86

A PENSIVE BRUSH WITH DESTINY

А Ш ■ 1----

Right, the proper order of
brush strokes, from light
to dark, by Chas. J. Strong
(inset), author of the
classic Strong's Book of
Designs, 1908. He writes,
"Always make brush¬
strokes continuous. Avoid
short, choppy strokes.
Begin by executing the
vertical strokes, and final¬
ly add the spurs or other
peculiarities. Don't work
with the point of the
brush, use the side instead,
and keep the hair spread.
Begin a new stroke
back of [or within] the
preceding one."

Right, Tommy Thompson,
author of another classic.
The Script Letter, 1939,
shows us how our letter-
forms benefit from the
underlying structure of
perfect circles. He writes
that no matter the style
of script, or how con¬
densed it may be, "It
must be clearly under¬
stood that the turns must
be round." And 1 want to
i tell you that 1 am in com¬
plete accord with this
principle. When unhappy
with a particular curved
shape, 1 often draw cir¬
cles and ellipses as guides /
to help reestablish the [
integrity of the shape. V

Л J \Jt '; VJ \l

OPQ&STU

VW~XY2&|

LOGO, FONT & LETTERING BIBLE

87

■

—

NO SMOKING

-^ON THESE ~

Left, a classic, brush-lettered
sign, с 1910, complete with a
period at the end. It's not the
best example of well-drawn
letters—the is stink, except
for the final one, and the Mi
are too narrow—but it's the
real thing! I do like the spur
serifs added to the bottom
points of the middle strokes
on the letters M.

\&т,

L
I

V
E

Nail head
THEORY

Oiliness
PRIMER

stageri-so 400¿¿тг/шмитоттпі

DA1LY1745 1030 ^ Midnite Show Every SAT. ,#^fRL

Right, free brush lettering by

Warren Chappell. Above, sample

of Chappell's Lydian type showing

strong calligraphic influences yet

great restraint as required of a

font designed for text as well as

display headline purposes.

Long after type had
supplanted most hand-
lettering, some classy
theater owners still
valued the Zing! that a
brush could impart to an
ad like this one at left.
I had to find out who was
still doing ads like this—
in the 1970s!—and
finally met Don
Sturdivant, the author of
Modern Show Card and
Theatrical Poster
Lettering, 1948.1 once
asked him why the white-
out he had used to touch
up one letter had been
allowed to carelessly cut
into another. T know,
Les," he replied, "Frank
Lloyd Wright once said,
'Let the nails show.'"
Which I thought was
surely one of the most
brilliant excuses for slop-
piness I'd ever heard.
Who would dare argue
with Frank Lloyd Wright?