Looking for vintage engraver’s lettering manuals

James Puckett

I’m looking for engraver’s lettering manuals from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Does anybody have a list of titles?

Oliver Weiss (Walden Font Co.)

I bought this set and have been very happy with it: https://www.retrosupply.co/products/lettering-library-mega-bundle

James Puckett

Thanks, Oliver.

Russell McGorman

This is mainly calligraphic roundhand penmanship and lettering the era but there are some interesting alphabets. 
The Zanarian manual of Alphabets and Engrossing.

Stephen Coles

When you say “engraver's”, do you mean specifically for engraving, or books that are engraved? 

James Puckett

Manuals/Exemplars for engravers to use as reference, like Atkinson Sign Painting et al but for engravers.. I’m specifically looking for examples of the lettering styles in the image below, especially the big “DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION” headline. I looked through a couple dozen old engraver’s books yesterday but it was generally decorative scripts and nothing like this. 

Stephen Coles

Ahh. that's a great question! There are many, many instructional manuals for penmanship, sign painting, and basic lettering styles, but I don’t think I’ve seen any that teaches this kind of stuff even though it was very common for certificates, billheads, maps, titles, etc.

Stephen Coles

There are some examples in the Zanerian manual, Russel mentioned, including some models for the “bones” — before decoration. Here’s one in the 1900 edition.

Stephen Coles

And another.

Oliver Weiss (Walden Font Co.)

That specific style with the blocky letters that sometimes touch was called "Sickel's" or "Sickles".