This book is the outcome of a series of articles which appeared in Drawing and Design. At the suggestion of the Editor of this periodical, the whole of the chapters originally published have been entirely rewritten and considerably enlarged; at the same time a large amount of quite new matter has been added.

The additions that have been made include a chapter on the development of writing in the past, together with a number of alphabets based on historical examples. I have also added a brief sketch of the history of Illumination, as I felt that the book would not be complete without some reference to this side of the subject. Some attention has been given to the colours and gilding methods of the mediÆval artists, and it is hoped that the notes given may be of interest to the student. Extensions have also been made in connection with the use of colours and materials by the student to-day.

Chapters on the further development of illumination, the illumination of the printed book, and printed book decoration, are also amongst the additions. The chapters on the application of lettering and decoration from the commercial standpoint have also been developed considerably, and at the end of the book some notes have been added on books for further study. I have tried to write in as simple a manner as possible, so that the youngest student should have no difficulty in understanding the instructions that are given.

So many books have been written on the subject of Illumination that it may seem quite superfluous to add yet another to the long list. Still, I think that a work treating the matter from the present-day standpoint ought to be of some service to the student who is desirous of practising this art to-day.

I have felt for some time past that there was a need for a work that would deal with the various ways in which this art could be applied in a time like the present. I have found that most of the books that have been written on Illumination treat the subject either from the standpoint of the archÆologist or merely from that of the amateur. It is simply the result of a sincere desire to supply what I feel to be a real need that this book has been written, and in the hope that it may serve as a handbook and guide for the serious worker.

It has not been written with the idea of introducing a quick and easy method of becoming expert in the art of illumination. Success, in this, as in anything else of importance, can come only through hard work.

I have endeavoured to foster interest and enthusiasm, so that the student may not look upon the hard work entailed with this subject merely as a certain amount of drudgery to be got through. To one who is keenly interested in any particular study hard work often becomes a pleasure, and it is only when such is the case that the full benefit is derived from such study. Illumination has a value in the present day as well as it had in the past. The developments of this art are seen in many of the common-place things of to-day. In some cases the development has been carried so far as to lose almost its identity with the original craft from which it has sprung, but the connection is there all the same.

The art of the book began with the illuminated manuscript, the early printed books being based entirely on the manuscripts that preceded them; and the same thing may be said with regard to the application of decoration to printed lettering generally.

The practice of illumination in the present day should result in something more than weak imitations of illuminated borders which were produced in the mediÆval period. Illumination ought to be a real living art to-day.

There are numerous ways in which it could be used as a craft at the present time, quite apart from the many ways in which it could be applied commercially.

With regard to the study of lettering, there is a great need for more serious attention to be given to it. We are so surrounded by bad lettering that it is well that an effort should be made to get better results, and, as a means to this, some study of the beautiful forms of lettering used in the past should be of the greatest service. For this reason I have tried, by giving some examples, to direct the student’s attention to at least some of the fine styles of lettering that were employed in centuries gone by.

It is a great pity that the splendid book-hands of the past should have fallen into disuse, to say nothing of the beautiful decoration that accompanied the writing. It would, undoubtedly, be a good thing if some further encouragement were given to serious study of the well-formed lettering that was produced during the mediÆval period.

I trust that this small work may, in some slight measure, be the means of fostering increased interest in lettering and illumination. I am deeply conscious of its many imperfections, and I only hope that, in spite of its many faults, it may be of some use to the reader who is interested in this art. If the study of it is the means of creating greater zeal and energy in the production of good work in this direction, I shall feel that my efforts have not altogether been in vain.

Sidney Farnsworth.

The Island,
Little Waltham,
Near Chelmsford.