Buy used: $94.95

FREE delivery Saturday, May 4

Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 2. Order within 13 hrs 39 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by MidwestExchange

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (10) from $54.99 & FREE Shipping

Follow the author

Walter Tracy

Follow

Letters of Credit: A View of Type Design Paperback – February 3, 2004

by Walter Tracy (Author)

3.7 12 ratings

See all formats and editions

The revolution in typesetting - a revolution that over the past two decades has eliminated a five-hundred-year-old system of hot metal production and replaced it with one of photo-generated and computer-driven composition - shows no sign of winding down. This book, more than any other we know, traces the steps that went into that revolution and simultaneously makes the argument that the letter forms themselves are in process of evolution. Tracy argues that, whether they are of the sixteenth or the twentieth century, the forms that comprise our alphabet are subject to the same rules of good taste, proportion, and clarity that have always obtained. But what we face today is vastly different from fifty years ago. For the first time, new technology has made the proliferation (and, as some would maintain, debasement) of letter forms fast and easy (or quick and dirty.) With fifty years of professional experience on both sides of the Atlantic (including thirty years as head of type design for the British Linotype Company), Tracy is in a unique position to make this argument and arrive at his sad conclusion: the design of distinguished, contemporary typefaces is far outnumbered by the mediocre and downright bad. Part of the reason for this deplorable deterioration is a lack of critical analysis of the particular esthetics involved. This step-by-step examination of type-design esthetics is precisely what Tracy provides here, while avoiding both the promoter's hype and the manufacturer's claims. Here are the gut issues of what makes type good or bad, legible or unreadable. Extensively illustrated with both typefaces and line drawings, this book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in thehistory of letters or in the artistry and peculiar problems that lie behind their production.

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

David R. Godine, Publisher
Publication date

February 3, 2004
Dimensions

6.78 x 0.6 x 9.92 inches
ISBN-10

1567922406
ISBN-13

978-1567922400
See all details

Gerard Unger
49
Hardcover
16 offers from $25.70
Karen Cheng
67
Paperback
16 offers from $23.65

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Typographer, writer, and designer of books, magazines, and newspapers, Walter Tracy was born in 1914 and began his career as a compositor. After several years in advertising, he went on to direct the English Linotype letter design program from 1947 to the mid-1970s. He served as typographic adviser to the London Times after Stanley Morison's death, where he adapted Morison's Times New Roman designs for the demands of modern printing. A specialist in typefaces for newspapers, Tracy also designed a number of particularly successful non-roman faces. He died in 1995.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ David R. Godine, Publisher; First Paperback Edition (February 3, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1567922406
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1567922400
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.78 x 0.6 x 9.92 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,658,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,120 in Typography (Books)
- #21,544 in Art History (Books)
- #29,012 in Architecture (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.7 12 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Walter Tracy

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5

12 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Eliana

Amazing book

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2011

Verified Purchase

This book is simply amazing! I'm from South America and it is impossible to buy this book here. For all typography lovers and specially for students specializing in typography it is a must have.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Shannon

Essential Reading for Typeface Designers

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2004

We are in a golden age of typeface design. Modern software and the world wide web have made it easier than ever to design and distribute new and original typefaces at a rate that could not have been dreamed of in days previous. As Tracy notes in his final comments for the book, what should have been beneficial for the art of typeface design has instead brought on a glut of poorly designed and soporific typefaces. Little thought is given to good design or to obtaining the knowledge that is needed to produce such design. Though Tracy's book is dated (nearly 20 years old) it is as important now, perhaps even more so now, than it was when it was first written.

Letters of Credit is at once a history of modern typeface design and an introduction to the principles of good design. The book centers primarily on what is called the "body typeface," i.e. typefaces used for book/newspaper/magazine printing. As with any art, the student needs to learn the rules before he or she goes about breaking them. Conscious breaking of the rules is a sign of mastery, while breaking them out of ignorance is the sign of a poor artist.

Tracy takes us through what makes up a good typeface. The text is never so technical that the beginning student becomes lost. What makes up a good italic? What about numbers? What makes a good letter S? Which bar should be longer in the letter E? It is all here. The book is well illustrated with many black and white illustrations of the many typefaces he critiques. Tracy not only gives us what makes up a good typeface but shows us the pitfalls that can drag a good typeface down to a mediocre one. One of the most interesting aspects of the first half of the book is a system of letter fitting that Tracy devised in order to find the proper fitting for each glyph of the font that the designer is working on. For that alone, the book is well worth the price.

The second part of the book is a survey of some of the great names in modern typeface design and a critique of some of their greatest creations. Such typographic luminaries as Jan van Krimpen, Fredric Goudy, Rudolf Koch, W. A. Dwiggins and Stanley Morrison are included. Tracy speaks with the authority that only experience brings as he talks about these great typographers and their creations. His critiques in this section of the book are an education unto themselves on what makes up good typeface design. Bottom line, if you are interested in typeface design, even if your interest lies more in display typefaces, this book belongs on your shelf. You cannot help but come away from this book without taking with you a better idea of what makes up good typeface design.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

shakron

Misleading Title

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book has an exceedingly misleading title.I was looking for a book on Letters of Credit but this book had nothing inside on Letters of Credit.The book was entirely about type face which might of interst to a printer but which was useless to someone who is looking for a treatise on Letters of Credit.Silly me for thinking that a book with the title,"Letters of Credit:A view of Type Design" would contain a description of the different types of Letters of Credit and how to design the different varieties of Letters of Credit required for different financial transactions.Rather than hassle with retuning the book, I chucked it in the garbage.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

wiredweird

Another piece of typographic history

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2004

Walter Tracy was successor to Stanley Morison, at least in advising the London Times and in opinionated personality. In this volume, he bridges much of the gap from Morison's writings on typography up to today's practice.
There's a lot of good technical content here, almost all of it regarding nuances of letterforms and design of type faces. He offers some interesting history, as well, from the turn of the century up to about the 1950s.
Among other type designers, he describes Rudolf Koch, best known for Kabel. As presented here, Koch was the first type designer to bridge the gap between the blackletter German alphabets and the Latin letters used elsewhere in Europe, to the advantage of both traditions. Tracy also spends a fair bit of time on Frederick Goudy. Goudy is certainly worth study, for both his succcesses and his less graceful work. Tracy seems to focus on the latter - his description of Goudy reads like a left-handed compliment in essay form.
Tracy was active from the hot-lead days, through photo typesetting, and into the early electronic era. He notes the advantages and weaknesses in each technology, as of when the book was written. Digital technology has progressed since then. Scanning has almost granted his wish that ".. vectorising is an automatic process ... [so] designers' work can be reproduced directly and with complete fidelity." Electronic design has also somewhat invalidated his claim that "the method of manufacture has [little] influence on the design of type." Frere-Jones' Reactor font is one among those that could never have appeared in metal. Also, the punchcutter's craft acted as an engraved metal barrier to entry into type design. With that barrier gone, amateur type design has come into its own (for better or worse).
The personality, the history, and the commentary on type design all make this a worthwhile book. It won't help the beginner much, and deals only with typographic issues at the level of letterforms and letter spacing. Still, it's a view worth seeing.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

George Horton

Still the best

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2012

This book's only serious fault is that it isn't ten times as long. It is the best introduction to type design available.

One person found this helpful

Helpful