Treasury ofQllígraphy

zig Great Examples, 1522-1840
Edited by Jan Tschkhold

The growth of banking and commerce in 16th-century Europe demanded clear,
legible records. A serviceable, attractive script became a necessity for entry into
these fields, and would-be clerks sought instruction and models to emulate. For
some three centuries, until the invention of the typewriter, professional
calligraphers earned their living by providing thoses models —vying with each
other in the production of hundreds of penmanship manuals and copybooks, and
in the process sometimes creating lettering of great power and beauty.

Eminent calligrapher, designer and design historian Jan Tschichold here offers
admirers of fine art and handwriting a stunning collection of over 300 years of the
best of European calligraphic art. Treasury of Calligraphy presents 219 examples
of work by dozens of Europe's master calligraphers — the cream of the manuals and
copybooks, selected according to Tschichold's personal criteria of expressiveness
and aesthetic importance.

Here is the near-Gothic rodonda of 16th-century Spaniard Juan de Yciar; the
variations on northern Fraktur and southern cursive practiced by his German
contemporary Caspar Neff; the sparingly used, dramatic ornaments of 17th-
century Lyons master François Desmoulins; and magnificent scripts by Palatino,
Wyss, Vespasiano, Cresci, van den Velde, Beauchesne and Baildon, Barbedor,
Casanova, Snell, Bickham, Stirling and many others.

Selections are arranged chronologically, by date of original publication. They are
reproduced from the archives of Basel's Gewerbemuseum and other sources,
including Tschichold's private collection of copybooks. Complementing them is
the author's enlightening introductory discussion of styles and historic trends in
calligraphy.

Modern interest in calligraphy reflects a burgeoning awareness of the artistic
values inherent in beautiful lettering. Tschichold's Treasury provides
calligraphers, graphic designers, art enthusiasts and others with a source of
inspiration and a valuable historical compendium of calligraphic styles.

Translation of the second edition (1949) of Schatzkammer der Schreibkunst:
Meisterwerke der Kalligraphie aus vier Jahrhunderten auf zweihundert Tafeln,
originally published by the Verlag Birkhäuser, Basel. Introduction translated by
Stanley Appelbaum. Sources of the Plates, Captions identifying artist, place, date.
219 black-and-white illustrations. 224pp. 8% x 11 Vi. Paperbound.

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