•To* -or o *rTi* «o • ^ A* •* A » • • • » *^5i ip*, :1K: a5°^ 1 ^ * f.R^.» *£. A* ♦-*W^* ^ * ** ;•* A o ^ A* ^ .o ..^c. o^, y ^* * A^^ ^ ^ • ^ A^ ♦ / &*\ °$5P?X ..7- .0* V **T7i» A O '••»• A cT C3& PRACTICAL PHRASES OF SHOW CARD WRITING A COMPLETE MANUAL OF THE BEST AND LATEST METHODS OF BRUSH and PEN LETTERING WITH COMPREHENSIVE COLOR NOTES EMBRACING ALL THE MOST APPROPRIATE ALPHABETS ABUNDANTLY AND ACCURATELY ILLUSTRATED WITH FULL DESCRIPTION OF ALL THE MATERIALS NECESSARY Published by St. Louis Show Card School ii 205-6 Vanol Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. * JUL 31 1922 ■\ /, ) \ V T CIA682070 "O +'-' PREFACE Advertising plays a vital part in all business and to know how best to help and push business with the least outlay is of the utmost importance. The tremendous influence of local advertising has made the show card one of the most popular forms of attracting the peoples attention to the merchant's stock, consequently the demand for this class of advertising is constantly increasing. More show cards are used m stores — large and small — than ever before. In these pages will be found the result of the latest and best efforts on the practice of Show-Card Writing, and it is pre- sented to the public with the confidence that it will be found thoroughly practical, and presented in a logical and teachable manner. It is the inten- tion that the student's mind shall be constantly directed to the matter in hand and not become confused by theories that can be of no possible use to him. We know that one student may grasp things quicker than another — that every student works from a different state of mind, and because of these different personal conditions, this method has proved itself a capable and effective channel through which the thoughts of the instructor pass into the mind of the student. The topics are not only reduced in treatment to the smallest compass compatible with clear- ness, but they are treated with such precision as to teach without confusion. It is by following this method that the book has been reduced to its present admirable dimensions. CONTENTS Page Show Card Writing — A General Idea 7 Alphabets to be Used by the Beginner 8 Alphabets Used in Show Card Writing 10 Handling the Brush 1 1 A Few Don'ts..... 17 Numerals 17 How to Draw Margin Lines Quickly __ 19 Tools Needed by the Card Writer. 20 The Work Table..... _ _ 21 Show Card Brushes and Their Care 22 Laying-Out or Marking the Card Preparatory to Lettering ...23 Rectifying Mistakes 24 Ornaments and Borders 24 Run-Off Lettering..... ._ 26 How to Practice 28 The Pen in Show-Card Writing 31 How to Mix Your Own Color 33 Cardboard 34 The Use of the Air Brush.. _ 34 Spacing — — 35 Show Card Charges 36 Keep your Decorations in Season _ 37 How to Make a Stencil _. 37 Decorations other than Painted 38 Bronzes 39 CO NTENTS— Continued COLORS .. 41 Popular Colors 42 Complementary Colors 43 Contrast 43 Harmony in Colors. 44 Warm and Cold Colors 44 COLOR COMBINATIONS. 47 Greens 47 Grey 48 Yellow 49 Red 50 Blue 52 Brown 52 Outdoor Signs.. 54 Mounting Muslin on Frames 55 Brushes Used in Muslin Work 55 Colors Used in Muslin Work. 56 Laying out the Muslin Sign 56 Sample Alphabets 57-70 Borders 71-74 Ornaments and Designs 75-86 Miscellaneous Designs 87-98 Miscellaneous 99-108 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL Show Card Writing A General Idea In the last few years there has been a great demand for temporary signs or show cards by the retail merchants in every city from the smallest to the largest. Because of their neatness as compared to the ones made by the inexperienced letterer, the show card writer has created a profitable business in every locality m the country. The scarcity of men and women in this line has practically placed them at a premium and for years to come there will not be an over abundance of show card writers. The larger stores of the larger cities have show card writers constantly in their employ and a good workman is very much sought for and paid ac- cordingly. In this book I will try to instruct you in the methods used in modern show card writing and the proper way to handle the tools and material. 8 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL ALPHABETS TO BE USED BY THE BEGINNER The proper alphabets to be used for effect and speedy work is of course very important. Your show cards must be neat and attractive but along with this you must execute them with reasonable speed in order to make them remunerative. The number of brush strokes must be held to a mini- mum, for every stroke requires time. Time use- lessly spent on a card is money wasted. The greater part of show card lettering is what is called "One Stroke" lettering, which does not mean that the letter in its entirety is made in one stroke but that each distinctive part of a letter is a separate stroke. For instance, the letter E; the vertical stroke is made in one stroke and the three horizontal strokes likewise. This one stroke alphabet is the first to be mastered, which will be explained to further detail later on in this book. You will offhand think that the round letters such as C, 0, S, etc., are the hardest to execute but with a little practice you will find them easier than the straight lines in lettering. A show card to be really attractive must have a few letters or possibly a whole word in a "fin- ished letter" such as the Block or Spurred letter. Your own judgment must be used here as to the proper part to emphasize in this manner. 10 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL A few words can be said on that matter, how- ever, the vital part of the show card should be brought to prominence. Do not get your upper case and lower case letters mixed. Keep the upper case (capitals) where they belong. ALPHABETS USED IN SHOW CARD WRITING The first alphabets to be mastered by the be- ginner are the one stroke letters, both upper case and lower ; see Fig. 1 . This alphabet is mainly used on the ordinary card and in the making re- quires every stroke used in card lettering and should therefore be practiced first to familiarize the student with the correct handling of the brush — the secret and foundation of the business. The lower case, Fig. 2, is about the most prac- tical form of lettering in card writing for several reasons. Firstly, the number of strokes required in making the lower case is very much less than that of the upper case, or capitals. Secondly, the fact that the number of strokes is minimized shortens the time spent on each card, and the number of letters in a given space can be increased by the use of this alphabet. By slanting this letter to the right makes it easier to execute and somewhat faster than mak- ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 1 1 ing them vertical. Learn to slant them first and you will be able, that much sooner, to control the brush for vertical lettering. Before taking up any more alphabets we will proceed with the foundation of show card writ- ing — :the handling of the brush. Study this con- scientiously and practice each stroke separately and you will be amazed at how rapidly you de- velop. HANDLING THE BRUSH I will repeat here that this is the secret of every high class show card writer and must be done correctly at the very beginning or you will form little habits that will be a hindrance to your progress and will be very hard to overcome. The following are the various strokes used in the form- ing of all letters used in card writing: Vertical stroke Horizontal stroke Slanted stroke (right) Slanted stroke (left) Right curved stroke Left curved stroke Full curved stroke (upper) Full curved stroke (lower) <0 "5u ONE STROKE ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 13 Half circle stroke (upper) Half circle stroke (lower) Two way stroke or S stroke These strokes are illustrated in the above order in Fig. 3 and should be practiced in the order named. PRACTICE and more PRACTICE will enable you to completely master the brush and it will not be long before you can make it go just where you want. At first it will seem rather clumsy but do not get discouraged. PRACTICE. The brush should be held between the thumb and second finger, not stiffly or rigid but just enough to hold it. See Fig. 4. The first finger is just rested on the brush and tends to steady it. To explain this more fully — the brush is held be- tween the thumb and first joint of the second finger about one inch above the hair, the upper part of the brush handle is rested about midway between the knuckle and second joint of the first finger. Study Fig. 4 a few minutes. Hold the brush in this manner and roll it back and forth with the thumb and second finger. This move- ment is used on all curved parts of one stroke lettering. The making of every letter requires a double movement, that is, both finger movement and arm 14 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL - B • '-'•¥« Jl i Fig. 4. movement. For instance, in the vertical stroke the brush is applied to the card, see Fig. 5, and as the fingers are drawn towards the palm of the hand, the arm is drawn down simultaneously. See Fig. 6. The hand is rested on the wrist and the last two fingers, as you will note in Fig. 5. The horizontal strokes are a movement of the ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 15 Fie. 5. wrist and arm, drawn from the left to the right without changing the position of the fingers. Slanting strokes are made the same as the vertical. The curved strokes are made with the wrist and fingers, the brush rolled between the fingers to follow the line of the curve. 6 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL Fig. 6. The color must be of the proper consistency. If too thin the color will spread beyond the in- tended letter; if too thick it will "pull" and not cover properly. Dip the brush in the color de- sired and do not forget that the brush MUST be kept flat as it is applied to the card. To do this it must be worked back and forth on the palette and the side last raised from the palette applied ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 1 7 to the card. Dip the brush frequently to keep it well loaded, work rapidly and not too carefully. Do not watch your first results, watch your stroke, see that you use the proper method, the results will come later. Do not make your strokes hesitatingly or "choppy"; make them continuous. With very few exceptions, always make your vertical strokes first. Notice the formation of the letters and keep them in proportion. A FEW DON'TS Don't let your brush come to a point; keep it flat with the hair spread as much as possible. Do not hesitate; when you start your stroke finish it. Do not spur or finish your letter until all the strokes are completed. Do not let your show card brushes come in contact with oil or grease. NUMERALS Card writers use the Antique Roman style of numerals mainly because numerals when used on a card are, as a rule, a prominent part thereof, and being such should be in the finished class of lettering. Fig. 7 shows the strokes used in mak- ing the outline, the center being filled in after the outline is completed. c<-> N F=l ^> <~> ^i Fig. 7 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 19 Fig. 8. HOW TO DRAW MARGIN LINES QUICKLY Hold the brush in the same manner as for let- tering, allowing the point of the brush to come in contact with the paper after placing the ball or end of the little finger against the edge of the card. See Fig. 8. A few minutes' practice will enable you to draw a perfectly straight line, any 20 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL distance from the edge wanted, up to, of course, as far as you can reach without losing control of the brush, which happens to be further than the ordinary card border requires. At first this may seem awkward, but as it is one of the short cuts in show card writing, must be mastered before one can be expert. As I said before, a few minutes' practice is all that is re- quired. TOOLS NEEDED BY THE CARD WRITER They are few indeed, but what he does need should be the best. The best cost so little that it would be unwise to use any other. The following list is sufficient for ordinary show cards: One No. 4 Red Sable Show Card Brush. One No. 6 Red Sable Show Card Brush. One No. 8 Red Sable Show Card Brush. One No. 10 Red Sable Show Card Brush. One No. 12 Red Sable Show Card Brush. One No. 1 4 Red Sable Show Card Brush. One straight edge or rule. One compass. One pair shears. One jar color (black). One jar color (white). One jar color (blue). One jar color (yellow). ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 21 One jar color (red). One bottle Lettenne (black). One bottle Letterine (red). One dozen lettering pens, assorted. One pen holder. One lead pencil. One box charcoal. One piece art gum. Thumb tacks. One bottle mucilage. Cardboard. Dry colors. The articles mentioned can be purchased from most any dealer m this line, but if you have any difficulty obtaining them or wish to have them selected for this work, I can supply your needs. In the last part of this book you will find a list of materials I can supply, together with the price. You can be assured that these are the best obtain- able and the best suited for the work. THE WORK TABLE Card signs can be lettered to a better advantage and greater speed by being laid on a slightly in- clined surface, sufficiently long to carry a full sheet with room on the right or left, as you prefer, for your colors and brushes laid out. 21 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL SHOW CARD BRUSHES AND THEIR CARE. It is needless to say that the brush is your most important tool, and as such should be selected with care. The best brush for water color letter- ing is the Red Sable lettering brush. It will out- last any other with the proper care (I have some I have used five or six years) and is more adapted to water. Always thoroughly clean your brushes in clean water and be sure to get all of color out of the "heel." After you have them clean and while still wet, pass them through the thumb and fore- finger, so they will be flat with a straight edge. It is a good idea to mark or nick the handle so you can keep them flat in the same place. After a short while your brushes will be "trained" to keep this flat condition. Be careful of the posi- tion you lay your brushes when through with them. Lay them on a flat surface or stand them in a glass HAIR UP. Never allow the brush to rest on the hair, it will ruin it. Do not, under any circumstances, allow oil or grease to come in contact with any brush you want to use for show card writing. Do not allow your brushes to dry with the color in them. ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 23 LAYING-OUT OR MARKING THE CARD PREPA- RATORY TO LETTERING This is a very important part of show card writing, because if your lay-out is poor, even though your lettering may be perfect, the general appearance will be very bad. It is better to have a good lay-out with careless lettering. The best to use is a hard lead pencil, but do not press too hard, just a feint outline is sufficient. After the card is finished and any pencil marks show they can be easily removed with a piece of Art Gum. Charcoal, for laying out, I think you will find, is very unsatisfactory for cardboard. It is dirty and smudgy, and after your card is laid out and the lettering commenced, your card will be smeared so badly it will require more time to clean it than in the making. On black or dark card-board use a piece of ordinary chalk, sharpened to a point, instead of a lead pencil. Straight lines in your lay-out should be the rule, although you can occasionally curve a line or word to break the monotony or where prominence is desired. In laying out your card, do not draw out the letters perfectly, just make a feint form of each. 24 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL RECTIFYING MISTAKES The easiest way to avoid mistakes is to read over your lay-out before proceeding with the let- tering. But mistakes will occur, and if it happens to be on a white card, take a sharp pen-knife and gently scrape away the color, but be careful not to cut through the glazed surface. It is more often advisable to allow the color to dry before doing this; it will chip off much more easily and will not pick up the coating of the card like when wet. If you make a mistake on colored card, moisten a small cloth and proceed to wipe away the offend- ing letter. If this is done carefully you will not pick up the colored background. If you have a greasy spot on your card (mostly perspiration from the hand) wipe with a mixture of ordinary baking soda and water. ORNAMENTS AND BORDERS To give a card the appearance of being finished it must have a thin margin line within its outer edge. Do not crowd it too close to the edge. Here you will have to use your own judgment. If your card is pressed for space, owing to more than average reading matter, you will necessarily have to bring your border line closer, but, as a rule, on an average card of say a quarter sheet (1 1"x14") you will be safe to have it about one ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 25 inch from the edge, on a half sheet (14"x22"), about one and one-half inches and on a full sheet (22"x28"), about two inches. If your card has but little lettering you can bring it in a little closer. If you use a heavy border, scrolls, decorations or ornamental designs, be sure to execute them in mild or subdued tones. If you were to use heavy or deep color for this purpose, it would detract from the readability of your card and give it a general muddled appearance. Remember this and keep your decorations confined to soft colors, the milder the better. To reverse a design without spending the time necessary to copy both right and left, proceed as follows: Take a piece of paper a trifle larger than the design and fold it in the middle. Draw the design wanted on one-half of the paper with a very soft lead pencil, fold back so the drawing comes in contact with the other half and rub the reverse side of the pencil marks with some hard object and it will be transferred to the other side, then pencil in the whole design, rub a little dry color on the back, lay on the card, go over the pencil marks again and the design will be trans- ferred to the card feintly in the color used. Where you will use the same design on several cards, cut out of cardboard the design wanted and 26 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL by running a sharp pencil around the edge you can duplicate it as many times as desired. Beautiful show cards can be made by cutting out pictures or decorations found m magazines and newspapers and pasting on the card. Fashion pictures can be pasted on tailors' cards, ladies' heads on druggists' cards, etc. Anything appro- priate can be used to advantage. Collect all the designs and pictures you can, magazines have designs and borders galore, cut them out and study them ; you can get some very good ideas by using them wholly, partially or by combining them. Notice the color combinations, and when you copy them use an eye for color harmony. RUN-OFF LETTERING This style of lettering has been adopted by the modern show-card writer and is about the handiest and neatest alphabet that can be used. The name given it is very appropriate, because after you have practiced it a while you will find you can "run it off a mile a minute." For speed it can't be beat, and for appearance, likewise. This style of lettering can be used on very nearly every card you write if you wish to use it. Some of the handsomest cards made have this style Fig. 9. 28 ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL throughout, with probably a decorated capital letter at the start to set it off. In the making, this alphabet is the simplest and is by far easier to learn than any other. Do not practice this alphabet until you have the "one-stroke" letters fairly well conquered. In this alphabet the brush is held in the same manner as described for the one stroke lettering with the exception that the hair edge of the brush is held at an angle of forty-five degrees and is not used flat as in one stroke lettering. Figure nine shows the strokes and alphabets of both the upper and lower case. Bear in mind that your brush is held in the one position and is not rolled between the fingers as in the one-stroke lettering. HOW TO PRACTICE Ordinary Manilla wrapping paper is ideal for practice purposes and can be purchased most anywhere at small cost. When you practice the various brush strokes keep in mind that your strokes should be made deliberately and with an easy swing. Avoid making them jerky or in a hesitating manner. Always draw lines to guide by, in that way you learn to start and stop the stroke where you intended to. First practice on ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 29 lines about two inches apart and make them in the order illustrated in Figure 3. Try the first stroke a hundred or more times, then the second, etc. When you think you have an easy swing to your strokes start in on the letters as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Study the various letters and their proportions. Execute them alphabetically, then intermix them and notice your spacing. In spacing your letters your judgment of distance must be used, do not get them jammed up close and gradually spread out at the end of your word. Maintain the same distance — keep them pleasing to the eye — always look to the proportion of your letters, keeping them as uniform as possible. Practice these strokes and letters m smaller and larger heights and widths. Then try the numerals, Figure 7. Do not slow up on the practice until you have perfect control of the brush, and in the meantime start laying out practice signs on the Manilla paper. Keep them well centered and balanced, read them carefully, bring out the important part or the part that should be emphasized. See Figure 1 0, you will notice the important part is empha- sized, and also the price. Fig. 10. ST. LOUIS SHOW CARD SCHOOL 31 THE PEN IN SHOW-CARD WRITING For neat, small lettering on cards, the round writing pen is used by card-writers for several reasons. It is easier to handle for small lettering, and every stroke is uniform in width and is faster to manipulate than the brush for the clean-cut work a small letter demands. The pen is manipu- lated by the finger movement only, much the same as you would use an ordinary pen. See Figure 1 1 for the various strokes used in pen work, also the alphabets, both upper and lower case. This pen comes in eleven different sizes. Before dipping in the color, moisten with the tongue, otherwise the color will have a tendency to * 'crawl" either back on the pen and not flow, or, more frequently, to the point and form a large drop that will only blot your card. After the pen has been used it will not be necessary to repeat this operation. Always shake the surplus color off the pen after dipping. The pen should be worked at an angle of forty- five degrees and held m this position; it is not rolled like the brush. Keep the entire point on the card at all times, and, being of rather stiff steel, should be pressed rather hard. Try these exer- cises and you will soon get accustomed to its use. After using, wash with water — it will prolong its life. in CO r o n * ^ o Q RSTUVWXYZ a. b c d e f g K i j lc 1 rr\ nop 2 % ,9 *r °U V J Y 3f W % ct 4 . c d e p a, A i I tt 1 Wl w, o W 4- £ It W IB « fi .0* \*»W A •j^S^s^* o A\ v -* Vv ■> oV • A v ^ **?:;•* -?• ^ ^ v : ^^ 8 ^>^ ** ^ »*..i^* >^ »••.•• -^ % C°*^°o >*tftffr\ '°/iSfc* ^ ^ k \** HECKMAN BINDERY INC. ^ DEC 90 Hj§Hf N. MANCHEST ^^ INDIANA _ * .4 s A DEC 90 K 4V A 'o\ tf msjfc N.MANCHESTER, • £^<£%#% °. ^f* V • <^3P W ^^ INDIANA 46962 J :^J^*