Anatomy of a Typeface [Paperback]

Alexander S. Lawson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 16, 2010

To the layman, all printing types look the same. But for typographers, graphic artists and others of that lunatic fringe who believe that the letters we look at daily (and take entirely for granted) are of profound importance, the question of how letters are formed, what shape they assume, and how they have evolved remains one of passionate and continuing concern.

Lawson explores the vast territory of types, their development and uses, their antecedents and offspring, with precision, insight, and clarity. Written for the layman but containing exhaustive research, drawings and synopses of typefaces, this book is an essential addition to the library of anyone s typographic library. It is, as Lawson states, not written for the printer convinced that there are already too many typefaces, but rather for that curious part of the population that believes the opposite; that the subtleties of refinement as applies to roman and cursive letters have yet to be fully investigated and that the production of the perfect typeface remains a goal to be as much desired by present as by future type designers. Anyone aspiring to typographic wisdom should own and treasure this classic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine; Reprint edition (July 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879233338
• ISBN-13: 978-0879233334
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #845,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A collection of magazine articles January 29, 2006

By Michael Abbott

Format:Paperback

While this is not a bad book, I don't think it deserves the five-star reviews it got above.

Each chapter is an article (or perhaps adapted from an article) originally for a magazine called Printing Impressions. As a result they stand alone better than they fit together: some stories are duplicated or unnecessarily scattered over several chapters, while others seem more compressed than they had to be (such as his discussions of sans-serif typefaces.) The type samples are good, often original, which is wonderful for history (but will be a disappointment if you wanted side-by-side comparisons.)

The discussion of the workshop process of making metal type is tantalising but not all that helpful to understanding. And while it has pretty old engravings, they aren't labled or explained to help distinguish essential parts from workshop quirks.

I'd certainly recommend reading Robert Bringhurst's Elements of Typographic Style first. I've not yet read James Felici's Complete Manual of Typography but people say good things. From browsing it seems to be more specific than Bringhurst, with more focus on technology, and less on timelessness. (It's hard to tell but I doubt it has his wonderful prose.)

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great history and commentary August 12, 2005

By wiredweird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Lawson has created a wonderful, readable historical account. The first 30 chapters each present one typeface ('font' for computer folk). A typeface's chapter analyzes the structural features of the sorts ('glyphs'), noting how the typeface fits into the usual bins labelled 'black letter', or 'modern', etc. That discussion tends to be spotty, though, and the successful reader already knows a few different ways for serifs to differ from each other, for line weight to vary, and lots more.

What this book does well is present specimens of different typefaces within each family, showing how the letterforms drifted through time, or how they evolved to meet specific demands of paper, ink, and press. The typefaces are arranged in a chronological order, of sorts, but one type face's era may overlap another a large margin. Within each chapter, Lawson explores the development of that typeface, from the calligraphy and earlier letterforms that preceded it up through its contemporary appearance and use. The many examples also show the relationships between members of the same evolutionary tree. A few times, though, the samples could have been bigger, e.g. for pointing out differences in bracketing of the serifs.

This is very much a history of the type designers, printers, and other people in the history of type. It also gives some history of printing and typefounding technology. That motivates discussions of typefaces that were created to solve specific problems of paper, ink, and press, as well as esthetics. Historical information about punchcutting technology and modern type creation tools also explains the changing business relationships between font designers, distributors, and users....

Knowledge of history may help the reader in speccing type appropriate to some printing task, but there's very little here that would help in setting up a page of text. It's a book for another purpose, though. It's about the typefaces that are (or should be, or should not be) important to today's typographers, and why.

//wiredweird Read more ›

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great work on history and design of typefaces August 22, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Although called "Anatomy of a Typeface," this book actually takes about 20 classic typefaces and analyzes each, discussing its designer, history, and aesthetics in depth. This is an outstandingly thoughtful and well-researched book by a master in the field, potentially of use both to someone with a basic understanding of the topic and to an expert

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Misleading title, but still an important book March 13, 2008

By G. Hinds

Format:Paperback

I bought this because I was told it was one of the three best books for studying typography (the others being "The Elements of Typographic Style" and "Letters of Credit"). Based on the title, I was hoping this would give me a better sense of the visual/technical vocabulary and structure of typefaces in general. Instead it is basically a history of the important type faces and designers, tracing the reasons why different styles moved in and out of fashion/use as printing technology and publishing in general progressed. I found it very dry, and less useful than the other two books, but I can see where any designer should have at least a passing understanding of the content of this book. I just think it should have a different title. "Letters of Credit" talks more about the "anatomy" of typefaces, so I might recommend starting there.

5.0 out of 5 stars Start with this book April 11, 2013

By jeaniee1953

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Exceded my hopes. Does a wonderful job of telling the history of typeface, in a clear, easy to understand way. I found it fascinating.

5.0 out of 5 stars A EDUCATION IN TYPOGRAPHY July 19, 2012

By Joseph L. Breckenridge

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This collection of essays about type and the people who design it is, I think, essential reading for those who care about typography. It may seem a dry subject from the outside, but selecting the right type for a job, and using it in the most effective way possible, is as important to the printed word as color is to design.

As a collection of pieces written over a number of years for Printing Impressions, a trade magazine, it is not a systematic treatment of the subject. However, there are some fascinating stories here as well as useful, practical facts for those who work with type or simply want to understand it.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! A Great Book! March 18, 2003

By Bill VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A friend told me about this great book. It is possibly the best book about type and type designers that I have. Alexander Lawson does a superb job telling the history of the designers and the type faces back to the beginning. Excellent illustrated examples of the type faces. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in type and letterforms.