Letterletter : an inconsistent collection of tentative theories that do not claim any other authority than that of common sense

This iconoclastic collection of essays on typography, writing and life is the work of Gerrit Noordzij, a master calligrapher and teacher of lettering and type design at The Hague. Letterletter opens up whole new perspectives on not just the world of letterforms but on the world and the written word, in general. Occasionally cranky, always well-written and insightful, Letterletter is an invaluable design tool and, more importantly, a pure pleasure to read. As Noordzij notes, Its lack of dignity, authority and tolerance could not prevent Letterletter from becoming a collectors item. Booknews Noordzij, a typographer who taught writing, lettering, and type design for 30 years at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague, Holland, originally produced this material in hand-made issues of a bulletin by the same name between 1984-1996. Though some of the essays are by other writers, the majority of the volume contains Noordzij's own thoughts on writing, his experiences before medieval calligraphy, and his extended and literate musings on many kinds of type and lettering, examples of which are included, illustrated in his own hand. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) "This iconoclastic collection of essays on typography, writing and life is the work of master calligrapher, type designer, and teacher of lettering and design, Gerrit Noordzij. It forms an important contribution to the literature of type. Noordzij is also a type historian and theorist of lettering. His students constitute the Dutch School, which is now a dominant force in European type design.". "Letterletter was originally a series of 15 issues of a journal published sporadically and distributed to a select few. As Robert Bringhurst notes in his introduction, the middle two pages of the first four-page issue of Letterletter held "more information on the structure and nature of letterforms than most professional typographers then working had ever seen in their lives."". "Letterletter described itself as a journal of typographic metaphysics. It was also "a journal of typographic anatomy, typographic optics, and typographic geometry." Brilliantly written, often unexpected, and always fascinating, these letters open up new perspectives on the "science of art and the art of science."" "Letterletter will be an invaluable design tool and a pleasure to read and reread for all those who care about the written word."--BOOK JACKET.