The Speedball Pen and the Lettering Artist Spurred Gothic
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The information in this article is culled A TWO-PART ARTICLE WITH RANDALL M. HASSON AND MICHAEL CLARK Introduced in 1915, the A-Series was the from Randall Hasson’s forthcoming book, first of the line of Speedball nibs. Its square Teaching America How to Letter: Ross tip resulted in a uniform line and could George, William Gordon, and the Story also be turned over to execute serifs. These of the Speedball Textbook, which will be examples are of a writing style termed published by Letterform Archive. The Speedball Pen and the Lettering Artist Spurred Gothic. by Randall M. Hasson The Origin of the Bent Nib the marketing and design of the window lettering was that which had a “swing” or a to replicate quickly by hand at small sizes The early twentieth century was a time of display evolved, these cards became “kick” to give it life. using the tools that were available in the change. In the arena of retail sales, advertis- smaller, and the brushes of the sign painter Graphic trends in Europe had an effect on early century. To help show card men write ing and marketing developed rapidly, giving were difficult to use in making the resulting American lettering in the early twentieth these alphabets, William H. Gordon and birth to many of the selling principles and smaller letters. Show card men turned to century. The bold display typestyles of the Ross F. George, using modifications to exist- techniques that are still in use today. The the traditional broad-edged pen for the German Expressionist movement, such ing nibs of the time, invented a nib with a storefront, for the first time, began to be smaller copy. They used lowercase letters, as Rudolf Koch’s Neuland (1923), became bent tip. Bending up the tip of a pen nib dominated by large, plate glass windows, which were faster to write and easier popular with the public in the larger retail resulted in producing a flat marking surface and a whole industry emerged that was to read. As the metal nib became more city centers, along with the “modern” clean- that would give a consistent, uniform stoke centered on techniques for effective window prevalent in the trade, the divide between lined and sans-serif typefaces that originat- of even width in any direction, regardless display. One of the most important aspects the methods of the sign painter and of the ed in England. In the printing trade, these of pen angle. A double reservoir was added of these show windows was the display show card writer became broader – show bold, uniform letterform styles were broadly to allow for more letters to be written with card that advertised a retailer’s goods. cards were written with the single-stroke classified as “gothic” letters, meaning letters a single dip. In 1915, after over a year of These cards were temporary and had to method of forming letters, as opposed to with strokes of uniform widths. Hence we testing and modification, they introduced be produced rapidly, and no window was traditional methods of outlining and filling have sans-serif typefaces called Franklin their nib design to the lettering world as the considered complete without them. These in letters. Gothic and Copperplate Gothic. Because Speed-Ball pen. “silent salesmen,” called show cards, became Commercial letterers wrote these cards show card writers were closely allied Speedball Nibs – Square and Round the surrogate voice of the shopkeeper. with a certain rhythm: the best of them with advertising, they adopted the general Rudolf Koch’s Neuland and Edward The show card above is an example of A natural outgrowth of the sign painting adapted the whole-arm-movement tech- nomenclature of the printer to avoid confu- The bent pen nib was introduced, in four Johnston's Underground are examples pre-Speedball work from 1914. trade, show card writing soon developed niques of penmanship from Spencerian sion in their classifications of lettering. marking shapes, over a ten-year period of “gothic” or uniform-width typestyles Top: The titling for this article was written into its own specialized genre. Show cards and Palmer methods. This rhythmic aspect However, Edward Johnston’s typeface for from 1915 to 1925. The original Speedball that lettering artists in the early twentieth with a Speedball A-Series nib on a rough were initially large signs, on full (22 x 28 was vitally important to the character of the London Underground (1916) and Koch’s nibs featured both square and round century were trying to replicate, which led surface of unprimed canvas. inches) or half sheets of bristol board. As the show card; the most desired type of Neuland and others like them were difficult variations of the marking tips, giving the to the development of the bent nib. 28 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 29 Left: A variety of styles and weights written with the A-Series (square) nib, inspired by lettering of the early twentieth century. Below: Samples of early Speedball nibs: square, round, and oval. Bottom: Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s lettering in the Glasgow Style, a part of the Arts and Crafts movement. The lettering directly to the left is the author’s contemporary interpretation. letterer options for the look and feel of the Writing with Speed lettering, based on the beginning and end- The main purpose of the first nibs that ings of the strokes. Later designs included had flat marking tips was to make uniform- a traditional broad-edged nib as well as a width strokes for gothic or monoline letters. nib in an oval shape that made thick and But they also answered the need for letterers non-hairline thin strokes. to economize their time: letters made in The physical approach to using this style a single-stroke method with minimal or of pen is different from that of a broad- no touch-up allowed the show card artist edged pen. With bent nibs, the pen must be to do more work in less time. One thing to held at a lower angle to the writing surface keep in mind when looking at show card (like holding a pencil), creating a more lettering of the early twentieth century is natural writing position that keeps the that, for the most part, you are looking at bent part of the nib in full contact with the examples that were written with a high marking surface. This adjustment in hold- degree of speed. This accounts in part for ing the pen is the reason the first Speedball the extremely fresh and spontaneous feel of textbook was produced: letterers of the the lettering, especially show card lettering time had trouble making the pen work – of American artists. they held it in the traditional ways they These letterers worked with what we held a brush or broad-edged pen. would consider astonishing speed. An Traditional calligraphy provides a variety of historical hands – Italic, Uncial, Black- excerpt from a 1914 trade journal gives letter, Roman – that are mastered with a some idea of how fast they had to work: “To broad-edged tool. Now, one hundred years hold his job in a Chicago store, a card writer after the invention of the Speedball nib, must be able to turn out interior cards (say a there is a revival of interest in looking back quarter sheet) with two lines and a price in on, and working with, the vintage styles of about 20 seconds flat.” commercial lettering artists of the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s. These include a wide variety Exploration with a New Tool of lettering that a calligrapher, using tradi- Aside from simply replicating historical tional tools, would not normally execute monoline letterforms, the bent nib pro- because these styles were not designed vides an opportunity for fresh exploration to be written with a broad-edged tool. The after one has become familiar with its use. facility with which the professional letter- Beautiful effects can be achieved by not ers developed these styles, however, can keeping the entire bent part of the nib flat provide inspiration to the contemporary and in consistent contact with the marking lettering artist. surface. A well-timed lift at the end of the Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 31 stroke with a round (B-Series) nib can, for uniform line, as in each of the strokes of is also the traditional tool of the cartoon example, provide a brush-like effect to an a capital letter A. dialogue letterer. alphabet with a tool offering a little more Learning these basic principles leads to The D-Series nib is an oval shape that control. Lifting the nib to a high angle so comfort with the pen, leading toward inno- gives letters a distinct characteristic that that the thin edge of the nib is in contact vation: making the pen do what you want it echoes the 1920s: a blunt serif. Like the with the paper will provide a contrasting to do. The Mock Brush Script is an example other bent nibs, this nib provides possi- thin, or even hairline, stroke. Ruling pen– of a high degree of pen manipulation. bilities for manipulation, but it is best on like effects on rough paper, with a bit of The pen is held on a diagonal, resulting in lowercase Romans for a vintage feeling. splattering, can be created with these pens squared entry and finishing strokes, at top (Unfortunately, the oval-tip, D-style nibs and will give the calligrapher ideas from and bottom. The pen is lifted and a corner is are no longer made.) which to push concepts of letter innovation used, in rhythm, to draw the thin upstrokes and experimentation.