New Books in the Library

As of January 31, 2009

Everybody who took Reggie’s class knows that he has a list “top ten books.”  As the librarian for PCS, I am working to add the books from Reggie’s list to the PCS collection. At the end of 2008, I was able to buy four of them.

I also bought a book which is not one from the Reggie’s list of books, but it’s such a good book for paper lovers.

I hope you like the new books added to our library and invite you to borrow them.

-Dochka

Origin of the Serif: Brush Writing and Roman Letters
by Edward M. Catich

In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols.  Serifs are thought to have originated in the Roman alphabet with inscriptional lettering — words carved into stone in Roman antiquity. The explanation proposed by Father Edward Catich in his 1968 book is the Roman letter outlines were first brushed onto stone, and the stone carvers followed the brush marks which flared at stroke ends and corners, creating serifs.

This book is rapidly becoming a minor classic. Professor Catich, a noted calligrapher, has written a scholarly essay tracing the role of the serif in brush writing and in stone cutting and has accompanied his essay with many illustrations. In this book, the author questions accepted theories as to the serif's origin, and advances his own theory with skillful reasoning, detailed illustration, & epigraphic proof. 

The book is excellently designed and artfully uses green and red colored ink throughout.

Creative Lettering Today by Michael Harvey

This book brings together between its covers a quartet of lettering arts: drawing, calligraphy, carving, and digital lettering. Michael Harvey, an English lettering designer and teacher who has taught often in the Untied States, was already a calligrapher, carver, and type designer, used to drawing every character of a font, when he was commissioned by Adobe Systems to design a typeface. So Harvey moved from the world of hand craftsmanship to that of high technology, and, in Creative Lettering Today, demonstrates the full range of techniques – manual and digital – open to those who wish to explore lettering design. Harvey addresses all those who, for whatever reason, wish to pick up pencil, pen, brush, chisel, or mouse, providing an ideal introduction to the lettering arts.

Little Manual of Calligraphy
by Charles Pearce

Charles Pearce is one of the Big Names in the world of calligraphy. His Little Manual of Calligraphy is a small book that can be used as the standard textbook for beginning calligraphers. You will find five basic alphabets illustrated, as well as short pieces on the history of writing, how to use the pen, design and layout, and a few pieces of work by leading practitioners of the craft.

Japanese Bookbinding: Instructions from a Master Craftsman
by Kojiro Ikegami

Kojiro Ikegami, third generation in a line of professional bookbinders, is one of the few full-time practitioners of the craft in Japan. He has repaired innumerable antiquarian books, many designated as national treasures or important cultural properties, at his workshop in the Tokyo National Museum. In 1979 he received a distinguished government award – the Sixth Class Order of the Rising Sun – for his contribution to the conservation of significant books in Japan's history.

Kojiro Ikegami gives easy-to-follow instructions for making all the major, historically important styles of Japanese bindings as well as traditional book cases – the custom-made folding boxes that afford handsome protection for Japan's exquisite books. The authoritative text, written by one of Japan's leading professional bookbinders, has been fully adapted for Western readers. Both American and Japanese suppliers of traditional tools and materials are provided and substitutes are recommended for items not readily available.

For centuries the West has admired Japanese books, but only now can we make them ourselves and take full advantage of their creative possibilities. Stunning and practical, these bindings are ideal for preserving calligraphy, letters, artwork, and poems, for adding a distinctive touch to limited-edition books, and for use as diaries or gifts.

Painted Paper: Techniques & Projects for Handmade Books & Cards
by Alisa Golden

Create decorated papers as beautiful as any found in an art store! The results will be distinctive and personal, too, with exactly the colors, themes, and design desired.  In her uniquely imaginative style, Alisa Golden helps novices approach the blank page and make the creative process their own. Focusing on ways to paint paper using water-based media – primarily acrylic inks and gesso – she supplies all the necessary inspiration and information for mastering such techniques as washes, dropper outlines, brush-handle painting, and masking borders. Her exquisite examples range from repeating patterns and freeform designs to customized stencils and translucent layered looks, and projects include an origami envelope, accordion-folded album, and decorative box.