User Guide

Jan Tschichold: typographer by Ruari McLean [Boston:
David R. Godine, 1975]. This puts Tschichold’s career and
writings in the context of developments in society around
him. It is informative and thought-provoking on its own, and
serves as useful background to his writings on the subject.
Manuale Typographicum; 100 typographical
arrangements with considerations about types,
typography and the art of printing selected from past
and present, printed in eighteen languages by Herman
Zapf [Frankfurt, New York: Z-Presse, 1968]. Herman Zapf
is known to most desktop typographers primarily for giving
his name to the Zapf Dingbat font. He is, in addition, one of
the most respected and creative typographers and type
designers of the century, who created not only the Dingbat
and Zapf Chancery fonts, but also Optima, Lydian, and
many other faces. Manuale Typographicum is a
breathtaking ‘tour de force,’ consisting of 100 broadsides
about type design in a wide variety of faces and styles.
Superb as a source of inspiration and example.
Herman Zapf and His Design Philosophy by Herman
Zapf, Introduction by Carl Zahn [New Haven: Yale
University Press, 90 color plates]. While the Manuale
shows the master at work, this volume is a discourse on
Zapf’s insights into type design. An excellent book.
Edward Johnson by Priscilla Johnson [New York:
Pentallic, 1976]. This biography of the twentieth century’s
most important calligrapher, written by his daughter, traces
his career and influence. Unlike many printing books, this
one is a delightful read.
Of the Just Shaping of Letters by Albrecht Drer [New
York: Dover Publications, 1965. (reprint of the Grolier Club
translation of 1917)]. Originally part of D’s theoretical
treatise on applied geometry, here is the source for those
famous capital letters set against a gridded background.
Champ Fleury by Geoffrey Tory, translated into English
and annotated by George B. Ives [New York: Dover
Publications, 1967. (reprint of the Grolier Club translation of
1927)]. Similar to the Drer book, but this is the one with the
letters shown against naked human bodies in addition to the
grid system.
Pioneers of modern typography by Herbert Spencer
Fontographer User's Manual
D: A Short Bibliography Page #8