Tools of the Trade: Lettering for Reproduction by David Gates

Yesterday, my copy of Lettering for Reproduction by David Gates showed up! Published in 1969, it covers everything you need to know about designing hand-lettered type (after all, this was the age before personal computers) and the content is based on Pratt Institute’s Dept. of Advertising Design and Visual Communication Lettering Course from that time.I love the abundance of diagrams and illustrations (almost every page has pictures) and that most of the examples are student work.   

If you’re type obsessed, it’s nice to have a manual on how to put all those rusty tools to use (your t-sqaure and drafting tape are feeling lonely!) and at the very least, the low cost coupled with spiral bound pages make it convenient to rip apart and plaster your walls in.