(Part 3) Top products from r/Calligraphy

Hi, countertrap. I'm new to the sub, but have the same question as you. I'm looking for courses more in a university or college setting, but here's what's worked for me in terms of self-study, that I thought might help you as you consider what to study:

Edward Johnston's book Writing, Illuminating and Lettering was recommended to me when I was starting out, and I think it's still an excellent resource on how to start if one is interested in the absolute classical calligraphy process. https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Illuminating-Lettering-Edward-Johnston/dp/1475299931

I just found an interesting YouTube on his legacy, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA0PA3wsXyA

My personal favorite modern calligrapher so far is Margaret Shepherd, and her books are very accessible and helpful. Her book Learn Calligraphy is, in my opinion, excellent because it starts you at the beginning with Roman hand and moves forward from there, explaining the historical development of letterforms in Western writing all the way to present day. https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Calligraphy-Complete-Lettering-Design/dp/0767907329?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

She's got a fascinating book on World Calligraphy that I love.

I hope that helps.

As a follow-on to your question, are there courses that exist for calligraphers in the way there are for artists? For example, if I wanted to "go to art school," I could attend, say, Columbia College here in Chicago and graduate with a degree in art with a specialization in oil painting. Are there similar programs for calligraphy?

Thank you! Well when I was around 10 or 11, so ~20 years ago, my grandma bought me and my cousins each a Rotring fountain pen, probably 1.5 or 1.9mm nib, and gave us a few classes on italic calligraphy. I always liked my grandma's italic, and it definitely sparked an interest in me, but I wanted to learn blackletter/gothic and that type of hand. I did it for a while, but I lacked discipline and didn't stick with it long enough, didn't know how to take care of the pen and probably lost it eventually.

Fast forward to my 30s, never lost interest. I've been lurking this sub, /r/PenmanshipPorn and /r/Handwriting for a few years now, and while going through all her calligraphy stuff everywhere in the house I said to myself, "let's do this."

TL;DR, skip the story: I inherited a lot of calligraphy/illumination books from her. One of my favorites so far is Written Letters: 29 Alphabets for Calligraphers by Jacqueline Svaren. Here are some excerpts, I really love her italic.

I also used:

• this site quite a bit: http://www.calligraphy-skills.com/italic-calligraphy.html (Edit: /u/RekiRyu has pointed out that the script is only average on this site so it shouldn't be used as an exemplar, but I used it when I started and found the instructions to be informative. You should check the resource links in the sidebar for the good stuff.)
  
• alphabets I found on google and inspirations from this sub and other places.
  
• this lined paper generator for your specific needs like heights and nib size, etc. I know how to nib ladder and use a ruler, but I just wanted to mow through as much as possible.
  
• I was given some sage advice from /u/slter, one of the awesome scribes from this sub who posted this amazing card that inspired me quite a bit, about practicing letter groups so I found this exercise.
  
• I'm constantly writing on stuff, these are arranged from most recent at the top to back to when I started. I have a pretty fat folder so far of all the paper I've gone through.
  
  I have a ways to go! I'm very critical of myself which is one of the reasons I haven't posted here until now. I always notice a lot of mistakes that I will continue to work on the best I can. (I probably freehand more than I should.)

Not a dumb question....that is page 22 of Arrighi's La Operina. Born Ludovicus Vincentinus, he was a scribe in the Papal Chancery. By pure luck, Arrighi, a master scribe, met a master carver, Ugo da Carpi, who carved the woodblocks that printed the 32 pages of La Operina which in 1522 became the first printed calligraphy book. It is a beautiful example of Chancery Cursive which has become better known as Italic today. It was followed by many printed calligraphy example books and by the 1700 was largely forgotten until a facsimilie was produced in the 1920. 300 copies were printed in Switzerland by Fredric Warde and the forward was by Stanley Morrison. I understand that the facsimilie was very influential in Alfred Fairbanks lettering and book, among other prominent 20th C calligraphers.

Perhaps the best modern translation and study is Arrighi's Running Hand by Paul Standard. My copy is well used and I show it to beginners when I teach Italics. I often use the book as practice like this extract of page 13

Apologies for long answer.

TLDR Arrighi's Running Hand discussion

I think I know what you mean. For broad edge, I'd suggest Michelle Brown's A Guide To Western Historical Manuscripts. I'm not sure what the answer is for pointed pen.

Brown's book is meant for paleographers (historians who read old manuscripts) not calligraphers, so it won't have anything like a ductus or comments on how to do the scripts inside. What it does have is a crap ton of scripts, laid out in high-quality full-page photos from the original manuscripts in a nice large format.

If you want instructions for how to do said scripts, I'd recommend The Historical Source Book for Scribes, by Brown (again) and Patricia Lovett, an accomplished calligrapher. This won't have quite the breadth you're after (it only has 14 scripts vs. 55 in Guide to Western historical manuscripts), but I think it's a valuable starting point to learning scripts from just a manuscript, as I talk about at length here (that comment also has some links to online libraries with extensive digitization projects; it takes some work to get what you want out of them, but once you do the selection and image quality is miles better than any book).

If you can't find an affordable copy of "historical source book" (the price seems to fluctuate wildly), Drogin's Medieval Calligraphy is not as good, but still a good starting point. And it's super cheap.

Also, I wouldn't recommend Harris' The Calligrapher's Bible. It's overdone in some areas and underdone in others, as I talk about here.

Sorry to link to my own replies so much, but I have a lot to say on this topic and I only have so much time to type :)

Sounds very frustrating, I have to admit. I must admit that mine have worked ok, but having read some reviews on Amazon, they can be a bit hit or miss.

The Pilot Parallel pens look like so much fun, and they are definitely on my (extensive!) wishlist. I think they are pretty pricey ($24.00) in comparison to a simple ink cartridge converter though (couple of dollars). But then you'd also have to buy a bottle of ink to fill it.

For years I have used Shaeffer pens for Calligraphy. These are a bit cheaper than Pilot, and always have excellent reviews. The only downside is that Shaeffer have their own cartridge system, so you're stuck buying their cartridges instead of the standard ones. (Although again, you could invest in a converter to use bottled ink, but these seem expensive).

Hope this helps. I'm not in the US, so I've used Amazon for general pricing.

Super reply. Wiki-worthy, I would say? Thanks a lot!

I want them all, basically. I've got a few you mention, but I think I'll order The Historical Sourcebook to begin with. I saw this on Tasha's IG, which I'm getting too. Wish I was back in the UK for books; getting stuff in Central Europe is a bit of a hassle.

Definitely saving this for future reference. Cheers.

JA Cavanaugh's Lettering and Alphabets is a pretty good place to start. He goes over formal scripts, as well as advertising scripts and Romans (as well as some technique for each).

Bailey of Antiquaria is a friend of mine in the Society for Calligraphy. She's a very skilled calligrapher whose work has been published in Mastering Calligraphy by Gaye Godfrey-Nicholls.

I will need much more practice before I can post anywhere outside of WotD and QotW sections! Thank you for checking up on me. :)

If you don't have any guilds or calligraphy societies close to you, then this sub is a good place to start. Read through the wiki, the BestOf, the DullTuesday threads from the past. Look at the constructive criticism posted by other calligraphers on other posts here, and glean something from it for your own practice.

If you're interested in this particular style, the script is called Italic and it's one of the foundational scripts for broad edge calligraphers--a good place to start. I'd highly recommend Sheila Waters' or Annie Cicale's book.

I only know of this tale courtesy of this beautiful children's book that my daughter loves <3

I am almost positive that it is this book. I own it but have not been able to fully read it myself. It does have handy transparent guides at the back and looks pretty solid.

Nice work! He has indeed. Have you seen his political cartoons? Fascinating stuff. http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Seuss-Goes-War-Editorial/dp/1565847040

Oh man, now I have to buy it. Another book purchase. Thanks a lot.
(Just kidding, thanks for letting us know about it!)

Edit: for others who are unable to resist temptation, here’s the Amazon link.

I have this book, and every page is lovingly hand-crafted:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Psalms-David-James-Freemantle/dp/0688013120/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I was in your position a week ago and ordered this pen from amazon. I have really enjoyed it so far and its my first pen. You get 4 ink tubes, 3 nibs, and the pen for $10.

Here's a C! For Calligraphy, of course.

This piece was done on Arches cold press paper, with Windsor and Newton gouaches. The gold is also a W&N gouache.

The character was inspired by one of my reference books, Illuminated Letters.

Good point. The Romans have different proportions. Sheila's Romans are more compressed. I [only] have Catich's Reed Pen & Brush Alphabets for Writing and Lettering. I must get his book on the origins of the serif. I also prefer Harris and Catich's versions.

I got Fraktur Mon Amour. Highly recommended.

Just fyi, Annie's book can be found for a very modest price used. Amazon

I have been using this to learn from. Sorry about Amazon link.

https://www.amazon.in/Factor-Notes-Notebook-Dotted-Bullet/dp/B081B14SKZ i used this notebook