The Eternal Letter: Two Millennia of the Classical Roman Capital

by Paul Shaw (Editor)

A generously illustrated examination of the enduring influence of and many variations on the classical Roman capital letter. The fiftieth anniversary of Helvetica, the most famous of all sans serif typefaces, was celebrated with an excitement unusual in the staid world of typography and culminated in the release of the first movie ever made starring a typeface. Yet Helvetica's fifty-year milestone pales in comparison with the two thousandth anniversary in 2014 of Trajan's Column and its famous inscription--the preeminent illustration of the classical Roman capital letter. For, despite the modern ascendance of the sans serif, serif typefaces, most notably Times Roman, still dominate printed matter and retain a strong presence in screen-based communication. The Eternal Letter is a lavishly illustrated examination of the enduring influence of, and many variations on, the classical Roman capital letter.

The Eternal Letter offers a series of essays by some of the most highly regarded practitioners in the fields of typography, lettering, and stone carving. They discuss the subtleties of the classical Roman capital letter itself, different iterations of it over the years, and the work of famous typographers and craftsmen. The essays cover such topics as efforts to calculate a geometric formulation of the Trajan letters; the recalculation of their proportions by early typefounders; the development and astonishing popularity of Adobe Trajan; type and letter designs by Father Edward M. Catich, Frederic W. Goudy, Eric Gill, Jan van Krimpen, Hermann Zapf, Matthew Carter, and others; the influence of Trajan in Russia; and three generations of lettercarvers at the John Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island. Essays about modern typefaces--including Matinia, Senatus, and Penumbra--are contributed by the designers of these typefaces.

Contributors
John and Nicholas Benson, Frank E. Blokland, Matthew Carter, Ewan Clayton, Lance Hidy, Jost Hochuli, Jonathan Hoefler, Richard Kindersley, Scott-Martin Kosofsky, Gerry Leonidas, Martin Majoor, Steve Matteson, Gregory MacNaughton, James Mosley, Tom Perkins, Yves Peters, Ryan L. Roth, Werner Schneider, Paul Shaw, Julian Waters, Maxim Zhukov

Genres: Design

270 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2015

Reviews

[Ben Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We use the letters of our alphabet every day with the utmost ease and unconcern, taking them almost as much for granted as the air we breathe" (119). This careless ease, however, only comes through generations of painstaking care. The Eternal Letter is a compelling introduction to the community of letterers who continued the tradition of care from the 20th into the 21st century. Beautifully illustrated, this volume is a powerful testimony to the quiet grace of the silent medium through which we receive language.

[Yukari Watanabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never really thought about the Trajan letters until I read this book. It's so fascinating!
The origin of the typeface Trajan letters we are familiar with came from Trajan’s Column, which was built 2000 years ago!

The Eternal Letter is a series of essays by most knowledgeable people in the fields of typography, lettering, and stone carving.

There are many interesting facts and visuals, and it will interest anyone who love designs and history.