Good seriously interfered with, a certain amount of exag-
Lettering— geration (and dwarfing)1 is allowable in special
Some cases; particularly in ornamental writings, and Pen-
Methods of flourished capitals or terminal letters (see figs. 79
Construction and 125).

& Arrange- Rational exaggeration usually amounts to the
ment drawing out or flourishing of tails or free stems, or
branches—very often to the magnifying of a char¬
acteristic part (see fig. 150, & pp. 214, 295). It is
a special form of decoration, and very effective if
used discriminately.

BEAUTY OF FORM

[As having beautiful shapes and constructions, so that
each letter is an individual and living whole (not
a mere collection of parts) fitted for the position,
office, and material of the object bearing the in¬
scription)

To choose or construct beautiful forms requires
good taste, and that in its turn requires cultivation,
which comes from the observation of beautiful
forms. Those who are not accustomed to seeing
beautiful things are, in consequence, often uncer¬
tain whetjier they think a thing beautiful or not.
Some—perhaps all of us—have an intuition for
what is beautiful; but most of us have to achieve
beauty by taking pains.

At the least we are apt to be misled if we label
abstract forms as essentially beautiful or essentially ugly
—as by a mistaken recipe for beauty. For us as
craftsmen “achieving beauty by taking pains,” means
acquiring skill in a special craft and adapting that

1 The exaggeration of one part may be said relatively to dwarf
the other parts of a letter ; but it is seldom advantageous, and
often not permissible, to dwarf part of a letter absolutely.

216

skill to a special piece of work. And perhaps the Good

surest way to learn, is to let our tools and materials Lettering—
teach us and, as it were, make beautiful shapes Some

for us. Methods of

“ Inside Shapes.”—The beauty of a letter depends Construction
very much on its inside shape—i.e. the shape of the & Arrange-
space enclosed by the letter form. As this is often ment

overlooked, it may be briefly referred to. Frequently
when it seems difficult to say what is wrong with
a piece of bad lettering, a glance at the inside shapes
will reveal the fault. In simple writings if the pen
be properly cut and properly held, these shapes will
generally take care of themselves, and internal angles

ООП

Inside shapes: тсш£~

(a.)

+

Î.S.tmdto

as^rruTWtry.
ib.) X

Fig. 151.

or asymmetrical lines which occur are characteristic
of that particular form of penmanship, and not
accidental (b, fig. 151).

217