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The first printing types

70

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Schwabacher Fraktur

184 The development of lettering styles from
Roman antiquity to the Renaissance.

INTRODUCTION

"Letters evolved historically. They must
be studied to be mastered. No one can
invent letters by himself. At best we can
modify them."1

The full scope of cultural and histori¬
cal relevance cannot be addressed in the
confines of this book. Two works that
are intended for the professional present
writing as the essence of our culture in
its connection to economy and society.
They are Albert Kapr's Schriftkunst
(The Art of Lettering)2 and Frantisek
Muzika's Die schöne Schrift (Beautiful
Lettering).3 Only with insight into such
connections is a true understanding of
changing forms, expressions, and styles
possible. In this book only the most
basic references are made to the historic
relevance of any given style or to mate¬
rials and tools. The user will find tips
on how to avoid the most common mis¬
takes. Illustrations show basic alphabets
and possible variations. These are not al¬
ways intended as models to be copied,
but rather as inspiration for the student
who wishes to delve deeply into the mat¬
ter and make historical forms his own, in
the sense of the introductory quotation.

Chapter 2 of this book teaches tech¬
nical drawing skills; this chapter pro¬
gresses methodically through different
writing styles, arranged in historical se¬
quence, because each new development
built on the foundations of earlier ones.

1. Jan Tschichold, Treasmy of Alphabets and Letter¬
ing. Reprint. New York: Design Press, 1992. Copy¬
right © 1952, 1965 by Otto Maier Verlag,
Ravensburg.

2. Albert Карг, Schriftkunst: Geschichte, Anatomie
und Schönheit der lateinischen Buchstaben (The art of
lettering: history, anatomy, and aesthetics of roman
Letters). Dresden: VEB Verlag der Kunst, 1971.

3. Frantisek Muzika, Die schöne Schrift (Beautiful
writing). Vols. 1 and 2, Prague: Arria Verlag, 1965.

71