Mystic Art of Written Forms: An Illustrated Handbook for Lettering

The Mystic Art of Written Forms reveals two great and rare talents of Friedrich Neugebauer: he designs and executes works of singular beauty and poise, and he is able to distill the spirit and principles of his art and make them accessible to students and artists at every level of skill and achievement.

In outlining a course of study and a philosophy intended to improve and protect this 'written environment,' Neugebauer goes to the heart of calligraphy, the heart of design. The book offers a philosophy of lettering that is not limited to the 'how-to'. Neugebauer's specimen alphabets are beautiful to observe, and appreciative study is invited by the many examples of their use - sometimes as straightforward communication, often as patterns and texture that evoke meaning indirectly, much as a poem or painting may do.