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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 1

Design in Typography

page 73

Design in Typography

Judging from their wide and immediate popularity, there must have been in the various series of Line Ornaments, something specially commending them to the letterpress printer. A little examination will show what these qualities were. As the flourish is the natural and appropriate decoration for copperplate styles, so the line ornament is adapted to the straight lines and right angles of letterpress. It will be noticed that, however disguised by ornamentation, the leading characteristic of this style is the right angle. Besides this, another important recommendation was the entire absence of formality. The original type of border, which repeats the same design, and carries it solidly all round the page, has an important place, and will never go out of use; but it is quite unfitted for line decoration. Moreover, it usually represents (in a more or less conventional manner), some natural or artificial object, such as foliage, embroidery, fringes, and mouldings. But the line ornament is, in its own place, more satisfactory as a decoration, being merely suggestive, and never representative. The old-fashioned copperplate flourish-work swans, lyres, &c., were decorative in this way—they satisfied the idea of decoration without any pretence of accurately portraying the object indicated. So with line ornaments. An endless variety of forms, such as shields, banners, and ribbons, may be suggested, without any of the stiffness attaching to the ordinary combination borders. We in no way disparage the latter; but considered as decoration, the lighter and merely suggestive style has the advantage, inasmuch as accuracy of representation is altogether unattainable with type, and no attempt in this direction can be quite successful. In illustration, we show the suggestion of a banner in series 5 of the ornaments, from MacKellar's specimen sheet side-by-side with a banner composed from Caslon's design:

This shows the characteristics of the two styles, and among the advantages of the ornaments is this—that they are more readily composed. With the curved series, very good suggestions of ribbon designs may be constructed, and here again it compares favorably with the combination border on the same principle—the « Elliptical, » an earlier production of the same house. The heavier border, unless used with very bold type, has an overshadowing effect; besides which, the rectangular lines of construction come out rather too strongly.

To display the curved and serpentine designs to full advantage, a wide measure—40 to 45 ems, is required. In the curved designs, a straight piece is sometimes put in the centre, as in numerous examples in the specimen book. This should be avoided, if possible, as any flattening of the curve has a bad effect. Very ugly broken curves are sometimes produced by compositors who repeat the same curve—an inexcusable blunder, which not only mars the design but injures the type. Another error is to bring a wrong pair of curves together in the centre. When properly composed, the curves blend into each other perfectly.

One of the chief errors in the use of these ornaments is that of overdoing them. We have seen—in a specimen-book, too—a page of hair-line letters so over-adorned that the text was smothered. To subordinate the text to the ornament is a fundamental error in any class of decoration.

The fact that the ornaments do not require to touch in all parts of the work materially simplifies their use; while, on the other hand, the many points of contact they present, enables them to be combined to an indefinite extent, producing numerous light and effective pendants, centre ornaments, tailpieces, &c.

As card and circular borders they are generally a failure, as they lack the necessary solidity of effect. It is a mistake so to use them, every job office possessing material better suited to the purpose. As an adjunct to borders and brass rule, however, they come in with excellent effect.

We regard the Line Ornaments as among the most original and useful additions which have been made in late years to typographic appliances—as is sufficiently shown by the general appreciation in which they are held. For the decoration of lines, centres, and corners they are unequalled, and there is no other material to fill their place.

page 74

It might be supposed that with several hundred characters, all possible requirements would be met; but at least one more series would be useful. Some day, perhaps, the founders will favor us with a series of oblique ornaments to 45°, with quads to correspond. They would be more serviceable than those in present use, which are to 60° and 30° respectively.

Typo's three election forecasts—that Mr Ivess would not win the Napier seat; that the ministry would sustain a decisive defeat; and that restored confidence in business circles would follow—have all been fulfilled to the letter. Mr Ivess ran his opponent very close, scoring 950 against 1,008—so that the block vote of journeymen printers, forty or fifty strong, settled the election. The ministry fully expected a defeat, but some of the ministerial organs did not, and were wofully disappointed at the result. So were certain confident partizans, who had hired brass bands and made extensive arrangements for « popular » demonstrations. Our third forecast was quickly justified. Immediately on the defeat of the ministry becoming known in London, New Zealand inscribed stock, which had been below par for two years, rose to 100, an advance of ½ per cent.; and within a week had risen another ½ per cent., the tendency being still upward.

The Auckland Bell predicts dire disaster as the result of the verdict of the colony. It is always safest to accept the Bell's forecasts as the farmer did those of Francis Moore's Almanac regarding the weather—when he read « Fine, » he prepared for a storm. But we sincerely hope that one prediction: « Local industries will be left to their ordinary development »—may be realized. One great cause of the present depression has been the persistent and vexatious intermeddling of the State with the natural and orderly growth of trade. Industries that proved profitable to the promoters and the country have been regarded with suspicion and harassed with taxation, as tending to too great an accumulation of wealth; while every branch of legitimate trade has been crippled to « foster » such exotic growths as distilleries, tobacco factories, sugar refineries, &c. A Government that has the courage and good sense to « leave local industries to their ordinary development » will benefit the country more than it would by raising a new loan of twenty millions.