CHAPTER XXVIII

PRINTED BOOK DECORATION

There ought to be plenty of scope for the modern illuminator in printed book decoration. His training in writing and illumination ought to be of the greatest service to him when he is called upon to produce decoration for the purpose of printing with type.

Without a doubt, the ideal form of printed decoration is that produced by means of wood-blocks that have been engraved by the artist. If he is able to engrave blocks from his own designs it will be possible for him to get much more human interest in his work. As a direct method of artistic expression wood-engraving has merits far above that of the mechanical methods of reproduction. Wood-engraving is, however, so important as to require a separate treatise, it being quite impossible to deal with it here.

By far the greater part of printed book decoration is produced from line process blocks, and it is with this form of reproduction that it is intended to deal in this chapter.

One of the most important parts of the book, from the point of view of decoration, is undoubtedly the title-page. In Fig. 51 some of the forms that this may take have been suggested. In making a design for reproduction by this process it is not advisable to make the drawing much larger than it is required to be when reproduced. The decoration loses much of its individual charm when it is reduced too much. A successful reproduction should represent the original drawing of the artist as nearly as possible, and if it is reduced a great deal there will probably be a considerable difference between the reproduction and the original.

In designing a title-page a great deal depends on the style of book it is intended for. A book on architecture or engineering would require quite different treatment from a volume of poetry.

A very simple form of title-page is suggested in Fig. 51 (_a_). This consists of nicely-arranged lettering with a printer’s device or some symbolical ornament. If desired, the larger lettering may be drawn and the rest printed from good type well arranged. It is hardly necessary to add that the lettering should be in keeping with that used in the other part of the book.

A title-page with the lettering printed from type and suitable decoration added is a very satisfactory form.

The next one, shown in (_b_), is one where the lettering is enclosed within a border. This may be either quite simple or elaborate, as desired.

The style indicated in (_c_) is one in which the lettering is incorporated with the design. This is a form often employed for an elaborately decorated edition, such as a volume of poems.

The next one (_d_) is the pictorial type: nicely-arranged lettering with a picture in the centre. This may be either in line or colour, but generally it is in line, treated rather boldly. A woodcut illustration with red and black lettering makes a very effective title-page.

The last suggestion, given in (_e_), is for the double form of title-page. A good number of richly decorated volumes are of this form.

Another type that is often used is where the lettering is placed on a tablet, scroll, cartouche, or other ornamental device; or the page may be a combination of lettering, border, and illustration. Instead of a border that is rigidly defined it may have a border that is quite loose in character.

Possibly several other variations will suggest themselves to the artist.

Another important part of book decoration is the initial letter. As mentioned in the previous chapter on the illumination of the printed book, these should be of the Roman type. Gothic initials should never be employed with modern type. Above all, the initial letter should always be distinct. A puzzle is all right in its place, but this is not the place for it.

In Fig. 52 some examples are given of bad forms for the student to avoid. It would have been easy to have filled quite a large number of pages with letters of this character. The letter A shown here is a type of initial that was very familiar in books about fifty years ago. Occasionally one sees it now, but not often. Most of these bad forms arise from a misconception as to the nature of the letter. A letter is simply a sign intended to convey a meaning to the reader; there is no reason why it should pretend to be something else. The sign may certainly be a thing of beauty, but surely making it look as if it is formed with branches like a rustic bridge is not making it beautiful.

Another bad type of letter is shown in the initial B. This form of letter is largely used by sign-writers even in the present day. In this case the letter is apparently conceived as a solid block, which is drawn in false perspective so that it may throw a meaningless shadow.

Sometimes the surface of the letter is broken up, as in the letter C. In the case of a stencilled letter, breaking the surface of the letter is, of course, unavoidable (although even in this case it would not be broken up like this example), but for a printed letter, where there is no necessity, it is extremely foolish.

The other C is another example sometimes seen, formed with a coil of rope.

The other shapes are all equally bad, and no one with a training in really good forms of lettering could possibly originate them. They all practically err in the same direction, _i.e._, in pretending to be something that they are not. It is curious that this tendency should so develop.

Another bad form of initial, not illustrated here, is that formed by contorting figures into shapes to represent various letters. All this sort of thing cannot be too severely censured.

It is far better to have initials quite simple in character rather than forms like these, which are absolutely debased in style. A fine form of Roman capital with little or no ornament added is much to be preferred.

In Fig. 53 some elaborate examples are given showing how it is possible to produce striking initials without resorting to any of the devices illustrated in Fig. 52.

The A and the T are examples of initials filled with decoration based on plant-form. This makes a very good style of letter.

One of the O’s has a decorative landscape placed in the centre. Of course, only the round letters can be treated in this fashion.

The other letter O has a fanciful style of decoration very suitable for the commencement of a fairy tale. In fact this initial was designed for that purpose, the story commencing in the usual way, “Once upon a time.”

In Fig. 54 some suggestions are given for tail-pieces which are used to fill up when a chapter ends half-way down the page. These may be of various shapes, such as triangular, rectangular, lozenge-shaped, or irregular. They may consist merely of decoration or they may embody the words, “The End,” “Finis,” “Conclusion,” or “Here ends the story of----.”

A small decorative scene may be employed as suggested here. Another way often used, and also indicated here, is for the lettering to be separate, with a band of ornament beneath it.

Borders for illustrations should be in keeping with the style of the illustration.

Chapter headings may be either well-arranged lettering enclosed within a border, or the lettering may be placed on a scroll, cartouche, etc. Another form may be that in which a picture is incorporated with the decoration. Generally, chapter-headings are used more in magazines than in books. If one is designed for a special page in a magazine it should be definitely for that particular page.

When making a design that is to be reproduced in two colours, in which both colours are distinct--_i.e._, they do not overlap--the drawing should be made all in black. A sheet of tracing-paper is then pasted on the top edge at the back and folded over on the face of the drawing. The parts that are intended to be printed in the second colour should then be painted in with vermilion on the tracing-paper. This indicates to the block-maker the parts to cut out when making the blocks. The reason for doing this is because it is much easier to make the line-blocks from the drawing if it is all in black. Of course, this only applies when the two colours are quite distinct. When they overlap, the best way is to make two separate drawings in black. This can be done quite well by making a pencil drawing first, then painting in one colour in black on this drawing; the second colour is then painted on a piece of tracing-paper which is placed over this drawing for the time being. A small cross should be placed at each corner of the drawing and traced through on to the second one to act as register marks for the block-maker.

Generally speaking, all designs for book-decoration should be in line. The great disadvantage of the half-tone process is that the blocks cannot be printed well on a paper that has the slightest tendency towards being rough on the surface. The best results are undoubtedly produced when they are printed on art paper. Art paper is, however, far from durable, and should not be used for books that are required to be lasting. Apart from this, the half-tone process is not nearly so satisfactory as the line process. A good line block will give a fairly faithful reproduction of the original drawing without losing detail. This cannot be altogether claimed for the half-tone process. Three-colour process blocks, being a development of this, are open to the same objections. When the student has seen some of his work reproduced by these processes he will be able to appreciate the difference.

If colour is required in the decoration, a much more satisfactory form of colour reproduction is that produced from several line blocks, but, of course, if this process is used there must be no attempt at wash effects.

This chapter is intended to be merely suggestive of the developments in printed book-decoration that ought to be quite possible for the modern illuminator.