Typophile

Info about lettering

gotnov

Hello, my name is Aleix and I'm a spanish graphic design student. This is my first post, so be nice!! hehe

My typography teacher wants us to do a type catalog about any typography subject. I chosed lettering and I divide it this way:

  • [manual lettering] before computer age (I know a spanish letterer called Ricardo Russelot but I can't find any info, I guess I'll just contact him)
  • [computer age] before open type (I don't know any authors here... could be some emigre's fonts?)
  • [computer age] after open type (underware, sudtipos, house industries?)

I don't even know if this would be a good way to make the catalog sections. But this is not the main problem. The main problem is that I'm having a hard time finding info about lettering as I don't want to put so much info about the historical starting of writting, the romans, italics and so... I want to start more like about 1600-1700 or so, where people started making letterings for shops and so on.

So, to sum it up, I just need to know if you guys think I'm going the right way on this, and if you could give me any links/names of authors/names of books where I can get the info I need for the catalog (mainly text and images).

Thank you!!

Stephen Rapp

Are you looking specifically for lettering people or scribes whose work later became type? For the 20th century there is always Hermann Zapf. Any book on the history of writing should get you names of scribes. Or try wikopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovico_Arrighi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius

gotnov

I'm not looking for scribes as the old book calligraphy writters, more like famous designers who made logotypes drawing typography, sineage for shops and so on. So I guess it would have to be more like from 1800's to 1950's or something like this (in the manual lettering section).

gotnov

Also, the second section (computer calligraphic typography but w/o open type [80's-2000's?]), I only know emigre (and I'm not even sure they did make calligraphic types, because in their website there ain't any), any more authors or books would be welcome too :)

crossgrove

There is a lot of lettering for advertising, packaging, signage that is difficult to attribute, meaning the lettering artists are anonymous. Much advertising lettering of the 20th century was done by experts with long careers, but who never had a presence beyond their work. The House Industries guys are very avid students of hand-lettering styles and the craftspeople who practiced hand-lettering; if you contact them, you might get some useful leads. They have already done a lot of research to discover the identities of otherwise forgotten lettering artists.

gotnov

I sent them an email two days ago, but they didn't answer (yet).

Anyway, anyone has names for the 2nd category? ( [computer age] before open type )

Like, people who made lettering/calligraphic fonts but without using open type

Thanks!!

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