Modern Calligraphy and Hand Lettering

Chapter 3

The Old School

Classical Italic and New Variations

Italic lettering is the one style of lettering we are all familiar with. Our letters even slant on the computer when we press the italic key! But let’s go way back to the time of the Renaissance in Italy, around AD 1500, or so. At that time, paper, rather than vellum from animal skins, began being used to create books, making them more easily available to the common man. Everyone was learning to read books, and the Italian scribes (see? italic!) needed to write them faster, to fill all the orders. The prevailing style of the day became more readable and open. Because of the quickness of writing, the letters began to slant. (This is a super-abbreviated definition of the development of ...