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Design in Typography.
Lii.
Later Drapery Combinations.

Drapery designs, as we have shown, followed in natural sequence from the Banner, Scroll, and Ribbon. It remains only to note those that have succeeded the elaborate series by the Johnson Foundry, described in our last article. The next production of the kind was in 1878, when Messrs Conner's Sons of New York brought out two architectural combinations, the « Arcade » and the « Colonnade. » As the only American examples of a style of combination which has since been greatly developed in Germany, these borders are interesting. We have already shown that movable types are really not adapted to the construction of architectural designs; and though some of the modern combinations are wonderfully ingenious and beautiful, they are never quite satisfactory in actual use. The curtain, of course, is an architectural form; and in our article on the Drapery Border we showed that its folds can never be satisfactorily handled by any device of type-combination.

The Arcade Border really consisted of two sections, an architectural combination, of 26 characters, and a drapery design—in no way combined or connected with the other—of 23. With the first division we are not at present concerned. The following synopsis shows the whole of the curtain characters, and their effect in combination. The influence of MacKellar's « Drapery » is clearly perceptible in this design; but there is an evident attempt to improve on the original. We note as a distinct advance the curved extension-pieces descending from the ornamental centre, also the ingenious arrangement of the side-folds, gradually narrowing to a point, and the neat narrow fringe for the lower parts of the curtain. The defects are, the break in the curve where the descending-piece joins the corners; the absence of horizontal extension-pieces to connect the two, and for purposes of justification. (The founders, in their specimen-sheet, patch this portion with a pair of the ornaments shown at the top of the synopsis of characters, but this has a make-shift appearance.) The narrow fringe has neither proper corners nor justifiers. The shortest length being 12, when a border is set to an odd number of ems, the lower fringe will not justify. Such is the case in our example, where two gaps in the design are apparent. There is also in this combination, a want of depth, dclicacy, and uniformity in the engraving.

The Colonnade is a much more ambitious design, containing 55 characters, including pillars, mouldings, friezes, pediments, and curtain, and bringing the latter into actual combination with the architectural features. It is unnecessary to set out the scheme in detail, as we are not considering architectural combinations at present; but the following, though only a miniature example, will illustrate the effect of the design in actual use:—

In this combination, the drapery is really well managed, and the difficult details of the folds at the bottom corners and centre are successfully overcome. By the device of the proscenium, the problem of the upper corners and centre of the curtain—unsuccessfully attempted in the « Drapery » and the « Arcade » —is not solved, but altogether avoided. This border joins up better than the « Arcade, » and is the best of the very few American attempts at architectural type combination. But, as in the « Arcade, » proper facility for justification is not provided; and the exasperated comp, when he comes to the foot of his design, often finds that he must reduce or expand the upper portion to make the bottom correspond.

About the same time, the same house produced a rough « Curtain » border, of some eight or ten characters. The curtain was represented as suspended from a pole by a series of rings. The idea was not well developed, and the effect was inartistic and unattractive. We have not a copy of Conner's Specimen-book, and have not the border before us. We remember having met with it in a supplement to the firm's Typographic Messenger. We do not think that we have ever seen it in actual use.

The « Cartouche » border of Messrs Schelter & Giesecke, to which we shall refer more fully in a later article, comes into the same category. This border is a feature of our title-page to vol. iv.

We pass on to the only Continental design of the kind with which we are acquainted—the « Draperie » of Messrs Müller & Hölemann, of Dresden. Combination borders are not a specialty of this house; but in this particular instance they have produced a design which is decidedly original and which has become widely popular. The « Draperie, » counting the large electrotyped corners, which form a separate section, contains 49 characters, varying in size from 3· x 3· to 120· x 48·. Its success consists in the original treatment of the subject. The impossible feat of setting out the creases, folds, and shades, is not attempted, save in the case of the large bottom corners already referred to. The combination consists chiefly of a rich variety of fringes, designed with much artistic skill, and engraved with great delicacy. They are intended to cross the work in bands. Many of them, being provided with corners, may be used with excellent effect on all four sides of the work. In the specimen-sheet before us we have six thus arranged together, divided by brass rule, and finished page 46by a square cut-off at the corners. Among these complete borders are two patterns of laced cord (22-23, 24-25), which are both striking and artistic. This combination figures largely in art-work, both English and Continental; it is, we think, the best—because the most conventional—typographical treatment of the idea of drapery that has yet appeared. We regret that we cannot illustrate our chapter with an example.