r effect o r to n e .

27 Con tr as t .
—Colors
are in co n trast wh e n warm an d
cold colors are used in co n n ectio n w ith each other although ,

all su ch c o lor s m ay n ot be so used witho ut produci n g a h etero

e n eo us e f
f ect as certai n shades of red an d gree n blue an d gree n
g , , ,
12 LE T TE RI NG A N D S IG N PAI NTI NG .
§ 2

blu e an d red etc are m ost discordan t to th e ey e wh en placed

-

,
.

close t ogether Col o ri n g th erefore is a study that can b e aeco m

.
, ,

p l is h e d o n ly b y close observatio n an d experi m e n t Just as the .

professio n al m usicia n produces so m e co m bi n ed sou n ds that

th ri l l us s o th e professio n al colorist produces e ffects that are
,

beyo n d th e co m prehe n s io n of th e u n skilled More particularly .

is thi s true of th e col o ri n g displayed by th e artist that i m ita tes

n a t ure . H e m ay b y th e art of colori n g n ot o n ly d eceive th e
, ,

ey e bu t produce co m bi n ati o n s that will b e m o s t pleasi n g to it .

HAN D L I N G OF C O LO RS .

H AR M O N A N D O N A
% C TR ST .

28 . S c o pe S u bj e c t
han dli n g of colors in th e
of .
—Th e ,

full se n se of th e word does n o t m ean S i m p l y th e k n owledge of

,

th e m a n y ways colors c an be s t b e applied to a surface but ,

i n volves a k n ow ledge of th e n ature of t h e colors the m selves th e ,

e ffect of th e ele m en ts o n each an d th e relatio n th ey bear to o n e ,

an oth er Thi s r elatio n in colors classifies th e m as eith er

.
,

h arm o n izi n g or co n tras ti n g with on e a n oth er A colorist should .

u n derstan d th e r esult an d dryi n g e ffects of p l acin g on e m ixture

o n a n oth er each h avi n g as a base an e n tirely di ffere n t m ediu m
,

or liquid All of th ese details m ust be c o n s idered by the

.

pai n te r an d m a n y an n oya n ces an d serious co m plicatio n s can be

,

a voided by beari n g in m i n d th e followi n g i m porta n t i n structio n s .

29 . Th Qua l i t i e s o f
e D O OI S m ixed
r y in g C O IO I S . * ‘ —
C l '

with slow dryi n g liquid s such as oils or var n ishes c an be

-

, ,

covered with a c o at of th e sa m e color whe n th e first is dry , ,

eve n though quite tacky But to cove r this surface i f n ot .

,

perfectly dry with a color m ixed with so m e quick dryi n g j apan

,
-

or var n i sh will prod uce a crackled pebbled or u n eve n surface

, , ,

whe n i t does dry On e color sh ould b e perfec tly dry th erefore

.
, ,

befor e an oth er i s applied Th e sa m e res ult will be produced .

should a slo w dryi n g color be placed over a q uick if th e first

-

coat i s n ot perfectly dry before th e sec o n d i s applied This .

can e asily b e u n de r stoo d as th e quick color pos s esses a ,

14 LETTE RI N G AN D S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§2
causi n g r ough or un eve n S ig n b oards to prese n t a s m ooth s ur
face Th e success of s m al tin g depe n ds largely on th e color
.

upo n which th e s m alt i s to be placed This color i s called th e .

”
cutti n g in color a n d shoul d always b e m ixed fresh an d
“ -

prepare d as follows Th e best refi n ed lam pblack i s m ixe d with

boiled li n see d oil an d grou n d o n a m arble o r pl a te glass table
,
-

with a palette k n ife u n til al l lu m ps an d sp eck s have disappeare d

,
.

Th e m ixture should be thick e n ough to gri n d easily an d n ot ,

fl ow o r spread out o n th e table surface To e ach h al f cup of .

color add a lu m p of white lead equal in siz e to an E n glish

,

wal n ut an d ad d to this equal parts of boiled oil an d coach

,

j apa n so as to g ive th e m ixtu re a co n siste n cy that will allow it

,

to fl ow freely fro m th e brush b u t s til l r e tain a goo d body

'

.
,

This m ixture can b e u sed fo r black blu e or dark gree n s m alt , ,

-

withou t ch a n gi n g Fo r b r o w n s m alt twice th e qu an tity of

.
,

white lead sh ould b e added col o red stro n gly wi th I n dia n re d ,

.

For li gh t gree n s m alt gree n or yellow s hould b e u se d in place

-

of I n dian r ed .

33 . M e th od of Appl i c a t i o n
the letters are cut .
—After
in on th e sig n th is color i s S p read eve n ly ove r th e grou n d
, ,

care b ei n g ex ercise d n o t to allo w an y ridges o f color to f o rm

at th e edge of th e brush A s m all p e n cil bru s h c an be u sed.

to cut in th e letters n o m atter h ow large they m ay be an d

, ,

a flat soft brush is after w ards used for filli n g in th e back

grou n d th e latter varyi n g in siz e accordi n g to th e S ign After
,
.

th e S ig n i s filled in strips of Ma n ila paper o r e n a m el cloth

,

a r e spread on th e tab l e or fl o or an d th e sig n is so lai d over ,

the m th at o n e edge i s o n th e pap er o r cloth Th e s m alt is , .

th e n sifted on eve n ly o ve r th e e n tire surface through a s m all

m esh wire si eve After re m ai n i n g a fe w m o m e n ts all th e s ur
.
,

plus s m alt is re m oved by tippi n g the S ign edgewise an d sh aki n g

th e s m alt o n th e p aper .

Black s m alt is u se d m o re tha n an y Other color but is m ore ,

likely to S h ow defects Th e us e of s m alt that has been kept in

.

a dam p place for so m e ti m e withou t first dryi n g thoroughly ,

will cause streak s of gray to appear in th e fi n ish ed S ign for ,

which there Is n o re m edy In s m al tin g care sh ould always be .

,
§ 2 LETTERI N G AN D S IG N PA I NTI NG . 15

exercised n ot to cover th e sig n thickly e n o ugh to break th e

edge o f th e letter by its we ight wh e n ,
the s urplus i s tipped
or throw n off .

Th e edge o r ba n d of a s m al te d sign sh o uld i n variably be

pai n ted with colors m ixed w ith var n ish ,
givi n g a gl os sy fi n ish
to it Black i s usu ally used fo r this
. purpose especially on
,

sign s s m al te d with black or dark blue .

34 . Fl oc .
—O
sign s exposed to th e weather s m alt is the
k n ,

o n ly m aterial th at c an be u sed for thi s purpose For i n side .

”
sign s h owever a m aterial k n ow n as flock is u sed ; this is
, ,
“

a grou n d clo th th at c an b e obtai n ed in several colors alth ough ,

th e m aroo n an d black are m os t c o mm o n ly used Flock is

—
.

applied to sign s i n th e sa m e m an n er as s m alt but th e cutti n g in ,

colo r on which th e m aroo n is placed m ust be m ad e to m atch

th e color of th e flock as n early as possible .

VAR I G A D ROU N D
E TE G S .

35 Varieg ated grou n ds are of te n u sed on l arge advertisi n g

.

sign s as wel l as on m a n y ki n ds of ste n ciled sign s Th e color of

,
.

th e backgr o u n d wh e n th e sign i s fi n ish ed m ust gove rn the

selectio n of th e variegati n g colors If th e grou n d when fi nished .

is to b e b lue crea m an d le m o n ti n ts with possibly a touch of

, ,

sien n a o r oran ge m ay b e u sed If th e grou n d is to be black

,
.
,

t w o o r th ree sh ades of gree n or in fact al m ost an y c o lo r c an be

, , ,

used A m aroo n grou n d with a variegated blu e let ter m akes a

.
, ,

m ost pleasi n g co m bi n atio n .

36 Two coats of white lead are applied to the gro un d

.

before the variegati n g colo r s are appli ed an d the n three colors ,

are lai d o n l en gthwise of th e li n e to b e lettered givi n g equal ,

surface to each c o lor The top is white the botto m is a

.
,

m ediu m sh ade of th e vari egati n g color an d th e i n term ediate ,

shade i s placed betwee n th ese an d i s th e n ble n ded where th e ,

color s co m e togeth er begi n n i n g w ith th e lightest

,
Whe n .

”
th e sig n i s cut in an d fi n i s he d each letter will appear as
“
,

though it w ere sh ade d separately .

16 LETTE RI NG A N D S IG N PA I NTI N G .
§2

P R PARA I O N
E T OF S UR AC F E S .

37 . F Wo r k —There are m an y ki n d s o f s ur
o un d ation .

faces to b e dealt with in letteri n g for th e letterer m ay be called ,

o n to place letters upo n a n y soli d m aterial k n o w n A S ig n .

board wh e n fi rst tur n ed over to th e sig n pa in ter fro m th e sig n

carpe n ter m ay possess soli d k n ots or streaks of pitch eith er of ,

which will sho w throu g h m an y c o ats of colo r u n less th eir

pe n etrati n g quality i s d estr o y ed This i s d on e w ith o ran ge
'

S h ellac applied after th e board has bee n thor o ughly dusted of

,
f .

Wh e n th e sh ellac i s d ry th e S ig n i s ready fo r th e first coat of

,

pai n t, called the p r imin g coat This m u s t i n variably b e white .

lead m ixed with boiled li n seed oil o nl y Wh en this h as b ee n .

d rie d an d th e board h as b ee n r un over lightly wi th sa n dpaper

an d d usted all n ai l h oles or oth er defects are filled wi th put ty
, ,

after which th e seco n d coat is applied an d should b e m i xed ,

with on e fourth turpe n ti n e to three fourth s boiled oil This

- -

coat i s sa n dpap ered also an d th e third or fi n ishi n g coat is, , ,

th e n appli ed wh ich i s a m ixture quite reversed fro m th at used

,

for th e secon d coat Th e third coat sh o uld co n sist of about

.

tw o third s turpe n ti n e to o n e third boiled oil an d will i n sure a

-

fl a t or dull fin is h e d surface to w o rk o n
-
.

38 . D e fe cts —A
glossy surface migh t cau se trou ble if ,

allowed to sta n d so m e ti m e before bei n g le ttered as th e placi n g ,

of o n e oil colo r u po n a n oth er is li able to cau se th e seco n d o n e

to creep th at is to leave th e grou n d sur face causi n g large or
, , ,

s m all pitted S p o ts to app ear Thi s m ay b e avoided by .

rubbi n g th e surface with curled h air o r w ith pu m ice sto n e ,

an d water or by dustin g a s m all qua n tity o f wh iti n g over it

,
.

White e n am eled oilcloth is u sed exten sivel y fo r letteri n g pu r

po s es ; to i n sure agai n st th e ab o ve d i fficu l ty b e n zi n e or ,

turp en ti n e sh ould be rubbed on th e s urface with cotto n cloth

or batti n g .

39 . F r e n c h E a Fre n ch
n am e l Wh i t e Fi n ish .
—If
e n am el white fi n i s h is de s ired th e S Ign shou ld b e pai n ted ,

ev e n ly w ith two coats as ab o ve bu t the third coat should be of

, ,
”
whi t e rough stu ff appli ed as pai n t This should be r ub b ed
“
,
.

dow n to a s m ooth surface with white pu m ice sto n e an d wate r

18 LETTERI NG AND S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

serve s th e purpose o f a door tra n spare n cy or it is ofte n placed ,

on wi n dows Ope n i n g i n to a h all or area By th e u se of s o ur .

beer an d Epso m salt a frosti n g m ay b e produced that closely

,

resem bles the fa n tastic m arki n g of th e n atural frost on the

wi n dow p a n e ; but th e frosti n g u sually applied by the S ig n
pai n ter i s produced by th e us e of suga r of lead ( in tub e ) or
white l ead Th e for m er havi n g less body ( o r su bstan ce ) is
.
, ,

m ade t o i m i tate m ore closely th e frosti n g produced by the

s an d b l a s t r oces s and is applied with a b rush as thi n an d
p
-

eve n ly as possible an d stippled with a brush m ade especially

,

fo r this p urp o se o r with a pad of u n s ized cott on cl o th filled

'

with c o tto n batti n g Wh ite lead u sed fo r this purpose sho uld
.

be m ixed with 2 p arts boiled oil to 1 part turp en ti n e an d ,

applied in th e sa m e way as sugar of lead Whe n it is desired .

to show the le tteri n g m ost pro m i n e n tly th e white l ead is used i t , ,

bei n g whe n appli ed opaque an d m u ch whiter th an sugar of lead ,

.

S I% E S FOR G IL D IN G .

GI LD IN G W A R
TE .

42 . In
th e preparatio n of size for gildi n g on glass th e ,

greatest care m u s t b e o bserved to avoid th e existe n ce of th e

s m allest particl e of oil in th e vessel in which it is m ad e In .

fact th e m ost s crupu lous clean li n ess is n ecessary th rough out

,

th e preparatio n of th e size as th e fai n test trace of an y foreign ,

m atter will m aterially i n j ure th e gildi n g .

Size for glas s gildi n g is prepared by dissolvi n g in a pi n t of ,

pure water a piece of Russia n isi n glass abo ut th e size of a

,

si l ve r di m e Th e vessel co n tai n i n g th e water is th e n placed

.

o ver a gas stove coal fire or other d evi ce that will h eat it
, ,

rapidly to the boili n g poi n t Af ter boili n g a bout thirty seco n ds .

it is r e m o v ed fro m th e fi re an d allowed to cool it sh ould the n

,

b e strai n ed through a p erfectly clea n piece of m usli n after ,

which i t i s ready for use This gildi n g water or siz e m ust b e

.

prepared fresh every day as it i s practically useless after ,

twe n ty fou r h ours an d s h oul d always be m ade with di stilled

i

, ,

rai n o r m elted ice water the first bei n g preferred

,
-

,
.
§ 2 LETTE RI NG A N D S IG N PA I NTI NG . 19

I
S % E FOR OIL GI L D ING .

43 . Siz es for gildi n g o n wo o d or m etal are of t w o ki n ds ,

k n o w n as s l ow S iz e an d quick size Th e for m er i s use d wh e n

.

th e S ig n o r surface to b e gilded i s large a n d w ill require c o n ,

s id e rab l e ti m e to co m plete the gildi n g while th e latte r i s used

o n s m all zi n c or j apa n n ed iro n si g n s wh ere th e let ters are s m all
,

a n d th e e n tire g il d in g c an b e co m pleted in fro m o n e to five hou r s .

44 . Sl o w S i z e .
—Sl
w S ize i s m ad e fro m boiled li n s eed
o

o il. Th e oil is allowed to stan d in a war m plac e u n til it is of

about th e co n siste n cy of m olas s es an d i s th e n called f at oil
,
.

Equal quan tities of fresh boiled oil an d c oach m ake r s j apa n are ’

m ix ed togeth er ; thi s m ixtu re an d th e fat oi l are th e n u n ited

i n equal proportio n s togeth er wi th a su ffici e n t qua n tity of
,

ch r o m e y ellow to ren d e r i t easily see n duri n g its applicatio n to

th e surface to b e gilded These w h en thoroughly stirred
.
,

togeth er will for m a size th at will stan d fro m fif tee n to twe n ty

,

fou r hours Th e dryi n g qu aliti es of the slow size are i n flue n ced
.

by th e te m perature in which i t is allowed to stan d .

45 . Us e of Sl o w S i z e .
—I
usi n g this slo w size it m ust
n ,

n o t b e allowed to fl o w thickly over th e su rface but should be ,

brush ed out ev e n ly to cover th e e n tire surface to which it is ,

appli e d to an even depth If on e part i s m ore thickly coated

.

tha n an other it will n o t dry to th e surface o f th e sig n an d will

, ,

afterward b r eak th rough th e gildi n g w h e n th e surplu s gol d leaf

i s b ei n g re m oved or whe n th e gold is bur n ished Thi s size will
,
.

keep r ead y fo r u se for a lo n g period i f placed in a corked bottle

or tigh tly capped j ar .

46 . Q u i c k S i z e —Quick si ze is m ade in several ways ,

accordi n g to th e l e n gth of ti m e requ ired fo r it to dry This is .

o f course gover n ed largely by the a m ou n t of w o rk ahead of th e

letterer to b e gilded About 30 drops of boiled oil add ed to

.

’
5 ou n ce o f Hedde n Wh eeler s j apa n g o ld size will prepare a

s iz e that will d ry in about tw o hours This can b e m ade .

quicke r dryi n g by reduci n g th e qua n tity of oil But to add .

o il in excess of th e quan tity prescribed above will produce an

20 LETTE RI N G A N D SIG N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

u n reliable m ixture s o that an o th er preparatio n is n ecessary for

,

slow er S ize Th e above siz e sh ould b e c olored with a little

.

oran ge or le m o n ch ro m e yellow w ell m ixed together o n a glass ,

surface by th e use of a palette k n ife .

47 A M e d i um other S ize that will stan d

-
Sl o w S i z e .
—A n

lo n ger than th e abo ve i s prepared by s tirri n g in 5 ou n ce of ,

coach fi n i s hi n g var n ish abou t 30 drops of c oac h m ake r s j apan

,
’
.

Thi s w il l sta n d fou r o r five hours In all work of i m portan ce

it i s advisable to test th e s iz e upon a pi ece of th e m
.

'

aterial to be
gilded in order th at th e len gth of ti m e i t will stan d m ay b e
,

accurately k n ow n Di ffere n t su rfaces r equire di ffere n t sizes

So m e work r equires a size that wi l l stan d for twe n ty —
. .

four h ours ,

while o n an oth er m aterial i t sh ould be ready to gild in three

hours or Soo n er Th e r easo n for this i s that slo w size c ann ot
.

be m ad e to pr o duc e an eve n or S h arp edge o n s m o o th s urfaces .

Thi s size m ay b e preserved i n a tight j ar in th e sa m e m an n er

as th e o n e previo usly de s cribed th ough i t h as a m u ch stro n ger ,

te n d e n cy to beco m e thicke n ed B ette r work c an b e produced .

with quick size freshly prepared as i t n o t o n ly flows fro m the

, ,

brush m ore freely but i s also m ore r eliable in dryi n g Either

, .

of th e f o regoi n g quick s izes m ay b e thi n n ed i f n ecessary with , ,

a littl e turpe n ti n e but t oo m uch turpe n ti n e w ill d e s tr o y the

,

lu ster o f th e g old .

48 . P r o pe r M a te r ls
b e observed
ia N e c e ssar y .
—It will ,

by o n e fam il i ar w ith th e ac tio n of th e ele m e n ts o n certai n

colors th a t siz e used fo r S ig n s on the exterior o f buildi n gs will
,

sh o w th e effect of th e ele m e n ts very s o o n after its exposure to

th e wea ther if it h as b ee n i m properly prepared A co mm o n
,
.

m istak e i s th e u se of yellow siz e for alu m i n u m leaf or br o n ze ,

whi ch i s likely to sh o w thr o ugh th e face o f this m etal Size .

for such m aterials sh o uld b e m ade with ab o ut 2 ou n ces of

ligh t coach var n i s h to which i s added a pi ece o f pure white
,

lead as large as an E n gli s h wal n ut an d about a spoo n f ul of ,

j apan g ol d size an d the sa m e qua n tity o f turp e n ti n e Th e lear .

or bro n z e S hould b e applied while th e s ize holds astr o n g tacky

su rface an d is j u s t dry e n o ugh s o tha t br o n ze will n ot s ho w an

,

u n eve n surface wh e n applied The bro n ze m ust alwa ys be put .

22 LETTE RI NG A ND S IG N PAI NTI NG .
§2
preve n ti n g i t fro m adh eri n g to th e gla s s at all G o ld leaf . is
very frail m a terial to h a n dle an d th erefore great cauti o n ,
is
n ecessary in its applicatio n .

52 . M e th o d Of P
desig n or i n s criptio n
r oc e d ur e .
—Th e
to be gilded i s placed o n th e r ever s e side of th e glass by m ean s
of a p erforat ed pat ter n throu g h which whiti n g is pou n ced thus
, ,

sh owi n g th e outli n e of th e letters or parts to be gilded o r th e

desig n m ay b e m arke d out with ordi n ary white chalk o r the
lith o grapher s black crayo n pe n cil which w ill r eadily leave a
’
,

m ark o n a glass surface Th e surface on wh ich th e gildi n g i s to

.

b e d o ne m ust b e p erfectly clea n ed b y re m ovi n g all possibility of

Oil or eve n fi n ger m arks Th e book of g o ld leaf is laid on a flat
.

surface with th e Ope n i n g toward the right On e le af of th e

,
.

book i s fold ed b ack an d creased with the left han d thus ,

e xposi n g th e gold Th e cutti n g of th e leaf i s the n acco m plished

.

w ith th e little fin g e r n ai l of th e righ t ha n d by ru n n i n g th e

-

n ail alo n g o n th e gold usi n g th e f o lded bo o k leaf for a guide

,
.

Th e piece of gold so cut is picke d u p with th e tip ( which i s

h eld i n th e h a n d duri n g th e cutti n g process ) an d laid on the
glas s l igh tly after h avi n g fir s t c o vered th e part to r eceive th e
,

g o ld with a copiou s coat of th e size th e preparatio n of which ,

is treated u n de r h eadi n g
”
Gildi n g Water Th e brush used
“
.

i n th e size i s u s ually a l é i n ch flat ca m el s h air

’
All letters
- -

should b e covered with a liberal supply o f g o ld leaf allowi n g ,

it to overlap th e m arki n g Whe n th e siz e u n der th e gold i s .

perfectly d r y th e su rface shoul d b e w e ll r ubbe d with cotto n

,

batti n g which will r e m ove all scrap leaf tha t h as n ot adhered

,

or th at h as overlappe d a n d will e xpose to view an y spaces o r

,

parts that h ave n ot b ee n properly c o vered Th e S iz e is th e n .

flowed all ove r th e w o rk ( begi n n i n g at th e b o tto m ) an d g old ,

is laid o n all spaces th at have n o t bee n previously c o vered .

Wh e n this i s dry a seco n d r ubbi n g with th e cotto n will re m o ve

,

th e s urplus A third or fourth wa s hi n g Of siz e does n o har m

.

to th e gold an d wh e n d ilu ted w ith war m water pr o duces a

, ,

brillian t bur n ish ed effect .

53 . Sh e e t -
Gl ass S i g n s —If g ild in g h as bee n d o n e on a
sh eet of gl as s to be u sed fo r a fra m ed S ig n ,
th e patter n m ust
§ 2 LETTERI NG A N D S IG N PAI NTI NG . 23

agai n be pou n ced with whiti n g Over th e gold le af which .

,

fur n ish es a gui de show in g th e place o ccupied by th e letters

,
.

To prepare a pai n t to lette r over gold l eaf o n a wi n dow that is

exposed to fr o st ( th e great e n e m y of wi n dow gildi n g ) a slow ,

dr y i n g var n ish c o lored well w ith le m o n o r oran ge chrom e

,

yellow sh ould b e u s ed an d wh en dry th e gold leaf exte n di n g

, ,

beyo n d the letters can b e clean ed Off easily with water a lit tle ,

whiti n g an d cotto n b atti n g For a backi n g or letteri n g color

,
.

for fra m ed glass sig n s a qu ick dryi n g varn ish o r asph al tu m ,

-

black c an be used A S th ese sig n s are n o t exposed to the .

elem e n ts al m ost an y col o r c an b e u s ed o n the m A c o lo r is

, .

preferable h o w ever th a t i s m ad e th e shade o f th e gold leaf an d

, , ,

that will n ot be see n whe n th e S i g n i s fi n ish ed should an y ,

s m all cracks or spots h ave bee n left in the gildi n g that would
b e co n sidered too s m all to regild .

GI LD ING ON W OOD OR M E T A
L .

54 . M e th o d of P
g co n sid ered the u se r oce d u —Havi
re . n

of th e tip an d ha n dli n g Of g o ld leaf fo r gild in g on glas s w e will ,

n o w co n s ider its applicatio n to a wood o r m etal surface .

The m a n n er i n which th e gol d is laid o n th e s e m aterials

differs Th e sl o w size will allo w u s to cove r th e whole sign
.

with gold leaf before rubbi n g dow n to a b ur n ish ed surface ;

,

an d if the letters are large e n ough to take th e wh o le leaf with

,

out m uch waste the letters c an be gilded fro m the book wi thout
,

the use Of the tip by tur n i n g th e leaf back an d placi n g th e ,

book face do w n wards on th e size r olli n g th e leaf on gradually , ,

so as n ot to break it Whe n th e sig n i s e n tirely covered a 2 i n ch

.
,
-

bear s hair brush is u s ed to r e m ov e th e surplus an d th e whole

’
-

gil ded surface i s well r ubbed This wil l tak e th e su perflu o us .

scrap carry i n g it alo n g th e letters filli n g in all cracks o r s m all

, ,

spots th at m ay h av e b ee n o verl o oked an d if these are n o t too , ,

large will n ot show whe n the gold i s burn ish ed Af ter rubbi n g
,
.

with th e brush a ha n dfu l Of cotto n batti n g S h o uld be u sed an d

, ,

th e g o ld rubbed with this u n til n o laps or spots are see n .

55 . Q u i c k Gl
S i z e —
T o g ild o n quick s ize gild
i d in g on .
,

th e firs t two l etters rapidly rubbi n g dow n th e first lette r o n ly ,

24 LETTER I N G A N D S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§2
pr o ceed i m m ediately to gild the third afterwards rubbi n g dow n ,

th e seco n d an d so on u n til th e S ig n i s gilded

,
Th e r ea s o n for .

doi n g th i s is that if th e gold were allowe d to r e m ai n to o lo n g

,

o n quick S ize before bur n ishi n g it w ould h ave a wri n kled ,

app eara n ce caused by th e actio n o f th e siz e w hile dryi n g an d

, ,

th ereby drawi n g th e gold which i s preve n te d whe n th e su rface

,

is covered eve n ly with g o ld an d burn ished Alu m i n u m leaf .

,

which is co n siderably tough er tha n gold leaf can b e applied on ,

several letters bef o re bur n ishi n g .

56 . O ut s i d e Gl i d in g —Fo r
outsid e g ildi n g or gildi n g ,

in places wh ere the wi n d is s tro n g e n ough to preve n t both th e

'

us e o f th e tip an d th e process o f gildi n g fro m th e book a n oth e r ,

m ethod i s followed This i s acco m plish ed by cutti n g wax

.

pape r in sheets large e n ough to l eave a m argi n of 5 i n ch b eyo n d

th e edge Of th e g o l d leaf which i s appli ed to th e wax pape r by
,

carefully layi n g th e w ax pape r on i t an d pressi n g i t eve n ly .

Th e waxed g o ld leaf is th e n placed in an e m pty book an d is

ready for us e Th e size bei n g m ore tacky th an th e wax surface
.

o f th e paper th e leaf of g o l d will leave th e pap er an d adhere to

,

th e siz e by pressi n g th e waxe d l eaf with th e han d After th e .

letters h ave bee n e n tirely covered they should be rubbed dow n ,

as de s cribed usi n g th e b ear s h air rubbi n g brush an d cotton

,
’
-

batti n g as in other gildi n g

,
.

P AR L
E I L L IN G AN D E T RU S CA N GI LD IN G
F .

57 Pe a r l F i ll i n g —Th e p earl filli n g Often seen in th e

m ost elaborate wi n d o w le tteri n g i s n ot in s uch ge n eral us e
to day as in for m er y ears as i t h as bee n supplan ted so m ewh at
,

by the Etruscan gildi n g which c o n sis ts of a dull or chased

,

filli n g withi n an outli n e o f brigh t g o ld Th e m aterial used for .

pearl filli n g m ust be th e best quality m other o f pearl in

perfectly flat an d thi n piece s an d applied after th e letters are ,

gilded sh aded an d o th erwise fi n ish ed Th e Ope n s trokes of

, ,
.
.

th e letters are coated with a light colored coach var n ish ( to -

which a few drops Of j apan gol d size have bee n a dd ed ) over ,

lappi n g th e edge Oi th e s trokes but w ith o ut c o veri n g th e S had e , ,

26 LETTERI NG A N D S I G N P A I NTI NG .
§ 2

E M B OS S N I G .

E MB O SS ING O N RA B SS P LA TE S .

60 . Im p This work requires a greater am ou n t

or tan ce .
‘

of cautio n than a n y othe r bran ch of S ig n p ai n ti n g Not o n ly .

are th e m ate r ials expe n sive an d m i stak es costly but th e ch e m ,

ical s with which th e work i s do n e are d a n gero us an d an y ,

i m prope r u se of the m woul d be likely to i m pai r th e h ealth or

eve n destroy th e ey es of th e Operator E m bossi n g on brass .

i n cludes n ot On ly th e preparatio n of th e pl ate but the etchi n g

‘

a n d fi n ishi n g of th e brass Th e b est grade of e n gravi n g b rass .

i s r equired fo r this process an d gauge No 1 6 i s th e thick n ess ,

.

in m ost frequ e n t us e This i s T1 ? of a n i n ch thick Th e plate

. .

m ust be well buffed before letteri n g T h e desig n shou l d b e ,

m ad e o n m e d iu m thick M an ila patter n pap er an d tra n sferre d

-

to th e b rass p late b y m ean s of carbo n tran sfer paper Af ter .

the desi gn i s tran s ferred on to th e plate i t is ready to cut in , ,

pre paratory to th e etchi n g p roces s .

61 . M at e r ia l Us e d fo r R e sis tin g A c i d —Asph altu m .

black i s used to p rotect th e plate w hile in th e aci d bath an d ,

m ust b e applied wi th a n e v e n s ol id surface an d n o t thi nn e d

'

, ,

m ore than i s absolutely n ecessary Us e o n ly th e best quality .

o f asph altu m an d thi n with equal parts of c oac h m ak

’
,
e r s j apa n

a n d coach fi n ishi n g v ar n i s h Th e letters an d oth er design s are .

cut in with this col o r leavi n g th e letter an d stripes cl ear Th e

,
.

e n tire sig n i s th en covered eve n ly to th e e dge an d allowed to -

d ry twe n ty four h ours at least

-
Th e m ark s m ad e by the .

traci n g shoul d th e n be re m ove d with w ate r A n e w cotto n .

cloth i s the n u sed to ru b th e e n tire su rface which is don e to ,

dest r oy th e gl o ssy surface Of th e fi rst coat in order that th e ,

seco n d m ay b e seen af ter which a seco n d coat of th e asphaltu m

, ,

is applied with care to keep as close to th e edge Of the first on e

,

a s possi b le . Th e seco n d coat is allowed to stan d forty eig h t -

hours afte r which th e S ign i s ready for th e etchi n g bath

,
.

A coati n g of b eeswax is al s o u s e d as a resist an d is applied ,

to th e brass silver or wh ite m eta % plate whe n hot Whe n this

, ,
-
.

m aterial i s used th e desig n is traced th rough i t on th e surface

,
§ 2 LETTE RI NG A N D S IG N PA I NTI N G . 27

of th e m e tal by m ea n s of a stylus Th e wax is u s ed o n ly .

whe n a li n e e tchi n g is d e s ired an d i s therefore m o re e s pecially

,

adapted to s m all work o n w hich th e le tters are of m i n iature size

, .

62 . E t ch in g —Th e etchi
g sh o uld be do n e in a ro o m s e t
n

apar t fo r thi s exclusive purp o se as th e fu m es an d gase s give n

,

Ofl d uri n g th e pr o cess are extre m ely u n wh o leso m e an d in fact

,

very poi s on ou s an d sh o uld n ever b e i n h aled Th e S i gn to be

,
.

etch ed i s lai d on a table th e top of which has bee n ren dered

,

FI G . 4 .

perfectly level an d o ver i t i s susp e n ded a fu n n el s haped hoo d

,
-

t o c o llect the fu m es a n d carry the m Off to th e outside air or to

a chi m n ey flu e This arra n ge m e n t i s show n in Fig 4 wh ere
. .
,

b i s th e etchi n g table u n der th e h oo d a At c is show n th e .

ve n t th at carries o ff th e Ob n oxi o us vap o rs .

63 . B eesw ax D am .
—
Th e S ig
prepared by ban k n is n ow

in g u p th e e d ges with bees w ax all ar o u n d th e f o ur sides s o as

, ,

to giv e i t th e for m of a sh allo w tray Th e beeswax is prepared .

by m elti n g togeth er over a slow fi re 5 pou n d of beeswax an d

pou n d of rosi n an d addi n g ab o u t 3 fluid ou n ces of boiled Oil
,
.

Whe n thoroughly m elted this m ix tu re is poured i n to a vessel

,

of cold wate r an d is th e n ready fo r us e Sho uld the m ixture

,
.

beco m e too h ard by sta n di n g to work easily ( it sh ould be

, ,

ab o ut th e co n si sten cy o f pu tty ) i t m ay be rem elted an d a little

,

m ore Oil added .

28 LETTE RI NG A N D S IG N PAI NTI NG .
§ 2

64 . Us e of th e Ac i d s
the rim Of wax an d over —Withi n ,

th e en tire surface Of th e S ig n a m ixture Of 1 part n itri c acid ,

to 2 p arts w ater is n o w po ured to a depth of ab o ut 4 i n ch .

Th e liqui d w ill i mm ediately b egi n to e ffervesce an d str o n g ,

pu n ge n t fu m es of a y ell o wish col o r will rise fro m th e surface .

Th e h oo d S h oul d n ow b e adj usted to receive an d carry Off th ese

fu m es an d th e actio n Of th e aci d be perm itted to c on ti n u e u n til
,
”
th e letters are eate n i n to th e plate abou t 3 2 to 7 4 Oi an
“ 1 1
7

i n ch acco r di n g to th e depth de s ired Th e d epth o f th e le tters

,
.

m ay b e deter m i n ed by feeli n g th eir edge s with a poi n ted tool of

an
y ki nd th ough ,
care m u s t be exercised n ot to scratch the

asph alt surface .

Sh o uld th e actio n Of the fluid for an y r easo n be too slow it ,

m ay b e h aste n ed by p o uri n g a s m all quan tity o f th e p ure acid

o n th e surf ace o f th e plate a nd sti rri n g it arou n d carefully with
,

a whi s k bro o m or if too s tro n g th e aci d m ay b e dil uted w ith

, , ,

water Str o n g aci d has a te n de n cy to u n dercu t th e letters an d

.

d estroy th e sharp n ess of th eir edge s Th e etchi n g therefore .

, ,

should n ot be do n e too quickly for it shoul d take three o r four ,

hou rs for th e acid to eat th e bras s t o a proper d epth .

65 . C le a n i n g th e P1
g is co m plete ate .
—After the etchi n ,

th e plate is re m oved fr o m the table th e acid is poured o ff ( by ,

breaki n g a s m all piece Of th e wax d am out Of the en d ) an d the ,

whole plate th or o ugh ly washed in cold wa t er Th e b ath tray .

,

previou s ly prepared is u sually built of wood ; i t should be

,

large e n ough to receive th e e n tire plate a n d d eep e n ough to ,

h old 3 or 4 i n ch es of water The wax i s th e n r e m oved fro m .

th e edges an d saved for fu ture us e a n d th e asph alt coati n g ,

wiped Off after it h as bee n th oroughly s o f te n ed wi th turp e n ti n e .

Sh ould th ere be an y sligh t i m p erfect io n s in th e surface o f th e

plate due to th e actio n Of th e acid th rough an exposed place in
,

th e asph altu m th ey c an easily b e r e m oved ( if they are n ot

,

m ore tha n surface m arks ) o n an ordi n ary bu ffi n g m achi n e .

66 . F i ll i n g .
—
Th e
etch ed letters are u sually filled with
,

black j apa n which i s afterw ard baked u n til i t has th e appear

,

a n ce of a vi treou s m i xture This however is a separate busi n e s s

.
, , ,

an d outside th e provi n ce of th e letterer The e tch ed letters are .

30 LETTE RIN G AN D S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

edge of th e l etter an d produce th e m ottled e ffect This acid .

is r e m oved in th e sa m e m a n n er as th e n itric acid an d th e ,

asphaltu m dissolved with turpe n ti n e a fter which th e plate i s ,

well clea n ed with whiti n g an d water an d th e e m bossed glass S ig n ,

is ready for th e fin ishi n g process o r th e gildi n g an d colori n g ,

.

It is always d esirable th at th e best results m ay b e obtai n e d

an d ,
to i n sure this th e ti m e S h oul d n ot b e co n sidered lost in
,

testi n g th e stre n gth of th e aci d o n v arI Ous glass su rfaces Plate .

gl ass Offers less resistan ce tO th e aci d than sh eet or crow n glass .

Th e aci d i s i n flue n ced th erefo re by th e m etallic oxide c on

, ,

tain e d i n the glas s .

LE TTE R S HA D IN G .

C L OR U D
O S SE .

69 . Com bi n ation s Sh a d i n g
i s a great
in —There
variety of m ethods by w h ich th e S h adi n g m ay b e added to a
letter by th e us e of colors A law exists in n ature th at is very
.

forcibly show n in co m bi n i n g colors wh e n shadi n g an d thi s ,

m ust be regarde d or th e work w ill n o t produce satisfactory

,

results A col o r appa r e n tly of a suitable shade whe n m ixi n g

.
,

if placed on a b l ack grou n d will appear m a n y S hades lighter ;,

an d th e rever s e is likewise tru e If th e sa m e color b e placed.

on a w hite grou n d it appears m a n y S hades darker Letter

,
.

shadi n g m ay co n si s t o f several shade s of o n e color or several ,

di s ti n ct c o lors m ay b e u sed t ogether either blen ded or separated ,

by outli n e .

7O . T r an s pa r e n t Sh a d i n g
i s of service —This m ethod
to the letterer in that i t bo th saves ti m e an d gives m o s t satis
,

factory r esults A tran spare n t shadi n g m ixture is m ad e by

.

stirri n g a fe w dr o ps of well grou n d black in a m ediu m dryi n g

-
-

varn ish addi n g also a fe w drops of turpe n ti n e This m ixtu re

,
.

for m s a shade for all light col o rs an d ti n ts an d if properly , ,

applied produces what is k n ow n as the n a tur al sha d e or the

, ,

sam e stre n gth an d shad e as w o uld be cast fro m a proj ected

o bj ect o n th e sa m e g rou n d .
 LETTER IN G AND S IG N PAI NTI NG . 31

71 . G
l a z e S h a d i n g —Tran s pare n t shade is u s ed i n the
fo r m of a glaze shade on such colors as ver m ili o n , gree n , b lue ,
yellow etc by addi n g a color correspo n di n g wi th that with
,
.

wh ich it is co m bi n ed For exam ple th e gl aze shad e applie d

.
,

on ver m ilio n sh ould b e

m i xed with car m i n e ( i n
t u be ). For gree n o r blue ,

Pru ssian or so m e o th er
stro n g blu e i s u s ed an d ,

sie n n a o n yellow etc Th e ,

.

g l a z e s h a d e i s alway s
p laced on a n o th er sh ad e
wh en th e latter is th or
oughly dry an d co vers on e
,

h alf of this n earest th e let

ter as sh o w n in Fig 5 at c
,
.

an d e

—Th is i s also i lus

72 . T h e D o u b I e

Sh a d e l
F IG
.

5
tra te d inFig 5 in which a . .

.
,

shows th e black li n e u sed to divide th e shades ; b show s

th e block usually so m e brigh t c o l o r as ver m ilio n blue etc on
, , , ,
-
.
,

which th e glaze sh ade c is placed ; d an d e represe n t so m e

n eutral color as gray bro w n etc
,
of w hich e is the tran sparen t
, ,
.
,

sha d e ; wh ile f is th e n atural

shad e o n th e gr o u n d color ,

m ade wi th th e sam e as e but ,

givi n g an e n tirely di ffere n t

s h ad e .

73 . T h e S p e c t r u m
S h a d e —Th is i s produced
. bv
ble n di n g shades together an d ,

its us e i s co n fi n ed al m ost
FI G 6 . .

exclu s ively to th e gilded an d

silvered letters o n gla s s although th e s a m e col o rs can n o t b e
,

u s ed o n both Th e n atural c o lor of th e g ol d is war m an d

.
,

the r efore har m o n izes with al m o s t every col o r while th e silve r

32 LETTER I N G A N D S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

is cold in to n e an d suitable c olors to co m bi n e with it m ust

,

therefore b e selected Five colors are usually ble n ded wh en

.
,

ver m ilio n i s u sed for th e sp ectru m shade as foll o ws : ( 1 ) crea m ; ,

( 2) le m o n yellow ; ( 3 ) oran ge ; ( 4) v er m ilio n ; ( 5 ) car m i n e .

In all oth er c ases four sh ades of o n e color are u sed

,
In Fig 6 . .

i s show n th e p roper po s itio n th e fou r S h ades sh ould occupy .

It will b e Observed that th e darkest shade 4 co m es agai n st

’

1 th e lightest wh ich is usually a ti n t Of the color while 2 ,

an d 3 are equ ally divided in stre n gth betwee n these extre m es .

Th e shades always occupy th e sa m e relative positio n sh ow n ,

except on letters havi n g a horizo n tal stroke in which case but ,

two col o rs 3 an d 4 are used u n der n eath th ese s trokes

, ,
.

TH E P R E P A R AT I O N OF CO L O R S .

AP P L I CA I O N T T O VAR I OU S M A TE R IA L S .

74 . P r o pe r Us e o f Mi xt u
rapidity is gai n ed r es —M uch
in letteri n g by a k nowledge of th e color or c o m bi n atio n Of ,

color s that c an b e used to th e best advan tage on a particular

,

m aterial Sup p ose for exam ple we h ave an elaborate silk

.
, ,

bann er o n which a desig n i s to b e executed u n les s th e p roper

m ixture were used th e Oil o r oth er m ediu m would b e absorbed
,

by th e S ilk an d so spread as to rui n th e m aterial at o n ce This .

co n ditio n m ay arise in th e u se of c o lors an d th eir applicatio n

to th e m an y m ateri al s wh ere a successful d esign will depen d
,

o n th e ki n d of m i xture u s ed .

75 . L e tt e r in g on sheeti n g
Co t t on Sh e e t i n g —Cotto n

m u st b e wet before b ei n g lettered an d while quite da mp the ,

letteri n g m ay be appli ed Colo r for this p urpose c an b e m ixed

.

with equal parts Of boiled oil an d j apa n an d thi n n ed with ,

turp en ti n e A 1 i n ch flat varn ish brush will b e fou n d con v e

.
-

n ie n t in orde r to spread th e color o n th e cloth with great

rapidity if the letters are large ; an d for s mall letters the

,

ca m el s h ai r swan quill is used Shadi n g colors thi n n ed we l l

’
-
.

wi th turpe n ti n e c an with out da n ger of spreadi n g be applied

, ,

when th e cloth i s al m ost d ry .

34 LETTER I NG A N D S IG N PA I N TI NG .
§ 2

79 . Gl ass —For
gla s s th e color u sed m o stly i s black ,
'

e p ec ial l y for outli n i n g S h adi n g an d letteri n g To m ix this

, ,
.

c o l o r us e dry lam pblack best quali ty gri n d th o roughly with a

, , ,

palette k n ife an d a d d o n ly b est coach var n i s h Thi n with

,
.

equal p arts of coach var n i s h an d turpe n ti n e Dry colors m ixe d .

with wate r an d glue are u s e d for te m porary letteri n g o n wi n dow

gla s s M an y beautiful e ffects are pr o duce d by th ei r us e as
.
,

they fl ow freely an d dry qu ickly .

80 . B r ic k or letteri n g o n brick o r
Sto n e P an e ls —F or

sto n e p an els th e white l ead sh o ul d b e m ixed with n othi n g b ut

,

b oiled Oil Th e bla ck u s ed i s la m pblack Of a n i n ferior grade

.
,

as it will a n swer fo r thi s purpose as w ell as th e best quality .

Mix th e l a m pblack boiled Oil an d a cu pfu l o f j apa n to a

, ,

gallo n o f color .

81 . Pl as te r e d S ur fa c e s
g on plastered sur —Fo r letteri n

faces a light fl owi n g col o r such as th e card black will cover

, , ,

the surfac e an d will n ot S prea d o r r un If colors are desired .

,

m ix the m thick with coach var n ish an d thi n freely with tur ,

p en ti n e Th ese col o rs will dry flat ( or withou t a gloss )

. If .

Oil colors were u sed o n thi s surface th e Oil would fl ow fro m ,

th e color i n to th e white plaster an d show a y ellow li n e s ur

r o u n di n g th e letter Th e n ature Oi th e m ediu m s regardi n g
.
,

th eir dryi n g qualities an d th e applicati on of c o l o rs i s there ,

fore a c on stan t study wi th th e si gn pai n ter an d r equires his ,

careful co n siderati o n .

R E L IE F L E TTE R S .

W O D O , M E T AL , A N D G LAS S .

82 . ,
W ood e n Lletters are those that are
e tt e r s —Relief
raised above th e S ig n surface an d are usually m ade o f wood , ,

u n l es s th e sign plate itse l f i s of m etal in which case the l etter s ,

are Of b rass cast fro m w oode n patter n s Th e m an ufacture of .

woode n l etters is such a si m p l e m atte r th at m an y sig n pai n ters

u n dertake th e wh o l e p roce s s Th e o utli n e of th e l e tte r is .

draw n with coach black on thi n Ma n ila paper which is gl ue d

§ 2 LETTE R I NG A N D S IG N PA I NTING . 35

on th e surface of th e lu m ber an d the n sawed out an d o n ly th e ,

best kil n dried pi n e pla n k sh o uld b e used Th e edge s m ay

-
.

th en b e b eveled o r rou n ded as des ired If th e latter th e o n ly .

,

t o ols n ecessary are a chisel an d a ra s p to rou n d the letters after ,

which th ey shoul d be fi n i s h e d b y usi n g very c o arse san dp aper ,

an d a s m o o th surface i s th e n pr o duced wi th fin e san d paper .

83 . g W o o d eLn L e t t ear
r s —Large woode n le tters used
e

o n th e roof o f buildi n gs o r o th er elevated place s are m ade a n d

put u p s o as to stan d ou t in relief agai n st th e sky an d co n s e ,

que n tly m us t b e m uch larger th an th ey actually appear fro m

th e grou n d The s e letters although reach i n g in s o m e cases a
.
,
i

heigh t o f 8 or 1 0 feet are si m ply co n structed an d ea s ily put in ,

place They are u s ually

—
.

m ad e Of 1 1 o r 1 é i n ch »

lu m ber which m ust b e,

well seaso n ed an d each ,

stroke of th e letter m o r
tis e d an d t e n o n e d to
giv e stre n gth as S how n ,

on edge Of l e t t e r in
Fig 7 . At l east two
.

an g le i ro n s sh ould b e
u sed o n th e botto m of ‘

each letter of su ffi cie n t

len gth to rai s e th e letter
,
FIG 7 . .

fro m th e r oof an d tuo r ou n d braces beh in d ; th e size Of th e

,
r

latter wou ld vary accordi n g to th e size Of th e letter A f i n ch .

r od exte n di n g ove r all th e letters i s faste n e d o n th e tops

, ,

by m ean s of staples an d protects all si n g le str o k e letters such ,

-

as th e I J L etc an d gives th e wh o le S ign su fficie n t stre n gth

, , ,
.
,

an d stiff n e s s to withsta n d a viole n t wi n d s tor m Th e s e letters .

,

in o r der to sho w to th e be s t adva n tage s hou ld alway s be pai n ted ,

black an d th e iro n s lead color

,
.

84 . M eta l Le t t e r s —Th e m e tal let ter s , usually faste n ed

on th e brass o r white m et al S ig n p lates are ca st fro m woode n -

patter n s as bef o re s tated an d are afterwards filed bu ffed a n d

, , , ,

plated wi th gold or n ickel to p rotect the m f ro m the weath er ,

.
36 LETTERI NG A N D S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

They are fa s te n ed o n the plates with s crews h o les fo r w h ich are ,

drilled in th e ce n ter o f th e lette r an d thr o ugh the S ig n plate ,

T O locate th e poi n ts for th e h o les th e l e tters are carefully ,

l d n th e plate w here desired an d whiti n g i s du s ted arou n d

'

p a c e o ,

th e edges thu s outli n i n g each letter T w o holes ar e d rille d

,
.

th rough th e plate in th e ce n te r of th e space c o vered by the

letter after which th e letter is agai n p l aced on th e plate to
, ,

locate exactly the S pace wh ere h ol es are to b e drilled in th e

.

letter Th e letters are the n drilled t app ed an d screwed o n

.
, ,

fr om th e back Of plate .

85 . Com e po S ig s th e
n slet.t ers of Com p O
which are Sg
i n ,

also in relief are m olded sig n s m ad e by pres s i n g a woode n

,

patter n de s ig n i n to co m post o r c o m po s itio n which m ay b e

” “
, ,

eithe r th e m aterial u s e d fo r stucco w o rk ( a sized plaster ) o r th e

co m p o u s ed i n th e m an ufacture Of pictu re fram e m oldi n gs
% -

These s ign s w he n c o l o red are m ade very att racti ve especially ,

for advertisi n g purposes .

86 W
. i r e S i g n s — Wire sign s m ay also b e of an artistic
desig n the charac ter Of which will d epe n d e n tirely o n th e shape
,

of th e fram ework Ribb o n s an d pa n els c a n b e fas te n ed back

.

to back o n wirework an d such a S ig n will n ot cat ch th e wi n d

, ,

an d m a y be m ade to read fro m tw o opposite directio n s .

87 G as -
Pi p F
e r a e Si g n s
pip e fra m e sign s
m —The gas -

gen erally us e d in Lo n d on E n gla n d are eas ily c o n s tructed an d

, , ,

fo r adv erti s i n g purp os es are val uable as th ey c an b e read ,

several m iles away Th e S i ze of th is s ty l e of S ig n i s li m ited

.

o n ly by th e a m ou n t o f the r oof surface to wh ich th e braces or

wire c an b e faste n ed Th e fra m e m ay b e th e extre m e wid th of
.

th e b uil d in g as th e w ires o r braces ar e fas te n ed in tw o opposite

, l

d irectio n s o n ly Th e letters are of w oo d an d are hu n g

.
,

between th e secti on s Of th e fra m e as sh o w n in Fig 8 This ,

. .

sketch sh o ws a S ign 45 feet in width by 36 feet in heigh t ( th e

average le n gth of th e ga s pi pe is 1 5 feet ) m ade to read fr om ,

o n e directi o n o n ly A wire brace ext en ds fr om every i n ter

.

sectio n of gas pipe to a st aple i n th e roof or wall “

.
38 LETTE RI NG A ND S IG N PA I NTI NG .
§2

90 . Un l i m i t e d Gl as s Sig n s
u n co mm o n —It is n o t an

thi n g in Europ e to see th e n a m e of so m e p eriodical or o i a ,

~

busi n ess fir m stretch ed across a th r ee or four story b uildi n g

,
-

coveri n g al m ost th e e n tire fro n t an d reachi n g fro m th e low er

left corn er ab o ve th e store fro n t to th e r o of This style of S ig n .

is usually co n structed of th e heavy li n e script letter an d i s -

m ade of an y rough lu m ber Of u n ifor m th i ck n ess s awed to the

, ,

design required The whol e desig n is fir m ly secured togeth er

.
,

an d opal glass is cut to c o ver th e face after first coati n g th e ,

wood with white lead Th e Opal glass i s fi tted s o as n ot to

.

leave to o wide an Ope n i n g wh ere j oi n ed n or to proj ect bey o n d ,

the edge Th e sign i s the n covered alo n g th e edge with zi n c

.
,

fir m ly tacked o r n ailed an d turn ed over on th e face in th e

,

form of a h alf r o u n d m oldi n g whi ch serves to h old th e Opal

-

glass in positio n .

91 . H an g in g th e n .
—Th
valu e o f a sig n d epe n ds on
S ig e .

its fi n ish ed appeara n ce w he n placed in posi tio n on th e outs id e

'

or i n sid e of a buildi n g an d th e sign pai n ter should n ot all o w

,

h is artistic taste or ability to cease with th e productio n of a

piece Of work that m ay i n dicat e his skilled eye an d h a n d b ut
h e should study th e relatio n of hi s sign to its surrou n di n gs an d ,

ar r an ge i ts fi n al fas te n i n gs accordi n gl y These should first of .

,

all b e th e securest p os sible an d be capable of resisti n g the

, ,

severest wi n dstor m s b ut th ey m ay also b e attach ed without

,

cau s i n g th e legibility of th e sig n to b e i m paired or i ts n eatn ess

m arred .Th erefore in ha n gi n g sig n s do n ot all o w th e w o rk or
, ,

trappi n gs u sed to S how m o re tha n i s absolutely n ecessary u n less ,

th ey are o f an orn a m e n tal n ature Architectural iro n work is .

used for swi n gi n g sig n s either as an orn a m e n tal cra n e or in

, ,

scrollwork co n form i n g to s o m e characteris tic desig n such as a ,

heraldic shi eld or pan el .

 ELE ME NT S or LE TT E R I N G .

( I) ( a ) What n a m e is g i ve n to th e earl ie s t f o r m o f
wri tin g ? By wh o m w as it u se d ?
”
( 2 ) Wh a t are ru s t ic letters ?
“

( 3 ) Na m e tw o s t v l e s Of letter s tha t ca m e i n to exi s te n ce

prior to th e 1 5th ce n tur y .

4
( ) Wh at are “
i llu m i n a ted l e tt er s ?

( 5 ) Wh a t is m ea n t b y th e ter m el o ng a ting ?
( )
6 Wh a t cl as s o f people were skilful i n th e art of le tter
in g du ri n g th e period i m m ed iat ely preced in g t h e 1 5th c e n t ur v ?

7
( ) W ha t i m ea t by t h t er m i t r l a c in ?
“

s n e n e g

( 8 ) On wh a t m a ter ial s c a n t ra n s pare n t w at er c o l o r b e u s ed

to th e bes t ad va n t age ?
” ?
( 9 ) Wh at is m ea n t by a par t pa n el
”
( )
1 0 Wh a t i s t h e
“
stroke o f a le t t er ?

( )1 1 Wha t is m ea n t b y t h e t er m b a ck g r m t n d f?

1
( ) 2 W h a t are “
c u t —i n le t ter s ?

( 1 3 ) O n wh a t side of t h e let ter s h o uld t h e s hade b e

placed ?
”
( 1 4 ) ( a ) Wh at is a backgr o un d s te n cil ? ( b ) H o w
“

d o es thi s differ fro m th e regular le tter s te n ci l ?

( 1 5 ) What is m ea n t b y th e ter m tel es cop i ng
( 1 6 ) Wha t t w o f o r m s of n u m erals are u s ed i n m o der n

le tteri n g ?
( 1 7 ) Wh at m aterial is m o s t su itable fo r m ak in g s te n c il
pa ttern s ?
( 1 8 ) For wh at special cla s s o f w o rk are tin f oil s te n c ils -

u s ed ?
( )1 9 Wha t s tyle o f br u sh is be st adap ted for u se in
s te n cil in g ?
 E L E ME N T S O F L ETTE R IN G .
§ 1

( 20 ) What s tyl es of letter s are bes t adap ted for il l um i n a ted

capi tal s
( 21 ) In cu ttin g s te n cil pa tter n s w h at m e th o d is safest
,
to
fo ll o w in o rd er to av o i d th e p os s i b il i ty o f cu ttin g o ff ti e s ?

( 22 ) H ow is th e d e s ig n for th e s eco n d s te n cil placed o n t h e

firs t to i n su re accu racy ?
( 23 ) Wh a t alpha b e t is th e m o th er o f all m o der n styles
o f wri ti n g ?

( 24 ) Ab o ut h o w m a n y s ig n s m ay be s te n ciled befo re the

s te n cil pa t ter n s hould be cl ea n ed ?
( 25 ) On w h a t par t o f th e le tter s h ould th e highligh t be
pl aced ?
( 26 ) H o w w as th e le tter W expre s sed wh e n fi rs t i n tro
d uc e d i n t o th e alphabet ?

( 27 ) Whe n l e tters are placed o n a n in cli n ed pa n el w hat ,

p o si t i o n sh ould t h e y be gi ve n ?

( 28 ) What is m ea n t b v th e ter m co n d en in g ? s

2 9 ) Wh a t i the d i fi e r e n c e betwee n m echa n ical a n d free

( s

h a n d let teri n g ?
3
( ) 0 Wh a t are th e ti e s i n s te n c i l pa t t er n s ?

3 1 I ha ( lid t h e i n v e n ti o n o f t h e pri n ti n g pres s

( ) n w t w a
y
d i r e c tl v be n efit th e a r t of w r it in g ?

( 3 2 ) O n w h a t a n g l e s h o uld t h e sh ad e o f th e l e tte r b e placed ?

33
( ) Of wh a t i m p o r ta n ce is le tter fa c e sh ad in g ?
-

o f a le t ter ?
”
3
( ) 4 Wh a t i s t h e
“
s pu r
3
( ) 5 Wh ere w o uld v o u place t h e p o s s e s s i v e apo s tr o phe in
”
th e fo l l o w m g : Me n s an d Bo v s Cl othi n g ?
3 6 ) How i th e b l o ck s h a d e pl aced o n a le tter ?
( s

3 7 H m a n y f o r m s h a s t h e cas t s h a d o w ?
( ) o w

( 38 ) Wh at are th e th ree chief classificatio n s o f l et ters ?

( )3 9 Wh e n are col o rs applied i n their dry s t a t e ?

( )4 0 Na m e s o m e o f th e s tyle s o f le tter s k n o w n exclus ively

as
“
A m er ica n writi n g .

( )4 1 F or wh a t purp os e is t h e ste n ci l pa tt er n u s ed ?
 L ETTE R IN G AN D S I G N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

( 1 6) Wh at is th e cause of a color cr eep ing a f ter bei n g

appl ied ?

( 1 7) H o w can a wire sign pr oj ecti n g fro m a build in g be

m ade to read fro m opposite direc tio n s ?

(1 8) Wh a t should be th e h eight of a letter in g table ?

Wh at n a m e i s give n to th e lo n g h air brush used to

( 1 9) -

pick up the gol d leaf ?

( 20 ) D escribe th e tra n s pare n t shade .

( 21 ) H ow is th e pe n etrati n g quali ty of pi t ch destroy ed

in pi n e s ig n b o a rd s ?

( 22) Wh at gauge of en gravi n g brass is ge n erall y used fo r

th e e m b o ssi n g process ?

( 3)
2 Fro m wh at oil is slow size m ad e ?

( 24 ) How is g o ld leaf prepared for use where the w i n d

i s too stro n g to use th e tip ?

( 25 ) H shou ld letteri n g brush es be preserved fro m

ow

dryi n g or harde n i n g ?

( 26 ) What are co m po sig n s ?

( 27) What t w o ge n eral ki n ds of size are u sed for gildi n g

on wood or m e tal ?

( 28 ) Wh at is m ean t by th e term tin t ?

( 29 ) What is th e m ost durable color whe n exposed to th e

ele m e n ts ?

( 30 ) Wh at is used as a backi n g for p earl filli n g to produ ce

a s olid letter ?

( 31
) What are the pri n c ipal classes i n t o which col o rs
are divi ded ?

( 32 )Wh at m i xtures should be used fo r letteri n g on

cardb o ard ?
 L ETTE R IN G
3 )
/
U N A N D S IG N PAI NTI NG .

What s ize is u sed for Etrusca n g ildi n g ?

Wha t is th e spectru m shade ?

'

Whe n are col o rs In h ar m o n y in their c om bi n atio n ?

Wh at color is used in th e m ixture of s ize fo r gol d ?

What are relief letters ?

H ow is th e asph altu m c o ati n g re m o ved af ter th e br as s
take n fro m the e tchi n g bath ?

( 39 ) What is a seco n dary c o lor ?

( 40 ) What is m ea n t by th e ter m cold col or ?

How m an v brush es are reco m m e n ded

( 41 ) as n ec e s s a r v

for practice work ?

( 42 ) What aci d is u sed for e m bossi n g on glass ?

( 3)
4 Whe n are colors s ai d to be in co n trast ?

( 44 ) To what depth should th e let ters be etch ed in g la s s ?

( 45 ) ( a ) What i s a sha d e of a color ? ( 5) H ow m ay

this be produced ?

( 46 ) H o w s hould co tto n clo th be prepared before le tters

are applied ?

( 47) What is m ean t by th e ter m war m col or ?

What
( 48 ) m aterials are u se d to fill le tter s etch ed in
brass plates ?

( 49 ) On what c o lors is th e glaze shade used ?

e m bossed w o rk to wha t depth should th e acid
( 50 ) In ,

be allowed to eat th e brass plate ?

5
( )What would b e th e result if a c o at of pa in t were
1
placed o ver a n oth er bef o re th e firs t dried o n e be in g a s l o w ,

d ryi n g an d th e o ther a quick dryi n g m i xture ?-

 L ETTE R IN G A N D S I G N PA I NTI NG .
§ 2

( 52) What adhesive m aterial is used in th e preparatio n

of gildi n g water size ?

( 53 ) Nam e two se m i n eutral colors .

( 54) How m an y m eth o ds are there of stripi n g by m ean s

of a letteri n g brush ?
5
( 5) Wh e n i s frosti n g on glas s u sed as a grou n d for
letteri n g ?

( 56) What is co n sidered th e least durable color ?

( 57) H ow is a d esig n th at is to be gilded placed on a

wi n dow glass ?

( 58 ) What is th e best protectio n agai n st frost that m ay

be applied to a fi n ish ed letter on glass ?

( 59 ) What is s ma l t ?

( 60 ) Wh at m ixture of colors pr o duc es purple ?

N DE % .
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