Typography books for newbies

[Miss Tiffany]

Historically narrow, but very interesting, is James Mosley's "the Nymph and the Grot".

[hawk]

Jan Tschichold - The New Typography

Eric Kindel - Typeform Dialogues

The typography of William Caxton ( well. this one is $$$$$ - first edition 1861-1863).


David Hamuel

[Miss Tiffany]

Type & Typography. Just released by Mark Batty Publishers. (Look in the books section, first page) Great book for those that want an introduction from several authors. Articles are all compiled from past Matrix printings.

[Miss Tiffany]

David -- have you actually seen Eric's book? I saw a preview of it in '99 (maybe '00) when I was at Reading. What do you think of it? I'd love to hear a review from someone that has used it. At the time it looked very interesting, as well as something an educator could really use.

[hrant]

Kindel & Dixon's book/CD-ROM isn't out yet. Well, I assume it isn't since I've been on the waiting list for ages! It promises to be a real gem.

hhp

[aeolist]

can't you veterans suggest a couple must-have books on the basics of typography? from what everyone has posted so far, I should have been born a millionaire in order to just start learning about it.(any explanatory websites would be great too)

[hawk]

Tiffany,

yes i do. but - about Reading - doing what?

this paper or academic paper is pure knowledge. it is about history. culture.

this kind of paper - MUST!!!

i think the problem with young people, students (and part of this problem is because of the school/university) - that they are looking for shortcuts. they are looking for "how to" books.

e.g. a post by a guy(not here). he wrote, more or less, : i am new to fonts. i am looking for a book about metrics.

the problem: he wants to create a typeface. but he does not know what is a typeface. just to buy FontLab or Fog....you can't create a typeface.

Steven Heller, the Great Heller wrote ( about illustration - but i think you can say type design/ graphic design etc., etc., ) :

"...At most art schools, despite the requisite nod to the liberal arts, the student is not exposed to or encouraged to take part in classes about literature, sociology, psychology, or history...

"Having a liberal education will not necessarily guarantee a rosy illustration career, BUT neither will an art school education. What liberal arts WILL facilitate is a better understanding of subjects and themes that an illustrator will encounter in a majority of assignments.....

"......Without THESE TOOLS AN ARTIST CAN MAKE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING PICTURES.....BUT BEING VISUALLY LITERATE IS NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF TURNNING A CIRCLE, SQUARE AND CONE INTO A CAT OR DOG, BUT ASSIMILATING, SYNTHESIZING AND TRANSLATING HUMAN KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE INTO VISUAL TERMS."

that is why this paper is must. and not just this paper.


David Hamuel

[keith_tam]

I think part of being a typographer/type designer is having a large library, and spending a fortune on books :-P

If Typeform dialogue is out, I want to buy it right now! I, too, have seen a demo of it (in 2001) and was throughly impressed. Definitely a great tool for learning.

I agree, Tiffany. The Nymph and the Grot is great and it offers quite a unique pespective on the early developments of sanserif letterforms.

Robin Kinross's Modern typography is a great book on the historical developements in the twentieth century. But, imho, the typographic design itself makes for a rather uncomfortable reading experience.

There are so many books that I want to recommend. Here are a few that I think are great (sans comments or details, sorry):

Writing, lettering, & illuminating
Edward Johnston

A book of scripts
Alfred Fairbank

An essay on typography
Eric Gill

Letterletter
Gerrit Noordzij

Elements of typographic style
Robert Bringhurst

Graphic design & reading: explorations of an uneasy relationship
Gunnar Swanson, ed.

Twentieth century type designers
Sebastian Carter

Letters of credit
Walter Tracy

Type, sign, symbol
Adrian Frutiger

The visible word
Herbert Spencer

Texts on type: critical writings on typography
Steven Heller and Philip Meggs, eds.

[hrant]

> spending a fortune on books

Or have access to a [really] good library. I worked for UCLA for a couple of years, and I still get to use their stellar library resources, including doing ILLs of just about anything ever printed! Like I certainly couldn't afford Enschede's glorious 1908 specimen book (~$1200 market value, and worth the quadruple price of the 1978) but I recently got to scan it up the wazoo.

BTW, don't forget Alexander Lawson's "Anatomy of a Typeface". It's way up there.

hhp

[keith_tam]

> > Or have access to a [really] good library.

Sure. The library at Emily Carr here in Vancouver is not the best, but it does have quite a well-stocked typography section, as well as a number of books on calligraphy and lettering.

> BTW, don't forget Alexander Lawson's "Anatomy of a Typeface". It's > way > up there.

Yes, Hrant, you're right. Lawson is a good read. But I remember the copy at Reading University's library has been scribbled all over with comments that challenge the historical accuracy of a particular chapter (I forgot which one it was). I also remember someone from Reading saying that it is a bit iffy on historical facts. Don't quote me on that.

[antiuser]

I'm quite fond of Bringhurst myself. It was the first book on type that I read.
It's a great introduction to the world of type.