London: Bernard Quaritch, 1988, small octavo, pictorial wrappers. 97 pp. Bernard Quaritch, Quaritch rare book catalogue offering 92 items. Illustrated in black and white and in color. Hint of a paperclip (dent, not rust) at top of front wrapper. Fine. More about Bookhands of the Middle Ages: III. Medieval Manuscript Leaves Principally from the Rosenthal...
London: Bernard Quaritch, 2000, small octavo, pictorial wrappers. 86 pp. Bernard Quaritch, Quaritch rare book catalogue offering 125 items. Illustrated in color. Mild two inch fold (dent?) in front cover affecting the first 30 pages. Initials and date of receipt "3/3/00" on title page. More about Bookhands of the Middle Ages: VI. Medieval Manuscripts, Leaves and Binding Fragments. Bernard...
New York: The Typophiles, 1955, First Edition, Limited to 800 copies. oblong duodecimo, brown cloth. [xvi], [122] pp. The Typophiles, Typophile Chap Book #28. "The third calligraphic chap book, and the most ambitious. In 1952-53 twenty-five graphic artists were invited to contribute (read: assigned) texts taken from Harvard University Press'... More about Calligraphics - Hands & Forms. Rendered by Twenty-Five American Scribes for The Typophiles
London: Christie, Manson & Woods, Dec 2, 1987, large quarto, cloth. (126)pp. Christie, Manson & Woods, 46 items listed. From the Foreword to the catalogue: "Although her main interest was book collecting, she nevertheless managed to assemble a small, but select collection containing some quite remarkable manuscripts... Every aspect of... More about The Estelle Doheny Collection. Part II. Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
New York: Christie, Manson & Woods, May 19, 1988, large quarto, cloth. 103pp. Christie, Manson & Woods, 139 items listed and described iin detail. A remarkable section of a remarkable sale: William Morris letters and manuscripts; Cobden-Sanderson' s binding on Morris's own copy of Karl Marx, Le Capital; Morris's original... More about The Estelle Doheny Collection...Part VI. Printed Books and Manuscripts Concerning William Morris...
Boston: David R. Godine, (1979), Second Printing. oblong small octavo, printed heavy paper wrappers. unpaginated [75] pp. David R. Godine , With a Memoir by Fritz Kredel and a Preface by Warren Chappell. A facsimile of the 24 alphabets in Das ABC Buchlein. Small bump to wrapper, otherwise fine. More about The Little ABC Book of Rudolf Koch. A Facsimile of Das ABC Buchlein
Rochester, NY: Cary Graphic Arts Collection, n.d. (1995), First Edition. octavo, wrappers. 52pp. Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Limited to 1000 copies. Paul Standard named Edward Johnston as "The great exemplar of modern calligraphy, the link between all scribes living and departed." With this auspicious introduction, it is no wonder that... More about Thinking in Script: A Letter of Thanks from Edward Johnston to Paul Standard, 26 April-5 May 1944
New York: Design Press, (1989), First American Edition. folio, cloth in dust jacket. 256pp. Design Press, A beautifully produced book with color photographs from the work of German students in handwriting seminars at the University of Hamburg. The book " makes visible the process of teaching and learning" the various... More about Symbols, Signs, Letters. About handwriting, experimenting with alphabets and the interpretation...
Berkeley: University of California Press, (2002), First Edition. quarto, black cloth in dust jacket. 288pp. University of California Press, Calligraphy has been a revered art form in China for centuries but has changed dramatically since Mao Zedong established the People's Republic in 1949. Twenty-five people are presented in individual chapters... More about The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, (2002), Reprint. quarto, wrappers. 138pp. University of Toronto Press, For readers who wish to trace the evolution of scripts in the West from antiquity to the early modern period, and who want to read the work of their scribes, this volume provides a wide-ranging collection... More about A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600
Davenport, IA: St. Ambrose University, (1991), Second edition. quarto, grey buckram in pictorial dust jacket. (xii), 310pp. St. Ambrose University, Edited by Mary W. Gilroy. Illustrated and printed with accents and capitals and headlines in green or rust or both. The serif originated with Roman inscription letters, its history and... More about The Origin of the Serif. Brush Writing & Roman Letters
(London): Pelham Books, (1986), First Edition. quarto, boards in dust jacket. 141pp. Pelham Books, Illustrated with color plates. A student of Edward Johnston's, Wellington was a major influence on modern calligraphy helping to change it from a medieval influenced craft resurrected during the Arts & Crafts Movement to a modern... More about More Than Fine Writing. The Life and Calligraphy of Irene Wellington
Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, (1987), First American Edition. quarto, boards in dust jacket. 141pp. Overlook Press, Illustrated with color plates. A student of Edward Johnston's, Wellington was a major influence on modern calligraphy helping to change it from a medieval influenced craft resurrected during the Arts & Crafts Movement to... More about More Than Fine Writing. The Life and Calligraphy of Irene Wellington
(London): Studio Books, (1963), First Edition. quarto, green cloth in dust jacket. 96 pp. Studio Books, Tradition: Historical Note; The Revival of Calligraphy in Great Britain; The Revival of Italic Handwriting; The Revival of Calligraphy on the Continent. Trends: Present Practice of Calligraphy in Great Britain; Present Practice on the... More about Calligraphy Today. A Survey of Tradition and Trends
New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, (1988), Third Edition. quarto, green boards. 128pp. Taplinger Publishing Company, A largely pictorial survey embracing the development and practice of Western calligraphy in the 20th century. It ranges from the revival by Edward Johnston of calligraphy based on historical scripts, through the pioneering work of... More about Calligraphy Today. Twentieth-century tradition and practice
(New York): Smithmark, (1996), large quarto, boards in dust jacket. 128 pp. Smithmark, Creative Calligraphy will provide a practical course for the beginner, from a basic introduction to the history of the craft and an explanation of the materials required. More about Creative Calligraphy. The Art of Beautiful Writing
Freeport, ME: Bond Wheelwright Co., (1969), First Edition. quarto, cloth in dust jacket. xvi, (172)pp. Bond Wheelwright Co., The text is scribed by Raymond DaBoll in an italic script with the final parts devoted to his Notes on Calligraphy, a look at the hand-writing styles of various graphic designers, editors... More about Recollections of the Lyceum & Chautauqua Circuits
New York: Geyer Studio, 1979, First Edition Limited to 2,500 numbered copies signed by Ismar David. quarto, clamshell box containing bound book, loose broadsides and separately printed illustrative sheets. booklet, (viii), (38)pp. Geyer Studio, Set in 11 pt. Dante designed by printer/designer, Giovanni Mardersteig. The writing book is printed in... More about Our Calligraphic Heritage. The Geyer Studio Writing Book
New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2000), First Edition. quarto, cloth in dust jacket. xii, 196 pp. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Letters in Gold accompanies the first international exhibition of Ottoman calligraphic works from the Sakip Sabanci Collection, Istanbul. The seventy-one works constituting the exhibition are discussed and illustrated in... More about Letters in Gold. Ottoman Calligraphy from The Sakip Sabanci Collection, Istanbul
Montclair, NJ: Allanheld & Schram, (1980), Second Printing. quarto, cloth in dust jacket. xx, 198pp. Allanheld & Schram, A history of the art of calligraphy and a teaching manual. Extensively illustrated. From the Preface: "I wanted a single comprehensive volume, easy to understand, to learn from, and to teach with... More about Medieval Calligraphy, Its History and Technique
Koln: Taschen, (1999), First Edition. quarto, boards in dust jacket. (176)pp. Taschen, Text in English, German, and French. Starting with a biography of Morris the text follows the author/artist through interests in interior and furniture design, his public commissions, stained glass, tiles, wallpapers, printed textiles, calligraphy and the Kelmscott Press... More about William Morris (1834-1896
Caledonia, NY: Italimuse, Inc., 1963, First Edition. quarto, wrappers. (84)pp. Italimuse, Inc., The catalogue is divided into two parts: I. 1710-1957, in chronological sequence; II. Contemporary Calligraphy, in alphabetical sequence. Title page and headings calligraphed by Raymond F. DaBoll. Wrappers lightly soiled, top right corner mildly bumped. More about Calligraphy & Handwriting in America 1710-1962. Assembled and Shown by The Peabody Institute...
Boston: Godine, (1993), First Edition, first printing of the softbound edition. octavo, wrappers. (xii), (308)pp. Godine, Drawing from mythology, cosmology, history, the Bible, literature, and esoteric, and conventional sources, this book takes the reader on a tour of each of the twenty-six letters that comprise one of civilization's greatest inventions... More about The Alphabet Abecedarium. Some Notes on Letters
New York: Cross River Press, (1992), Revised Edition. quarto, wrappers. 236pp. Cross River Press, Extensively illustrated. The text traces chronologically and geographically all the major scripts that have contributed to writing's development. With chapters on Origin and Development of writing; The main groups; their characteristics, history and development; Decipherment; Social... More about A History of Writing
New York: Devin-Adair Company, 1948, First Edition. octavo, red cloth. 480pp. Devin-Adair Company, Illustrated with twelve drawings. Gill was wonderfully opinionated about art, design and architecture and the letters are full of specific likes and dislikes. Many of the cards and letters to friends and family are calligraphic and whimsical... More about Letters of Eric Gill. Edited by Walter Shewring