List of Sign Related Books (some out of print)

[Mike Jackson]

Larry White suggested that we create a central page to list some of the better sign books printed within the past years, some out of print, but have ISBN numbers for easier searching. If you know of one, please add it to the list within this thread. If you have time and you see a book or ISBN number in an old post, please spend a few minutes to transfer it here. Mike



This is a pretty nice book to own, but only has one full color plate seen in the background of the cover.

The Art and Craft of Signwriting: William Sutherland UK
ISBN 1-85007-088-1
I paid $29.99 for it a long time ago.

http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea ... 70881&x=52

[Larry White]

Pat Mackle told me about this book, which he named his company after. I was lucky to find a 1908 first edition. Lucky enough, it's been reprinted by Dover Publishing and is readily available (ISBN:0486242706). This book is very thorough on it's coverage of many types of glass work, including; the history of glass, leaded glass, stained glass, embossed glass, brilliant cutting, beveling, sandblasting, gilding, silvering, and more. This book is a must for the glass artisan.



Currently (10-6-05) Abebooks has 9 Dover reprint versions, 2 - 1919 second edition versions, and one first edition version. They can be found at:
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea ... esses&x=34

[Jim Moser]

I just found a real cool book....."Logo, Font and Lettering Bible" by Leslie Cabarga. ISBN 1-58180-436-9 published by HOW Design Books, F&W Publications, Inc. 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236 (800) 289-0963 copyright 2004. $32.99

"A comprehensive guide to the design, construction and usage of alphabets and symbols" Lots of interesting information and graphics showing everything from logo design to hand lettering, but the best part for me is section on working with type in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Includes Adobe Illustrator basics, Random drawing tips, Lettering dont's and dos, Bezier curves for cowards, 9 bezierrors, Drawing letters the Leslie Cabarga way, Tracing scans, Drawing icons, Incredible type trix, Creating fonts in Fontographer, etc.,etc. All presented in an easy to understand format. I think this will be a big help when working with type in the computer ! Check it out............

[John Lennig]

Re: The Art and Craft of Signwriting... I picked up the reprint a few years ago..the text is a treat in itself, very colourful, with lots of flourishes...so to speak. and if we all spoke like that now...a Gentler World it would be.

The Leslie Cabaraga book, I got 3 of his, incl. the above mentioned one.
The others were:
the Lettering and Graphic Design of F.G. Cooper, 20's era, very nice.
isbn: O88108-192-2


Letterheads - One Hundred Years of Great Design - 1850-1950
yes, full of Letterheads!
ISBN : 0-8108-0053-9

Google his name, if you phone him, he answers the phone, not a machine! and he signs his books too!

John

[Roderick Treece]

It's hard to get back to work after a deadman man around !

I brought this book to the deadman and it received alot of attention so I thought I'd share it with you.Maybe it might still be available.

"Handbook of early advertizing art" Clarence P. Hornung ,Dover publications ,Third edition 1956

I inhereted it from my father and after looking through it I found quite a few peice of art that were use at Knott's berry farm.Not only does it have alots great fonts but what makes it special is the word play when showing off the font.

To give an example

"Extravagant bachelor's contemplated reformation assisted by submissive maiden with banknotes in profusion"

The book is full of all kinds of great things.

Roderick

[John Lennig]

Roderick, yes, isn't the language a treat. I have a wooden sign panel on our garden fence...
"Ocean Current and Thunder Storm
UNIVERSAL LAUNDRY

I've got 2 books, both 1956, both Hornung/Dover
Early Advertising Art - Pictorial Volume

and

Early Advertising Art - Typographical Volume

got one in Vancouver '79 used book store
and one in San Diego -New

lots of bookmarks in them over the years!

nice you've inherited yours, a real gift....

John

[Pete witney]

Signwritten Art.
Just back in print, a softback on the history of British signwriting, lots of plates some colour. "SIGNWRITTEN ART" by A.J. Lewry. ISBN 0-7153-2103-X.

[john boyd]

fellow brthers of the brush, I am retiring and selling my collection of Sign writing books, I have been 40 years in the trade, I live in County Clare in IRELAND,I have some very rare books including William Sutherland 'Art and Craft of Signwriting' 1889', and Sutherland's 'Signwriter and glass embosser' 1898 , both books measure 47 by 34cm (18 by 13ins) and are incredible with chromolithographed platesl (see ursusbooks.com item 110997 for' the Signwriter and glass embosser' details/photos) i have owned them for 30 years, if any member is interested you can e-mail me : johnboyd2@hotmail.com

[john boyd]

hello from IRELAND fellow brothers of the brush, I have been away for the past 3 weeks, here is the list and prices of some of my sign related books( including some very rare items) 1. James Callingham. The signwriter and glass embosser, 1871 (Simpkin Marshall,London, 1st ed.) 8vo leather bindings, $250 2.The Art and Craft of Signwriting, William Sutherland, 1889. Manchester,Decorative arts journal, near mint condition, in library bindings. $1,000. 3.The Signwriter and Glass Embosser, 1898. Decorative arts journal, manchester. All original with 32 chromolitographed plates in pocket at end of book. ,excellent condition, original bindings, the rarest book on Signwriting,(I am loath to sell it!) $2,500. 4. The Modern Signwriter, William Sutherland, 1923, 1st ed. Manchester, Decorative arts journal, all original excellent condition, $250. 5. Van Writing up to date. W.H. Coates, 1937. Blandford,London. with dustjacket, rare, $200 . I will try and list some more books, I have about another 100 books on all aspects of the trade, including books of alphabets, old typefounders catalogues, lettering , calligraphy,books of typefaces, 60+ signcraft magazines, I have been collecting for the past 45 years! if anyone is interested please e-mail me for more information., John Boyd

[Terry Colley]

VICTORIAN PUBS by Mark Girouard

An excellent book covering some signs, lots of carving and cut glass. Given the research done for the book I think the author was Dougs mentor
ISBN 0-300-03 199-8
ISBN 0-300-03201-3 (pbk)

Pub Signs by Paul Corballis
1-85291-018-6
The definative work on pub signs, very well written with good pictures,from the history to the artists, now out of print

British Gun Engraving by Douglas Tate
isbn
1-57157-166-3
Got this mainly for my studies of scrollwork , it is a pictorial delight, and an interesting read
Or some of these

cheers Terry

[Ray Smith]

While not exactly a book on signs,I picked up this great little book at a flea market today::Cartoons and Caricatures,or Making the World Laugh by,"ZIM" aka Eugene Zimmerman.Published by the Correspondence Institute of America Scranton Pa. 1910.
In the bio,he was born in 1862 in Switzerland and came to this country in 1870.Worked at many jobs including a sign painter before going to work for the weekly paper,"Puck" in 1884 and the another,"Judge".
The book is essentially a treatise on how to do cartoons and caricatures and is in incredible original condition.One unusual feature is that there is what looks like a shoelace that is affixed under the covering of the book that allows it to be tied shut. As soon as I figure out how to operate my newly purchased digital camera I will post a couple of pictures.Oh I almost forgot:the purchase price was the same as the original cover price(imprinted on same):$5.

[Sven Lynch]

I ordered this book thinking it would be illustrated by Matthews but it turns out most the illustrations are from Jack Warren as well as some others including Zim. Printed in 1929 it is written as a study course for students and even includes quiz questions at the end of each chapter. This book is way out of date, and gives a really simple and good over view to the illustration trade of this era.
The most interesting Chapters for me where the printing process, there are great examples of how the work looks before and after being reproduced with different types of half tone filters, size reductions and printing methods.
Also the chapter on mechanical photo retouching was really cool, photos where touched up with airbrush.
There is a section on hand lettering, although as in the rest of the book the information is mostly a basic over view and very basic.

[David Slade]

A Strong's Book of Disigns REPRINT is available cheap at http://www.leevalley.com!

Strong's Book of Designs item no. 49L80.50 ISBN 1-894572-24-6 $15.95
Also:
How to Paint Signs & Sho' Cards 49L80.02 ISBN 0-921335-43-1 $3.95 By E.C. Mathews
Can't beat the price!

If you click on View you can see a couple pages. Look at their Classic Reprint Series by Algrove Publishing to find other interesting books too.
David Slade(newbee)

PS. I am looking for information on my Grandfather L.C. "Munch" Slade. He was a sign painter / jazz musician on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

[erik winkler]

"Gilding on Glass, Wood or Metal" by Lawrence S. Strong and E.C. Mathews 1926 (I have the fifth revised edition from 1928).


A Reference and Guide explaining Each Step in the Methods Employed in Applying Gold or Silver Leaf to Glass, Wood or Metal - Reliable Formulas - Mat and Embossed Effects - Shading - Color Combinations, Etc.
Published by Strong's Detroit School of Lettering.

[David Slade]

These free downloadable books on sign painting/writing were up on the Internet Archives as of May 2010. They sometimes take books off the site if copyright problems arise so get them while you can! I think most of them are so old the copyright may have been abandoned...?

To get your free book just click on the file type you want in the "View The Book" box on the left. After it downloads, save it to your hard drive.

The American Signwriter
http://www.archive.org/details/americansignwrit00coll
Elements of Lettering and Sign Painting
http://www.archive.org/details/elementsofletter00inte
The Sign Painter's Guide
http://www.archive.org/details/signpaintersguid00gard
The Expert Sign Painter
http://www.archive.org/details/expertsignpainte00kell
Sign and Sho Card Writing
http://www.archive.org/details/signshowcardwrit00butt
How to Paint Signs and Sho Cards
http://www.archive.org/details/howtopaintsignss00matt
Lettering
http://www.archive.org/details/lettering00stev
The Sign Painter
http://www.archive.org/details/signpainter00pull
Strong's Book of Designs; A Masterpiece of Modern Ornamental Art
http://www.archive.org/details/strongsbookofdes00stro

[Andrew Grundon]

An invaluable resource of design forms from around the world....
"The Grammar of Ornament" by Owen Jones.
Make sure you get the full complete and unabridged reprint of the Victorian original,as the more recent ones omit the brilliant line drawings of leaves and flowers from nature.
ISBN 1 85170 048 X

[Ingrid Mager]

On the subject of online compilations, looking at the many, many "The Grammer of Ornament" pages (Google Images), I found this collection of book covers, illustrations & posters, and I thought were worth mentioning:
http://www.athenaonline.org/Artbound/intro.html

~Inga

>>Sorry.....This should be moved to the "Interesting Artistic Websites" thread....

[Graham Green]

Hi, new member here, I just came across this site after doing a google for books on scroll work, hope I'm not intruding on anybody.

I am looking for ANY books that are predominantly about scroll work designs, the sort that was used on old horse drawn vehicles, that's pinstriping and scrolling. Here are two pages from a book that I have already acquired, this is the sort of thing I'm after.

Does anybody know of any books that are just for this type of work ?

All answers great-fully appreciated.


regards - Graham Green

[Mike Jackson]

http://www.signmuseum.net/library/topbooks.asp

Hi Graham,
The link above might help you some on your quest for books.

Mike Jackson

[David Slade]

A Show at Sho' Cards by F.H Atkinson & G.W Atkinson recently showed up on the Internet Archive:

http://www.archive.org/details/ashowatshocardsc00atki

[Lee Littlewood]

I have a friend who is a signcarver, lives a bit out of town. He had a nice copy of the 1927 10th edition Speedball book about to fall apart. So I could easily disassemble it and get it scanned at Kinko's, and then have them print a new one (for about $20, I think). Anyway, here is the pdf to do it yourself. It's not bad, only 44MB.
I have put it in my "Public" Dropbox - go to
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47120096/Speedball10book.pdf
After it downloads you have to save it to your machine, and then I think you're good to go.

(Public Welfare Announcement: I think everybody should try Dropbox. It's good for this sort of big-file moving, it is set up to share pictures, it synchronizes your various machines & cellphones, and it melts chocolate without burning. Works on Mac & PC. And it's free (2 GB). If you use this link to it we both get a little extra free storage:
http://db.tt/RC6ZLQnJ )

Lee Littlewood / Lee's Better Letters / Portland OR

[Danny Baronian]

Hi Lee,

thanks for sharing the scan, and the note about dropbox. I've only been using dropbox for a few months, but find it extremely useful.

As mentioned, you, or whoever you share the link to your dropbox, has access to files in the folder, anytime, world wide, regardless of platform. Password protected folders can also be created, so they're only available to those with the link.

It also works well with multiple computers in your shop / home. Put it in your Job Folder on one computer and it's in the same place on all your computers.

Danny

[Anthony Bennett]

Based on the recommendation of the site I have just ordered this book.

Pat Mackle told me about this book, which he named his company after. I was lucky to find a 1908 first edition. Lucky enough, it's been reprinted by Dover Publishing and is readily available (ISBN:0486242706). This book is very thorough on it's coverage of many types of glass work, including; the history of glass, leaded glass, stained glass, embossed glass, brilliant cutting, beveling, sandblasting, gilding, silvering, and more. This book is a must for the glass artisan.



Currently (10-6-05) Abebooks has 9 Dover reprint versions, 2 - 1919 second edition versions, and one first edition version. They can be found at:
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea ... esses&x=34

[Ingrid Mager]

Title: A Guide to the Manufacture of Mirrors and Reflecting Surfaces
Author: Bruno Schweig
Publisher: Pelham, 1973
ISBN: 0720706432, 9780720706437

Right now there is a copy at Amazon.com for only $50.

~Inga

[Roderick Treece]

It's amazing how fast that book sold ! Thank's for the heads up. Now I won't have to photo copy Larry Whites copy.

[Ingrid Mager]

It's amazing how fast the copy listed last night for $47 sold . . .he-heheheeh. Happy Birthday to me. . . .la-la, lala!!
Glad you were able to snarf the other one, Roderick!
~Inga

[Lorenzo Petersson]

I posted a thread about this 5 seconds ago and realized it had already been mentioned, excitable person that i am
Comparing the list of what was available then it seems there have been some additions to their Sign Painting catalog so you guys should check it out again if you haven't already.

http://archive.org/search.php?query=sub ... ainting%22

These free downloadable books on sign painting/writing were up on the Internet Archives as of May 2010. They sometimes take books off the site if copyright problems arise so get them while you can! I think most of them are so old the copyright may have been abandoned...?

To get your free book just click on the file type you want in the "View The Book" box on the left. After it downloads, save it to your hard drive.

The American Signwriter
http://www.archive.org/details/americansignwrit00coll
Elements of Lettering and Sign Painting
http://www.archive.org/details/elementsofletter00inte
The Sign Painter's Guide
http://www.archive.org/details/signpaintersguid00gard
The Expert Sign Painter
http://www.archive.org/details/expertsignpainte00kell
Sign and Sho Card Writing
http://www.archive.org/details/signshowcardwrit00butt
How to Paint Signs and Sho Cards
http://www.archive.org/details/howtopaintsignss00matt
Lettering
http://www.archive.org/details/lettering00stev
The Sign Painter
http://www.archive.org/details/signpainter00pull
Strong's Book of Designs; A Masterpiece of Modern Ornamental Art
http://www.archive.org/details/strongsbookofdes00stro

[Romain Caugant]

Here the famous "The sign writer and glass embosser" by W. & W.G. Sutherland in pdf
http://www.cmog.org/sites/default/files ... BA34A7.pdf
enjoy !

[pat mackle]

Hi Romain,
Thank you for posting this interesting book. I have been spending any available spare time this last year searching and pulling out dusty old cardboard boxes loaded with cans and materials to do embossing again I have been recalling to mind of my earlier years hunting the corners of libraries searching for old manuscripts with information on embossing. This timely piece really adds to the mindset of this old glass decorating craft and accurately notes the origin of it's namesake of "french embossing".
Some of the old manuscripts I located years ago were "reference books" and too treasured to be checked out. I noticed upon returning to read more from them that they became "missing" or stolen. (One was the mirroring book by Bruno Schweig) Maybe now more about them can be found on line like this one, available to anyone anytime.
Pat

[Anthony Bennett]

I echo Pat's thanks for you posting that link.
I look forward to reading it.

Here is "The History of SignBoards" by Camden Hotton
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_tkm ... edir_esc=y