The History and Technique of Lettering is both a historical survey and a practical manual for artists, typographers, calligraphers and designers. Alexander Nesbitt follows the evolution of written and drawn letterforms from ancient pictographs and Egyptian hieroglyphics through Greek and Roman inscriptions, runes, medieval scripts, Carolingian and humanistic hands, Renaissance typefaces and the developments brought about by printing and the Industrial Revolution. The extensively illustrated first part places each lettering style in its historical and stylistic context. The second part is a substantial practical course devoted to the construction and execution of lettering, including pen and brush techniques, Roman and italic forms, Gothic scripts, decorative lettering, layout and type design. The book was originally published in 1950 under the title Lettering: The History and Technique of Lettering as Design; the Dover edition is an unabridged and corrected republication. (AI-generated content description)