A technical division of illumination into _Colour-work_, _Pen-work_, and _Draughtsmanship_ is convenient (see Chap. XI.). Though these are properly combined in practice, it is suggested that, at first, it will be helpful to think of their effects as distinct so that we may attain quite definitely some mastery of pure, bright, colours & simple colour effects, of pen flourishing and ornament, and of drawing--whether plain or coloured, that will go decoratively with writing or printing. This distinction makes it easier to devise definite schemes of illumination that will be within our power to carry out at any stage of our development. And while the penman inevitably gains some power of pen decoration it is well for him as an illuminator to practise in bright colours and gold; for illumination may be as brilliant and splendid in its own way as stained glass, enamels, and jewellery are in theirs.[1] At first, at any rate, hues that have the least suspicion of being dull or weak are to be avoided as though they were plainly "muddy" or "washed-out." The more definite we make our work the more definitely will our materials instruct us; and such service must precede mastery.
Referring again to good LETTERING: the second part of this book deals with some of its _Qualities_, _Forms_--the Roman Capitals & their important pen-derivatives--and _Uses_. It is written [p-xviii] largely from the penman's point of view,[2] but a chapter on inscriptions in stone has been added and various types and modes of letter making are discussed. The essential qualities of Lettering are _legibility, beauty, and character_, and these are to be found in numberless inscriptions and writings of the last two thousand years. But since the traditions of the early scribes and printers and carvers have decayed, we have become so used to inferior forms and arrangements that we hardly realize how poor the bulk of modern lettering really is. In the recent "revival" of printing and book decoration, many attempts have been made to design fine alphabets and beautiful books--in a number of cases with notable success. But the study of Palæography and Typography has hitherto been confined to a few specialists, and these attempts to make "decorative" books often shew a vagueness of intention, which weakens their interest and an ignorance of _Letter-craft_ which makes the poorest, ordinary printing seem pleasant by comparison. The development of Letters was a purely natural process in the course of which distinct and characteristic types were evolved and some knowledge of how these came into being will help us in understanding their anatomy and distinguishing good and bad forms. A comparatively little study of old manuscripts and inscriptions will make clear much of the beauty and method of the early work. And we may accustom ourselves to good lettering by carefully studying such examples as we can find, and acquire a practical knowledge [p-xix] of it by copying from them with a pen or chisel or other letter-making tool. A conscientious endeavour to make our lettering readable, and models[3] and methods chosen to that end, will keep our work straight: and after all the problem before us is fairly simple--_To make good letters and to arrange them well._ To make good letters is not necessarily to "design" them--they have been designed long ago--but it is to take the best letters we can find, and to acquire them _and make them our own_. To arrange letters well requires no great art, but it requires a practical knowledge of letter-forms and of the rational methods of grouping these forms to suit every circumstance.