Simplicity is synonymous with good typography and its path is a straight and narrow one. He who would do worth-while typography must decide wisely when accepting the good things offered by his friends, the paper man, type man and ink man. They are generous in their offerings and willingly assist the doubting one in deciding; but confidence in his own judgment is a necessary qualification for the typographer who would attain success.
The ideal printshop is that one which contains only harmonious type-faces, ink colors and paper stock. This ideal condition being impossible except in a small shop, the best alternative is to have all type-faces as nearly harmonious as possible. It would be wise to build upon the body type as a foundation. Choose a body face that will be suitable for most purposes, and then select a series or family of display types that harmonize with it. If Caslon Old Style is chosen as the body letter, Caslon bold, Caslon italic and Caslon text will afford variety in display while retaining harmony. (Of course the large display sizes of the Caslon Old Style should be included.) The Cheltenham family probably provides the greatest variety of harmonizing faces. Scotch Roman is a dignified and legible letter, and supplemented by its italic and the larger display sizes is a satisfactory face for many purposes. Old Style Antique is a useful letter where a black tone is desired and is pleasing in its original form. There are many artistic letters now to be had that give the effect of hand-lettering, which are admirable for distinctive advertising literature.
Type-design for catalog cover suggested by the old lock-plate ]
While harmony of type-faces is essential, yet a certain amount of contrast is desirable. At one time it was customary to alternate a line of capitals with one of lower-case. This arrangement gave contrast, but not harmony. The best results are obtained by the use of either all capitals or all lower-case. As explained in the chapter “When Books Were Written,” our alphabet in its original Roman form consisted of capital letters only. Lower-case letters, also known as minuscules, are the result of evolution, and in form differ materially from the capitals. Custom decrees that a capital letter be used to begin an important word otherwise in lower-case, but with this exception either kind is better used alone.