The information in this article is culled A TWO-PART ARTICLE WITH RANDALL M.

DALL M. HASSON AND MICHAEL CLARK Introduced in 1915, the A-Series was the
from Randall Hasson’s forthcoming book, first of the line of Speedball nibs. Its square
Teaching America How to Letter: Ross tip resulted in a uniform line and could
George, William Gordon, and the Story also be turned over to execute serifs. These
of the Speedball Textbook, which will be
published by Letterform Archive. The Speedball Pen and the Lettering Artist examples are of a writing style termed
Spurred Gothic.
by Randall M. Hasson
The Origin of the Bent Nib the marketing and design of the window lettering was that which had a “swing” or a to replicate quickly by hand at small sizes
The early twentieth century was a time of display evolved, these cards became “kick” to give it life. using the tools that were available in the
change. In the arena of retail sales, advertis- smaller, and the brushes of the sign painter Graphic trends in Europe had an effect on early century. To help show card men write
ing and marketing developed rapidly, giving were difficult to use in making the resulting American lettering in the early twentieth these alphabets, William H. Gordon and
birth to many of the selling principles and smaller letters. Show card men turned to century. The bold display typestyles of the Ross F. George, using modifications to exist-
techniques that are still in use today. The the traditional broad-edged pen for the German Expressionist movement, such ing nibs of the time, invented a nib with a
storefront, for the first time, began to be smaller copy. They used lowercase letters, as Rudolf Koch’s Neuland (1923), became bent tip. Bending up the tip of a pen nib
dominated by large, plate glass windows, which were faster to write and easier popular with the public in the larger retail resulted in producing a flat marking surface
and a whole industry emerged that was to read. As the metal nib became more city centers, along with the “modern” clean- that would give a consistent, uniform stoke
centered on techniques for effective window prevalent in the trade, the divide between lined and sans-serif typefaces that originat- of even width in any direction, regardless
display. One of the most important aspects the methods of the sign painter and of the ed in England. In the printing trade, these of pen angle. A double reservoir was added
of these show windows was the display show card writer became broader – show bold, uniform letterform styles were broadly to allow for more letters to be written with
card that advertised a retailer’s goods. cards were written with the single-stroke classified as “gothic” letters, meaning letters a single dip. In 1915, after over a year of
These cards were temporary and had to method of forming letters, as opposed to with strokes of uniform widths. Hence we testing and modification, they introduced
be produced rapidly, and no window was traditional methods of outlining and filling have sans-serif typefaces called Franklin their nib design to the lettering world as the
considered complete without them. These in letters. Gothic and Copperplate Gothic. Because Speed-Ball pen.
“silent salesmen,” called show cards, became Commercial letterers wrote these cards show card writers were closely allied
the surrogate voice of the shopkeeper. with a certain rhythm: the best of them with advertising, they adopted the general Speedball Nibs – Square and Round
Rudolf Koch’s Neuland and Edward
The show card above is an example of A natural outgrowth of the sign painting adapted the whole-arm-movement tech- nomenclature of the printer to avoid confu- The bent pen nib was introduced, in four Johnston's Underground are examples
pre-Speedball work from 1914. trade, show card writing soon developed niques of penmanship from Spencerian sion in their classifications of lettering. marking shapes, over a ten-year period of “gothic” or uniform-width typestyles
Top: The titling for this article was written into its own specialized genre. Show cards and Palmer methods. This rhythmic aspect However, Edward Johnston’s typeface for from 1915 to 1925. The original Speedball that lettering artists in the early twentieth
with a Speedball A-Series nib on a rough were initially large signs, on full (22 x 28 was vitally important to the character of the London Underground (1916) and Koch’s nibs featured both square and round century were trying to replicate, which led
surface of unprimed canvas. inches) or half sheets of bristol board. As the show card; the most desired type of Neuland and others like them were difficult variations of the marking tips, giving the to the development of the bent nib.
28 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 29
Left: A variety of styles and weights written
with the A-Series (square) nib, inspired by
lettering of the early twentieth century.
Below: Samples of early Speedball nibs:
square, round, and oval.
Bottom: Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s
lettering in the Glasgow Style, a part
of the Arts and Crafts movement. The
lettering directly to the left is the author’s
contemporary interpretation.

letterer options for the look and feel of the Writing with Speed
lettering, based on the beginning and end- The main purpose of the first nibs that
ings of the strokes. Later designs included had flat marking tips was to make uniform-
a traditional broad-edged nib as well as a width strokes for gothic or monoline letters.
nib in an oval shape that made thick and But they also answered the need for letterers
non-hairline thin strokes. to economize their time: letters made in
The physical approach to using this style a single-stroke method with minimal or
of pen is different from that of a broad- no touch-up allowed the show card artist
edged pen. With bent nibs, the pen must be to do more work in less time. One thing to
held at a lower angle to the writing surface keep in mind when looking at show card
(like holding a pencil), creating a more
lettering of the early twentieth century is
natural writing position that keeps the
that, for the most part, you are looking at
bent part of the nib in full contact with the
examples that were written with a high
marking surface. This adjustment in hold-
degree of speed. This accounts in part for
ing the pen is the reason the first Speedball
the extremely fresh and spontaneous feel of
textbook was produced: letterers of the
the lettering, especially show card lettering
time had trouble making the pen work –
of American artists.
they held it in the traditional ways they
These letterers worked with what we
held a brush or broad-edged pen.
would consider astonishing speed. An
Traditional calligraphy provides a variety
of historical hands – Italic, Uncial, Black- excerpt from a 1914 trade journal gives
letter, Roman – that are mastered with a some idea of how fast they had to work: “To
broad-edged tool. Now, one hundred years hold his job in a Chicago store, a card writer
after the invention of the Speedball nib, must be able to turn out interior cards (say a
there is a revival of interest in looking back quarter sheet) with two lines and a price in
on, and working with, the vintage styles of about 20 seconds flat.”
commercial lettering artists of the 1910s,
’20s and ’30s. These include a wide variety Exploration with a New Tool
of lettering that a calligrapher, using tradi- Aside from simply replicating historical
tional tools, would not normally execute monoline letterforms, the bent nib pro-
because these styles were not designed vides an opportunity for fresh exploration
to be written with a broad-edged tool. The after one has become familiar with its use.
facility with which the professional letter- Beautiful effects can be achieved by not
ers developed these styles, however, can keeping the entire bent part of the nib flat
provide inspiration to the contemporary and in consistent contact with the marking
lettering artist. surface. A well-timed lift at the end of the
Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 31
 stroke with a round (B-Series) nib can, for uniform line, as in each of the strokes of is also the traditional tool of the cartoon
example, provide a brush-like effect to an a capital letter A. dialogue letterer.
alphabet with a tool offering a little more Learning these basic principles leads to The D-Series nib is an oval shape that
control. Lifting the nib to a high angle so comfort with the pen, leading toward inno- gives letters a distinct characteristic that
that the thin edge of the nib is in contact vation: making the pen do what you want it echoes the 1920s: a blunt serif. Like the
with the paper will provide a contrasting to do. The Mock Brush Script is an example other bent nibs, this nib provides possi-
thin, or even hairline, stroke. Ruling pen– of a high degree of pen manipulation. bilities for manipulation, but it is best on
like effects on rough paper, with a bit of The pen is held on a diagonal, resulting in lowercase Romans for a vintage feeling.
splattering, can be created with these pens squared entry and finishing strokes, at top (Unfortunately, the oval-tip, D-style nibs
and will give the calligrapher ideas from and bottom. The pen is lifted and a corner is are no longer made.)
which to push concepts of letter innovation used, in rhythm, to draw the thin upstrokes
and experimentation. that connect with the next letter. On the en- Contemporary Lettering
try strokes of rounded letters, the pen again Some of the finest examples of these
Speedball A-Series Nib begins on the corner and is slightly rotated contemporary applications are provided
All of the examples on the previous pages, as it curves around the top, while the nib is by Michael Clark. In much of Michael’s
and the Mock Brush Script shown on gradually placed flat – as on the lowercase work, what looks like ruling pen is actually
the opposite page, were executed with letters a, c, e, and o. achieved with the bent nib. Both square and
the Speedball A-Series square nib. It is round nibs seem to provide a launching
an interesting tool to work with, and for B-Series and D-Series Nibs point for much of his creativity. He achieves
a calligrapher used to a broad-edged Similar principles apply to the round brush lettering–like effects with both, as
tool held at a constant angle, it is almost B-Series nib. Some manipulation of the nib well. Many lettering artists have looked at
like learning lettering all over again. The and the use of natural pen lifts can result in and admired his work, but were not sure
continual rhythm of the changing of the a softer letter, with a feel like that of a brush how to achieve it.
pen-to-paper angle requires careful atten- at small sizes. Because it is a metal nib, there
tion from lettering artists who are used to is a higher degree of control, but there is less In the next section of this article, Michael Mock Brush Script is an example of the Simple Script utilizes the B-Series (round) Above and Below: These alphabet samples
holding a broad-edged pen at a consistent flexibility than a pointed brush. This nib will divulge a few of his secrets. A-Series nib being used with a high degree nib in a casual, rhythmic manner, with pen are executed with the D-Series (oval) nib and
but steeper angle to facilitate the thinnest of pen manipulation and writing rhythm. lifts that provide a degree of line variation. are highly characteristic of 1920s lettering.
hairlines. Serifs, for example, are accom-
plished by turning the pen over to use the
thinnest edge – a thin edge that might have
a bump where one of the three tines doesn’t
line up perfectly. At the beginning or end
of a stroke, the pen needs to be “rocked” to
get a squared finish. One learns to turn the
nib in the direction of the stroke to keep a

32 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017

 of warm-up; the curves (which is what the Esterbrook Drawlet bent nib. In 1990, I was I could round them off by touching them
whole alphabet is comprised of) can get out thirty-eight and brimming with energy; I up. Then, I realized the round Speedball
of hand if you are out of practice and not remember walking to my studio and load- B-Series nib would give me the result I was
in synch. When done well, you can hear the ing the pen, and then not stopping for days. looking for. (I am a bit slow on occasion.)
rhythmical noise of these push strokes as The nib was seductive, but I immediately The next time I used the Esterbrook Drawlet
they are being made on the rough surface of noticed the odd sharp angles and corners of nib commercially, it was for the John Neal
a paper like Arches MBM. It is both soothing the lettering done with the nib. Bookseller 1997 Keepsake (Figure 3). In
and energizing. After I finish a piece like this, The first job I did with the nib was a between, I had used the Speedball B for
I feel like I have been an orchestral conductor tribute to my father, a Christmas card with primarily the same thing: a faux brush look.
Done using a large Speedball A leading the pen in a symphony. a Scripture from Isaiah (Figure 2). It was With some touch-up, I could even make
nib with my own ink concoction, Not long after my experiments with these while working on the card that I realized I solid strokes look like dry brush (but that
Riding on on Arches MBM paper. tools, someone gave me a square-tipped did not have to settle for the sharp terminals; is a whole other article).

the Corner Figure 1. Figure 2. The lettering below

Exploring Lettering done
with a specially
was done very quickly, after warm
up, with an Esterbrook Drawlet nib.
Brush Forms cut Speedball
Elegant Writer.
The finished card and the Drawlet nib
are shown, along with the lettering.
with Speedball Unlike most
lettering, the
The x-height is 3/16". For the finished
artwork, I would have normally (back
A and B Nibs strokes here
are pushed
then) enlarged the lettering 200% and
done touch-up with a 3X0 Rapidograph
down instead pen, and, yes, I did the chiaroscuro, for
by Michael Clark of pulled. better or worse. For those of you who
do not know, I flunked the only
drawing class I ever took.

One has to dig deep in order to identify the

real impetus for any obsession. Mine was
the direct result of envy: envy of Sherry
Bringham, Carl Rohrs, and a few other
wielders of the brush. I was never looking
for the genteel forms of the pointed brush; I
was looking for the cadenced (as well as the
erratic) rhythm of the brush forms that I
had witnessed by these two and the likes of
Karlgeorg Hoefer. But I’m not skilled with a
brush, so I became obsessed with making
brush strokes with a steel pen. This obses-
sion led to a twenty-five-year odyssey.
I started with the broad, angled tip of
a Magic Marker and found success when
I pushed the stroke down and to the left,
maintaining a curve so as to emulate the
differently angled terminal of brush-
formed letters. (Most people do not even
take note of this difference between
pointed-brush lettering and that of the
chisel-edged pen.) My next step was to cut
a Speedball Elegant Writer at the same cant
Figure 3. John Neal Bookseller 1997 Keepsake. The original artwork was done in gouache
as the tip of the Magic Marker. This allowed on Lana Laid paper. I paired the small lettering of the square Esterbrook Drawlet nib with
me to letter on a smaller scale (Figure 1). large letters done with a tool that I had recently fallen in love with: a stencil brush, using it
I’ve found that this lettering requires a bit to make monoline brushstrokes.
34 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 35
 Figure 6. Original roughs for Pooper Black,
which is based on titling I did while in
the South Pacific. In developing the font, I
Figure 8. A logo in a mixture of
restrained the letters too much.
Pooper Black and Sneaky.
Yael Miller of Miller Creative
provided creative direction.

Speedball B-Series Nib

Figure 4. Lettering done As the past has grown more distant, I have
in green and blue water- lost track of chronology, but I know the
color with a Speedball rationale of each word or phrase in my
B3 nib. The ascenders lettering back then, and how each helped in
and descenders reflect
the understanding and development of my Figure 7. Left is the original lettering
the severe manipulation
bent nib forms. As I had with my other pen for my typeface Sweepy; right is
of the pen.
work, early in the ’90s, I sought lighter and the digital version. Not shown are
lighter forms. At this juncture, I had started the font's many alternate characters
manipulating the bent nib pen unmerci- and ligatures.
fully. For example, notice in Figure 4 how
I am “turning and lifting,” primarily as I
am stroking the ascenders and descend-
ers. I remember a demo I did at the 2003 Over time, the forms of my manipulated
international calligraphy conference on Speedball B lettering solidified, and I began
manipulating a Speedball B pen to create to dream of fonts. The font Pooper Black
variations of thicks and thins. This fellow was the first, finished in 2005 (Figure 6).
behind me said, “You can’t do that with It was conceived while I was in the South
that pen.” I looked at him and said, “I just Pacific working on a project. It took five
did.” It was Walt Glazer, who is the CEO of years to develop my Speedball-B3-lettered
Speedball Art Products Company. A couple roughs into a font, as I worked on refining
of years later, I created a heading and tagline the letterforms to give the font continuity.
for an article by Glazer in an issue of Scripsit (The font’s title is a play on Oz Cooper’s
Figure 5. I did this title/logo and
that I designed. (Scripsit is the journal of the notoriously popular Cooper Black type and
tagline for an article in the Washington
Washington Calligraphers Guild. Glazer’s on the day-to-day care of an infant that had
Calligraphers Guild's journal, Scripsit.
Although I love the quietness of the article was on the future of Speedball.) somehow snuck into our house.) Sweepy
Speedball logo, I am proud of the (Figure 7), created with the 5.5 Speedball B,
tagline. was next, in 2009, at the insistence of the
type foundry. Then came a connecting ver-
sion of Pooper Black called Sneaky, complet-
ed in 2013 (Figure 8). Its creation involved a
lot of computer fiddling, and its forms have
less to do with pen work.

Figure 9. Lettering done with

a large Speedball A nib,
combined with typeset letters
from my font Monumental
Titling. I had the design printed
on tee shirts and a coffee mug.

36 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 37
 Speedball A-Series Nib
Along the way, the B nib became my favorite,
but the Speedball A nib is capable of render-
ing forms with dramatic contrast between
the thicks and thins (Figure 9). Similar to
the square Esterbrook Drawlet nib, it is,
quite honestly, the most fun nib in the world
to write with, because it makes you think.
It brings an exuberance laced with anxiety.
The A nib is much like the folded pen in

SHOW-CARD COLOR
what it produces. I think it is a showstopper
of a tool – which Randall’s examples in his
part of this article amply prove.

Retouching A specially formulated, water-based paint card production speed that was required.
Most of my work is for print or the Web, was used for the brushwork done on the John Stevens used this paint back in his
and all of it is retouched. There is a bit show cards that Randall Hasson talks about youth when he was a sign painter, and he still this special paint continued to be manufac-
in “Writing with the Bent Nib.” This paint uses it in his brush lettering classes for large tured in the United States until a just few
of trickery and chicanery involved in the
needed to be rich in finely ground pigment lettering. While demand for this paint waned years ago. Fortunately, the Nicker Colour
letterforms, but never too much. PEACE so that one coat was enough, and it needed as hand-lettered show cards were gradually Company, Ltd., still makes show card paint,
HOPE & JOY (Figure 10) is a prime example Figure 10. I did these letters with a Speedball B to flow smoothly out of a brush to enable the replaced with mechanically reproduced ones, which they call simply Poster Colour.
of touching up. It was done with a B nib, nib and then squared off the terminals using
and, as you may guess, I had to sharpen the
GUIDELINES & BLACK PAPER
a Rapidograph pen, before Photoshop effects
terminals. The “dots” were done with an A were applied. The square dots were done with
nib and repeated throughout. (Notice, if you a Speedball A nib.
would, the Mission-inspired “chair” that I Writing on black paper with metallics and/or with white ink is great fun.
included as the H.) Everybody doing this Gold seems more brilliant against a black ground, and white-on-black is so
kind of work touches up; it is just that some visually vibrant; both pop off the page. Unfortunately, unlike with light-
do not want you to know it. That is why this colored papers, pre-printed guidelines just don’t work with black paper. Even
work is called lettering and not calligraphy. using a light table, all you see is black. Until now, your only option was to
Whether you choose the A, B, C, or D (if draw pencil guidelines. This meant that you had to take time for this tedious
Figure 12.
task, even for practice sheets or for lettering done just for fun. But a solu-
you can find it) nib, the rapture is there. This logo for a design group in Washington,
tion is now available: a black-on-black, pre-lined paper, with a very smooth
Retired, I now use B-style nibs to do D.C., was done with a 5.5 Speedball B nib.
surface that is perfect for pointed pen penmanship. In this ingenious pad, the
bookmarks, just to promote the printed pre-printed guidelines are dots instead of solid lines. While a solid line would
book (Figure 11). My wife and friends have Figure 11. Two bookmark designs, both with cause noticeable parallel ghost lines through your letters, the dots do not. The
switched to electronic book readers, and I tempus fugit; carpe diem, Latin for “time is paper is available from johnnealbooks.com; it comes in 9" x 12", 50-sheet
tell them, “Stick this in your Kindle.” Alas, fleeting; seize the day.” The top one is done pads and is also available as a pack of loose sheets. It is called “JNB Deluxe
they do not appreciate a finely printed book. with A and B nibs, the bottom with two Lined Black Paper.”
different sizes of B nibs. In the pieces, the form
of each subsequent letter is determined after its
Michael has published a number of small preceding letter is made. To me, this sort of play
books of his lettering, and some are still is all about secondary rhythms and contrast.
available for purchase. Contact him at
[email protected] for more
info on his books, tee shirts
and coffee mugs.

Script by Suzanne Cunningham

in Ziller pastel inks on dot-lined
paper. These six inks –
Periwinkle Blue, Peach
Blush, Winter Sky Gray, Wild
Rose Pink, Spring Green, and
Pen work by Michael Sull on dot-lined black paper. With this dot-line paper, the black dots French Lavender – can be
are visible close up when writing, but essentially disappear when the work is viewed. Note: purchased in full bottles or in a convenient
The paper is very black; it is shown gray in the photograph to accentuate the guideline dots. sampler set of dinky dips in a six-well wood holder.
38 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 Bound & Lettered b Summer 2017 39