Publisher's description:
Spirited history and comprehensive instruction manual covers 13 important writing styles (ca. 4th century thru 15th). Fascinating facts about Roman Rustic, Uncial, Carolingian Minuscule, Early Gothic, 8 other styles; all examples beautifully photographed. Detailed directions for duplicating medieval techniques with modern tools.
From the back cover:
Gothic or black-letter script, practiced by many medieval scribes, was a principal model for printer's type when printing was first invented. Characteristic thick strokes and stress on points and angles give the style a power and dignity that transcends the temporal.
Now noted typographer and printing historian Dan X. Solo presents an impressive collection of 100 complete fonts of Old English and Gothic typefaces, derived from the immensely influential black-letter style. Choose from such classic type styles as:
Abbey English
Alte Schwabacher
Blackstone
Caxton Initials
Dolbey
Engraver's Old English
Germania
Goudy Medieval
Lautenbach Initials
Munich Fraktur
Old Gothic Initials
Trump Deutsch
... and 88 others.
Almost all fonts include complete upper- and lower-case alphabets — many feature numerals and various punctuation marks. Attractive, versatile, and copyright-free, these alphabets are ready for immediate use on stationery, newsletters, posters, signs, greeting cards, and more. In fact, the high cost of setting specialty typefaces ensures that just a one-time use of material in this book will more than repay the cost of the entire volume.
Graphic artists, illustrators, and designers will want to own this money-saving archive of elegant, ready-to-use Old English and Gothic fonts — unsurpassed for forceful, eye-catching appeal.