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Painting --- Graphic arts --- calligraphy [process] --- typography --- scripts [writing] --- typografie --- schrift --- kalligrafie

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This original and exciting anthology by Massin, a leading French graphic designer, can be regarded as a kind of Provisional inventory of the means of communication man has had at his diposal. LETTER AND IMAGE deals with the evolution of both visual and printed forms, from the image/sign inscribed on the walls of prehistoric caves, to the birth of handwriting and to the invention of printing. We are undergoing revolutionary changes in the way in which we use, or are made to use, our powers of perception - a visual revolution, says Massin, as important as that of the Renaissance. While one cannot accurately predict the way of thinking and self-expression which will govern communications between men in twenty years time, certain trends are becoming apparent in this age of computers, TV, and plastics.

Massin here takes stock of what has gone before, offering us what can be described as a balance sheet of the first few centuries of printing; he examines the printed message conveyed through media as diverse as illuminated manuscripts, billboards, paintings and mystical symbols. 'Living' alphabets are closely examined while the text includes an important and fascinating chapter on calligrams, which illustrate their authors' desire to weld the word and image into a unique expression where the eye collaborates with the word, the hand with the thought. The place and significance of the letter in painting is also explored in depth, and here Massin makes highly stimulating discoveries.

The massive and diverse illustrative material in this work is international in scope. A large proportion of examples are borrowed from the principal European countries, many of them either unpublished or known only to a very few. Designers, architects, decorators - all those who, in fact, make professional use of the letter - will find this text invaluable. But it will also appeal to a wider public: students, teachers, historians, and all concerned with the study of semantics and sociology.

A reference book of exceptional value, it had an exhaustive Appendix which includes notes on the origin of all the illustrations, documents, and previously unpublished material.

Book history --- Graphic arts --- calligraphy [process] --- letters [signs] --- typography