Margaret Shepherd's new book: Learn American Calligraphy

     I'm happy to announce the publication of my new book Learn American Calligraphy, The Complete Book of Lettering, History, and Design, from Skyhorse. Fifteen years in the making, it fills a much needed function to showcase the letters that came to America and evolved, or those who were created here. 

The book takes the casual reader on a visual trip around the United States of the past and future, while calligraphers at all levels of skill will come home with new alphabets to use. 

    For centuries, American calligraphers have accepted the legacy of the classic Roman, Gothic, and Italic calligraphy they inherited from Europe without knowing that there are more alphabet treasures to be found in a larger pool of uniquely American alphabet designs. Wild West, New Deal, Prairie, National Park—all were made in America, and they express ideas that reveal national character. These styles come from here and nowhere else. Much like American music, language, fashion, and philosophy, calligraphy has matured, moved on from its origins, and become, in the words of the man who created Spencerian handwriting, “even more American.” 

Every calligrapher will find inspiration in this book's hundreds of illustrations and dozens of model alphabets. We will be sampling from its hundreds of illustrations and dozens of model alphabets over the year. 

Learn American Calligraphy is available wherever books are sold. 

American Calligraphy #24: Handmade protest signs

ABCs of the USA: The stories behind America's most distinctive calligraphy styles. 

Handmade signs combine two distinctive American obsessions: do-it-yourself and expressing your opinion. Together they make art that communicates with a special voice. 

A Shahn poster memorializing controversial
anarchistsSacco and Vanzetti. 

Ben Shahn (1898-1969), who immigrated from Lithuania, was trained in both classical and Hebrew calligraphy. He admired the grassroots letters of American amateurs, using them to give his work unique immediacy. His letter designs appeared as posters, book covers, and type fonts.  

Ben's Folk type, a font that he inspired.

Ben Shahn's ideas gave voice to other political advocates for social justice, and engendered dozens of typefaces, while inspiring a generation of graphic designers such as Mary Corita and Lorraine Schneider. 

Protest letters let people carry a
sign that speaks in their own voice. 

Iconic anti-war poster
by Lorraine Schneider 

 

American Calligraphy #4: Put your John Hancock here

ABCs of the USA: The stories behind America's most distinctive calligraphy styles.  

Every American schoolchild learns the story of John Hancock, the fearless revolutionary who signed the Declaration of Independence with its biggest signature. Tradition has him quipping that “King George will be able to read that without his glasses!” A “John Hancock” quickly became a slang term for any signature. 

A paraph is a swash ↑ that emphasizes a
signature but also helps make it hard to forge. 

This post anticipates John Hancock’s birthday, on Saturday, January 23, which has been named National Handwriting Day. It's a good time to remember the virtues of this country in addition to what we can do to improve it.   

Even back in 1776, literate people had a wide range of handwriting styles. Today, that range has stretched. For comparison, here is the signature of Jacob J Lew, US Secretary of the Treasury. (By 2013, humorous criticism had persuaded him to upgrade it from loopy to legible.)  

American Calligraphy #3: Utopian and Usonian

ABCs of the USA: The stories behind America's most distinctive calligraphy styles.   

Since its arrival 400 years ago, the Roman alphabet has been Americanized in dozens of different versions, by letter artists seeking new ways to reinterpret its clarity, gravitas, and air of permanence.  Among them, architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) believed that America should move beyond the inherited architecture and letters of Europe, to evolve its own styles.  He called this style "Usonian" (United States of North America), and based it on the landscapes of Midwestern prairies, Southwestern deserts, and new cities. Like all American architects, he designed for an idealized future. 

A type style based on Wright's alphabet. 

Wright also insisted that everything in the built environment should harmonize, encompassing textiles, furniture, doorknobs, hinges, and the letters and numerals in the street sign. Often he designed a unique alphabet for a particularly important building. 

The letters USA (above) are shown in Wright's signature color, "Cherokee Red." He incorporated a red square with his initials into many of his buildings, drawings, and publications.         

A typical FLW wall tile from Taliesen (left). 

American Calligraphy 1: Subway Mosaics

ABCs of the USA: The stories behind America's most distinctive calligraphy styles. 

This sketch is based on two  
New York City subway panels.  

This year, I'm not making New Year's Resolutions; instead, I've got a short list of things I'd like to get back to once the virus of 2020 has truly gone away. Many of us miss the same things: a meal with friends, hugs, seeing people's faces, not feeling so threatened. But I also miss riding on subways and looking at the visual art that dresses up so many stations. Boston of course has its charms, but nothing quite equals the mosaics in the subway stops of New York City.  

Many stations in the New York subway system have vintage virtuoso mosaic station panels, designed and installed by the firm of Heins and LaFarge 1904-1907.  Today, an ongoing city program curates this world-class legacy while it sponsors new station signs of similar high artistic quality. 

America is a treasure box of beautiful calligraphy. Come back next week to see more, all through 2021.