Capitals for Calligraphy: A Sourcebook of Decorative Letters

I learned so much from this book! She touches on the different calligraphic styles of writing and then shows page after page of decorative Capitals . A beautiful book!

Unfortunately, this book is out of print. If you can find a decent used copy of it, get it. It is a WONDERFUL reference! First off she starts with a chapter on "choosing a pen" - 12 pages worth. She reviews letterforms (9 of them) and calls them the "small" letters. She goes into the "pen capitals" (14 of them). Then goes into different ways of "illustrating" capital letters, where to place the capitals on the page, and then LOTS of example illustrations (to be exact: 42 pages specifically of examples, plus extra examples throughout each "lesson")! HUGE amount of reference material in this book! She finishes up with 6 pages of bibliography as well as a glossary and an index. WHEW! (did i mention this book has a HUGE amount of reference material??) I have NOT found another book like this. The only "second" that comes close is "The Bible of Illuminted Letters" by Margaret Morgan. Even then, Shepherd's book trumps Morgan's with all sorts of line art examples, which Morgan does NOT offer in her book. Like I said, if you can find a decent used copy, add it to your library. Ms. Margaret Shepherd, if you are reading this, PLEASE re-print this book!