Mr. Osborne,

I too have searched for such a manual and have yet to find one all encompasing "Manual". I have found several books that cover a lot of info on typography and you have to piece together the parts you need. The closest I have come to a 'Manual" is a book called "Logo, font & lettering bible" by Leslie Cabarga ISBN 1-58180-436-9. It has tons of tips and lots of examples of big name designers/letterers. Another must have is "The Elements of Typographic Style" by Robert Bringhurst ISBN 0-88179-132-6. He deals more in depth with traditional type and the history of type. But a good understanding of those things are important even in today's funky styles. Bringhurst also deals with traditional page styling techniques. The first one is like Rock 'n Roll of typography and the second like heavy Classical music.

I've also found that hanging around this forum is a big help. There are a lot of experts that don't seem to proud to pass on what they've learned. I hope this helps.

-another Jefferson

These two are a good start:

http://briem.ismennt.is/index.htm
http://typeworkshop.com/index.php?id1=type-basics

Thanks, both of you. They look good.