Check your local book stores. Calligraphy is always in style with some artsy/craftsy demographic or other, so you can usually find used books cheap. Or just check new book stores and art supply stores—even the in-print books don’t cost much new.

i’m checking online like abebooks.
My father has taken a calligraphy course for a secretary job but the problem is that he lost his books... Books were in bad shape.
I’m not much interested on artsy/craftsy as you said cause 99% of them are bad books. I don’t think that beautiful type. Of course, there are exceptions and thats why i’m asking around here.
If you know any of those exceptions and so... see what i mean?

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

http://www.johnnealbooks.com/

http://www.paperinkarts.com

If you want to get that deep into italics, have a look at renaissance lettering specimens. I’ve posted a facsimile of Theatrum Artis Scribeni on my web site.

Not a how-to, but a great collection of examples of italic script manuals from the 1500s: Kathyrn Atkins’s Masters of the Italic Letter.

Dunno whether this counts as any good or not, but Digital Calligraphy (specifically about creating calligraphic lettering and fonts on the computer) was going cheap in my local discount book store recently...
______________________________________________
Ever since I chose to block pop-ups, my toaster’s stopped working.

Thanks for all the help, i’m already searching for those books to buy them.
Thanks, already started sketching some drawings of italics.

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

Most of the books on calligraphy are not worth bothering with, but even if there was a good one it would not be of much use.
The only way to really understand italics, or any pen script for that matter, is by using a broad edged pen or to some extent two pencils taped together. I have been a calligrapher and lettering artist for over 40 years and I am still learning.
Nor wishing to be disrespectful, but to think that it would be possible to design a decent italic font without a reasonable understanding of the characteristics of letters produced with a broad edged pen is expecting too much in my opinion. Seeing decent italics is one thing, understanding them is another.
In my opinion if you want to design a decent italic font, then forget the computer for a while and learn basic calligraphic principles first with a pen in your hand ( might take you a few years though).

Ieuan Rees http://homepage.mac.com/ieuanrees

You go Ieuan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sleep tight.

Michael

I do agree with Ieuan Rees, i’ve done one year of studies with Dino dos Santos and I have seen that, I learned a lot with that, that strategy I can’t use cause i’m left-handed but i’m using a 45º strategy, drawing like a scratch at 45ºdegree, I even started already my italic with that strategy.
There is still a problem, that’s why i asked the books, what is a beautiful and well-made letter? I do have to see, learn, and so on...

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

You want to see some beautiful italics... check out Palatino Italic, Diotima Italic and Schneider Antiqua Italic.

Diotima and Palatino Italic are the very essence of the female versus the male perspective... designed, oddly enough, by the married team of Gudrun und Hermann Zapf.

Diotima, a supple and graciously curved italic... Palatino, an angular, more masculine, even harsh italic. Both equally beautiful.

Schneider Antiqua is an entity unto itself. A triumph for Werner.

Set your sights on these and you will succeed.

Michael

Ok i’ll check that out.
Anyway here is the list of books that i have on my basket:

Ogg, Oscar. “Three classics of Italian calligraphy: an unabridged reissue of the writing books of Arrighi, Tagliente, and Palatino”
Fairbanks, Alfred. “A Book of Scripts”
Anderson, Donald M. “A Renaissance alphabet”
Morison, Stanley. “Four centuries of fine printing”

There is only one problem... money! I can’t buy them all at the same time

For later buys i have these:
Universal Penman
Anatomy of a Typeface
Masters of the Italic Letter: Twenty-Two Exemplars from the Sixteenth Century

I love swaches, i love Dino dos Santos Capsa Italic and Andrade Pro Italic but i like ventura and volupia altough. I’ve just said Dino dos Santos work because i’m familiar to it. About those that typerror told me to see i liked i liked diotima italic, palatino italic and schneider antiqua italic although still don’t have the smooth the swaches i’m interested too. About Zapf work i don’t like much, or in other words, i’m not interested on doing those kind of things, at least for now.
Just told you this so you can council me.
So for those who have knowledge of these books and my preferences, please, what do you think I should buy first?

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

Oscar Ogg of course and Masters of the Italic Letter!

Michael

you think? i don’t know if i’ll buy masters of italic letter right now, it is expensive... even used... but thanks michael...

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

i still would like to hear more opinions!

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

Not to sound too obvious, but why not just look at calligraphy books at a library? Its a lot cheaper and may give you some good choices.

I agree that pen in hand is a better teacher, but a library could get you started. If there are any descent calligraphy classes in your area, that would be better yet as a good teacher can point out structural problems in your forms from the start. Also...have a good look at some Italics that are based soundly on Calligraphic forms such as:

http://www.fontbureau.com/fonts/Pouty

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/poetica/

I don’t have a teacher for any long, i’ve made my typographic studies year already.

About libraries, unfortunately, i think my country doesnt want much with typography even knowing that we have really good typeface designers, anyway, i’ve gone to two libraries around a 30km from where i live and nothing about typographie, two books or three on each about graphic design! Unfortunately i can’t go by that way, so i’ll buy on abebooks, it will cost me like 30e the Three Italian Calligraphers and the Book of Scripts. I think.

About the links, pouty is not the thing i’m looking to do, poetica is more.
Oh , i’m trying to do a custom typeface already:
http://typophile.com/node/47032

After this made i will start the italic font.

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

This listing mentions a book called “Left-Handed Calligraphy”:

http://www.studioarts.net/calligraphy/bookstore.html

Might be useful to you.

I do agree with Ieuan. Koppa said the same thing in your Typoholic thread: practice, practice, practice.

hmmm yes of course practice... it’s obvious.
About left-handed... very interesting... really interesting!

Thanks!

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

James recommended Noordzij’s The Stroke. Now that I’ve read a few calligraphy books, I recommend it too. It doesn’t really teach calligraphy; it mostly explains how and why letters turn out the way they do.

If you are studying italic typefaces, as well as calligraphy, I would think that Slimbach’s italics are also a must, as well as those mentioned by Michael Clark. He is a master at italics that are both readable and elegant. I particularly admire the way Adobe Jenson Italic combines relatively high readability (italics are never as good as roman for extended text), liveliness, and elegance.

I do know the “italics are never as good as roman for extended text” but... i love italics! I think i will have more fun doing italics than roman.

I already ordered some books:
Three Italian Calligraphers
Renaissance alphabet
Book of Scripts
Left-Handed Calligraphy

All this for 30e ehehe and nice dates like 1949. Now let’s see...

Still need some ideas and knowledge so... I think this topic shouldn’t end not just for me but for others too!

I have another topic going on with a Custom Typeface

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual

Well, my Book of Scripts has arrived and... it’s amazing... what an amazing book!!! I will read it today when i have time but i’ve seen already types on it and...amazing just amazing.

Joel Santos // youremin
sound & visual