Books!

Keith Pettit · Post by **Keith Pettit** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:39 am

Hi everyone,
I just had to post this as I am excited!
A friend who has done some on and off pictorial work me has just poped in with a couple of books for me as they "would interest me", they are "Lettering, Sign Painting, Alphabets" and "Signmaking and Ornament" they are from the "I.C.S. referance Library" and originally published in the US in 1899, these two are from 1906
I have only justed dipped into them but there is such wonderful stuff inside the index reads like the subject list on this web site, stunning typefaces, lovely flourishes...I know what I shall be reading over the next few evenings!
Now by looking at some of the stuff in there I know that some of you guys must own copies of these. What can you tell me about them? I don't think I had ever heard of them and yet they (at first glance) seem as exciting as the Strong and Atkinson books.
Love to know more!

Chris Welker · Post by **Chris Welker** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:25 pm

ICS is International Correspondence School. When it started, it was a real school, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It's pretty much a joke now, offering college degrees by mail. There is no longer a signwriting course.

A while back there was a spread on some of the books for their signwriters curriculum in A Magazine About Letterheads. I have the first book for the first course in that curriculum, Elements of Lettering and Sign Painting. It's an original printing from 1899. I was very impressed with how in depth and easy to understand it was, especially considering it was written in late 1800s.

I love collecting old sign books, this is one of my favorites, maybe because it isn't as well known as some of the others.

Post by **Mike Jackson** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:05 pm

On just a quick count, I have about 22 of the ICS or ITC correspondence books with at least some reference to sign painting. Many have duplicated sections from other books, so it is not like I have 22 different books. I probably have another half dozen in storage that aren't as good or dedicated as the ones on the shelves. Most are around 1 to 1.5 inches thick with reddish brown and gold cover, but there are also a group of smaller ones with dark blue covers. They are about 5/8" thick, many with the same illustrations and text as sections of the bigger books. Looks like I have about 15 of those on another shelf, along with a few semi-related ones on another shelf.

If you are interested, some of the designs have been digitized and appear in our Americana Collection of Panels and Ornaments. Check 'em out.
http://www.goldenstudios.com/index.htm

Lastly, E.L. Koller did three books with his name as the author. He is probably the person responsible for supplying the text and illustrations to the school.

Mike Jackson