Product Description

Whether you want to personalize stationery or enhance other special gifts and objects, The Art of Calligraphy helps you choose equipment, from brushes, pens, pencils, papers, to inks, and then shows exactly how to produce every letter of the alphabet in a number of different scripts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #274438 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780756613044
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
YA-An attractive, oversized, well-illustrated introduction to a wide variety of written scripts used from Roman times to modern days. The detailed, practical instructions for 26 styles focus on step-by-step, clear visuals, as well as on the proper equipment-brushes, pens, pencils, paper, and ink. A brief history with examples from calligraphic masters introduces each style, making this book not only a practical working manual, but also a useful resource for art history classes.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
The skills and techniques of calligraphy are explained in a fine guide which details key elements of letter writing and uses clear examples to guide beginners. Lettering examples are done in different hues of color, which can emphasize textures and stylistic contrasts. One of the best beginner's guides available. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author
David Harris is an internationally renowned teacher and lecturer. His work has appeared in numerous publications and he¹s the author of Calligraphy, Inspiration, Innovation and Communication.

Customer Reviews

Excellent book of exemplars
There are so many books on calligraphy; it is extremely difficult to write one that will please everyone. This one will please you vastly if you are looking for a book full of well-laid-out, very clear ductus' pages, with minimal instructional material and beautiful color reproduction of historical examples.

This book is basically about directions for writing historical hands. The DK style of minimal text supported by captioned pictures makes for a lot of visual learning, but this does cut down on the scope of information included. The information is historically basic, then, and the instructional section quite minimal. If you need beginner's instruction for the first steps of calligraphy, you may not find the depth of information you desire here.

The real stregnth of the book is in its breakdown of historic hands. The step-by-step breakdown of each letter of each hand is most helpfully produed in color, allowing the areas of overlap to be clearly seen; this is much more definite in visually presenting the letterforms than the traditional method of providing black and white exemplers. Further, each hand is made with different calligraphy tools; markers, reeds, quills, dip pens, et cetera, allowing you to compare the look of each tool.

There is a very helpful appendix, providing each alphabet in the book in simple, er, "abc form;" a skilled calligrapher could open the book to this two page spead and have every hand presented in the book available for visual reference.

In all, a very, very useful book for those who are looking primarily for instructions for writing historic hands.

Beautiful but......
As with all Dorling Kindersley products the book is beautifully produced and laid out. However it does has some flaws. The style of the text is somewhat 'strained' and reads like a text book which doesn't not seem,in my mind to fit in with the usual user-friendly DK style. Secondly there appears to be a section of the book missing, in that the book leaps from a rather cursory look at what is required straight to the different styles, without discussing any basic techniquesof penmanship(penpersonship?) Further more I use the word 'cursory' since there is no mention of INK! How can a book about calligraphy not discuss types and colours of ink, gouache etc! I would suggest that the revised version of this 'practical guide' (sic) ought to consider this major oversight!

Excellent Book
If you want only one book to learn about calligraphy, this is the one. Trained by a master calligrapher of the Queen's Court many years ago, I recommend this book very highly to anyone who wish to develop skill and proficency in this art.

While I didn't pursue this field career-wise, I found this book to be an excellent reference to reignite the skill I thought was lost.

F.Lee