In an effort to reduce duplication, this page displays only a selection of the products we offer in this category. Please click on a subcategory in the list on the left to view a complete list of the products we offer in that specific subcategory.
Blackletter is a popular script in Mexico for everything from folk art to signage. This book introduces the kinds of blackletter, the cultural connotations of blackletter, and those specific to Mexico. It then presents the photos of many examples of uses of blackletter in signage in its colorful variations: standard, drop shadow, extended & condensed, and deviations & unpredictable. The several full-color collage pages of collages of single letters are a visual treat. (This book is about the vernacular use rather than refined calligraphic forms.)
B3869. Scripsit 34.2 Scripsit 34.2. 2012. 32pp. 8.5"x11". Paper
In this issue produced by Michael Clark: Iskra Johnson (Illustration and informal scripts with pointed brush and pen), Izzy Pludwinski (Hebrew and Western letterforms), Carl E Kurtz (letters as texture and form), Memorials by Artists (letter carving), Peter Thornton (compositions exploring texture, lettered with pencils), Michael Clark (lettering with ruling pens and other tools). The letter artists both show and discuss their work. Full color throughout.
B3870. Take Your Pleasure Seriously / Luca Barcellona Take Your Pleasure Seriously by Luca Barcellona. 2012. 224pp. 7.5"x10.5". Hardcover
Features commissioned work and personal pieces in hundreds of images (many never-before-published) of the letters and letterwork of Luca Barcellona, an internationally-known calligrapher, designer, and graffiti artist. He uses both historical letterforms and contemporary, original ones in striking and expressive compositions. Includes an interview by by Chaz Bojórquez. Over 250 full-color plates. Text by Luca Barcellona, Giovanni De Faccio and Nicola "DeeMo" Peressoni. Fold-out poster jacket. His work was featured in Letter Arts Review issue 23-3.
Luca Barcellona shatters the boundaries as he blends his street sensibility with fine penmanship. - Letter Arts Review
B3852. Poems of a Penman / Sull Poems of a Penmen: The Penmanship Verse of Michael R. Sull. 2011. 52 pages. 8.5"x11". Paper spiral.
Stories of penmen past and present and of IAMPETH - some true & some imagined - in old-fashion rhyming verse. Includes a bit of Michael’s script and off-hand flourishing. Illustrated with six pen & ink drawings (including a rather stern-looking John DeCollibus!). It’s a book that only a penman or penwoman would love, but what fun for us!
B3880. Adventures with Letters / Harvey Adventures with Letters: A Memoir by Michael Harvey. 2012. 236pp. 8.5"x10.75". Hardcover
Through hundreds of illustrations, this book brings together the many facets of Michael Harvey’s work: lettering for book jackets and other projects, lettercutting in wood & stone, type design, and teaching. Designed by the author. Printed in full color throughout.
B2769. Foundations of Calligraphy By Sheila Waters. 2006. 126pp. 9"x11.25". Concealed spiral binding. Now in its second printing. Hardcover.
In the 110 pages of exemplar alphabets, instruction, and hints, Sheila shares with you the knowledge she has gathered over her decades of study and practice. She provides insightful analysis of forms and constructions and helps you learn and work toward mastery of the alphabets. The presentation is honed by her vast experience teaching calligraphers how to advance their skills and art. Sheila Waters is not only a master scribe, but a master teacher. She has made both her life's work.
Chapters include Basics & Beyond, Analysis & Practice, Design & Layout, Conception to Completion, and Applying Design Principles. Foundational, Blackletter, Gothic Cursives, Uncial & Half Uncial, Carolingian, Italic, and Italic Variations are covered with thorough instruction for each. Foundational and Italic receive particular attention.**
B2811. Art & Craft of Hand Lettering / Cicale The Art & Craft of Hand Lettering by Annie Cicale. Revised 2011. 192pp. 10x10. Paper
Annie Cicale is well-known to calligraphers throughout the USA and Canada from the many workshops and classes she has taught for guilds and at many of the summer conferences. The new printing has the same fine alphabets and good instruction, but now with larger reproductions of the historical manuscripts. Exemplars include foundational, italic, Roman, black letter, uncial, italic handwriting, pointed pen, brush lettering and ruling pen alphabets. She covers design and includes a generous gallery. Color throughout. Our most highly recommended instructional book for broad-edged calligraphy. Great for classes or self-study.
B3244. Calligraphy / Lach Calligraphy by Denise Lach. 2009. 192pp. 9.25" x 10.25". Paperback
This striking and original book is a gallery of Lach’s calligraphic work and techniques. She presents the tools she uses in her work, each with illustrative examples: broad-edge nibs, automatic pens, Pilot Parallel Pens, music nibs (for writing the notes, not the 5-line staff the notes are placed on), plus reed pens & bamboo pens, felt tip pens, and brushes. There are multi-page sections on using the ruling pen, cola pen (made from an aluminum soda can), and pipettes as lettering tools. Lach briefly discusses - using visual examples - line weight, letter and line spacing, rotation, setting a rhythm, pen position & speed, variations on a theme, organic shapes, concentric compositions, serifs, and depth & density. Then you see how she creates letterforms using stamping with unconventional materials. Examples of stamping include a row of glue-together toothpicks, sharpened sticks, an ordinary cork, foam rubber and sponge. She shows examples of combining tools and techniques in one piece. Throughout the book, with calligraphic compositions from her hand and the photos that inspired them, she invites us to look closely at details and textures in nature, expand our powers of observation and find creative ideas in the world around us.
This book is currently out of stock. If you order a copy, it will be placed on backorder. The hardcover is out of print; the paperback is projected to be available Winter 2013. Backorders will ship when the book arrives at our store.
B3124. Parallel Pen Wizardry Book / Broadbent Parallel Pen Wizardry (Book) by Brenda Broadbent. 2003. 24pp. 8.5x11". Paper
This instructional book for the popular Parallel Pen will help you explore this very versatile calligraphy fountain pen. To start with are cartridge tips and tricks and instructions for using other writing fluids: inks (including acrylics), watercolor, and gouache. Includes a chart of waterproof inks that have worked well in the Parallel Pen. Writing and drawing with the pen are explored: monoline, flourishes, color blending, expressive and experimental forms, writing on fabric. Sample alphabets: Gothicized Italic (Sheila Waters), Gothic (Ward Dunham), Uncial (Gina Jonas).
LR19-4. LAR Second Wedding Issue: Vol.19, No.4 Letter Arts Review Volume 19, Issue 4. Wedding Issue.
This special Wedding Issue is full of unique and engaging calligraphy for weddings -- invitations, envelopes, reply cards, reply envelopes, and ketubbah. Includes both traditional and innovative, formal and fun presentations.
