perfectly integrated parts has been ignored should be considered a
failure because it is less than perfect. If that were true, few books
would pass the test. It would indeed be hypercritical to insist that
a failure to observe this principle actually spoils an otherwise
well-made book. It is desirable, however, that the principle should be
observed _as far as the material will permit_. It must be recognized,
also, that sometimes the elements are so diverse--chapter headings or
the internal titles of essays, short stories or poems--that a strict
adherence to the principle becomes impossible. In such instances, the
designer's task is still to strive for order and integration. Perfect
order, symmetry, and balance may be unattainable, but this does not
justify him in being haphazard. When order is observed we may not be
conscious of it; when it is not observed we are aware of its absence.
Movement is of the highest importance as a factor of design--such
movement, for example, as is imparted to a book by this very diversity
of its elements--but good design demands movement that is ordered,
not arbitrary. If liberties are taken (and it is desirable, in the
interest of vitality and charm, that they should be taken) they must
justify themselves aesthetically; they should not only please us in
themselves but as evidence of the designer's intelligence, his insight,
subtlety, sensitiveness, discrimination, and tact. However diverse
the elements or parts of a book may be, however they may, by reason
of such diversity, render perfect order and balance impossible, their
arrangement should at least possess a _rationale_.
This need of a fundamental balance has its basis in its pleasure-giving
value. I have adverted to the analogy between book-design and
architecture, let me point now to an equally pertinent analogy with
the structure of poetry. "Verse," says Poe, "originates in the human
enjoyment of equality, fitness. To this enjoyment, also, all the moods
of verse--rhythm, meter, stanza, rhyme, alliteration, the refrain, and
other analogous effects--are to be referred." Specifically, the parts
of a book--half-titles, headings, etc., etc.--should be, severally _and
collectively_, related as are such structural elements in verse as
recurrent rhythms, rhymes, and refrains.
We must now consider the decorated or illustrated book. In the
first place, it should be understood that no form of decoration or
illustration is legitimate in the strictly fine book except such as
are printed from wood or metal engraved by hand, preferably in relief
which comports with type both in physical character and in the means
by which the image is imparted to the paper. Process-engravings are
disqualified not only because of the preponderant mechanical factor,
but because mechanical engraving in relief cannot produce a line of the
delicacy and purity obtained with the engraving tool. As a corollary to
the principle of integration set forth above let us take first the type
of decorated book to which most obviously it applies. A book carrying
on various pages head-bands of varying depth and varying tone--deep,
shallow, black and heavy, light and delicate--will produce a disturbing
effect. Less obvious but hardly less disturbing is a succession of
initial letters differing in size, in tone, or in position on the
page. The book with initial letters strewn through the text, sometimes
several on a single page, is a challenge to the designer. When thus
arbitrarily employed it is important, in order that the initials shall
not be obtrusive, that they be so selected as to size (in proportion
to the page) and so integrated with the book as a whole that their
"accidental" character is either disguised or lost and their recurrence
actually contributes to the unity of the volume by virtue of their
consistent accentual value.
An arbitrary arrangement of tailpieces is likely to produce a "jumpy"
effect. Since the spaces (at the ends of chapters or sections) within
which tailpieces may be placed differ in area, such decorative elements
cannot always fall on the same level. This irregularity can be
compensated for in a measure by adjusting the size of the decoration to
the area of the space it occupies. By what may seem to be a negation
of the law of balance here insisted upon, such a variation is more
productive of architectural harmony than tailpieces of uniform size
would be if disposed in spaces of varying area.
Returning for a moment to the undecorated book, it may be remarked in
passing that verse, particularly a collection of short lyrics, does
not lend itself to good book-design. It should be enough to point out
that the disproportion between type mass and white paper caused by
short measure and the frequently meager letter-press deprive books of
verse of the book's basic structural factor, the rectangle of type. How
decoration can be employed to overcome this deficiency is perfectly
exemplified in the original edition of Dorat's _Les Baisers_.
With the principles of balance and unity still in mind, it will hardly,
I think, admit of contradiction that the scattering of odd-sized
illustrations through the text is incompatible with both of these
principles. Such illustrations, particularly those of irregular shape
bounded on two or three sides by type, are as destructive of balance
and unity as is poor fenestration in a building. It is not enough that
something like a balance is effected on facing pages (an elementary
principle in layout); the lack of a complete integration of the
pictures with the book and the disturbance created by distorting the
letter-press into odd shapes preclude the possibility of such a book
being regarded as well-planned, much less ideal, however charming it
may be in detail.
We have seen, while considering the major aspects of book-design, in
what wise paper must be judged with regard to those first or immediate
impressions gained from seeing and feeling it. I must now carry the
consideration of paper a little farther. Since style and character
are essential qualities of the fine book, we must insist upon these
qualities in every element of its substance. Now style and character at
their utmost are peculiar (for reasons that have to do with the methods
of manufacture) to hand-made paper only, laid or wove, and, it may be
further insisted, to only the best hand-made paper. Desirable as wove
paper is for certain purposes, it cannot be denied that it has less
character than the laid sheet. It is also true that no feature of fine
laid paper gives more character to a sheet than the so-called "antique"
factor, a slight thickening of the pulp and greater opacity along the
chain-lines. By an "improved" method of mould-making, introduced by
Baskerville, this thickening was eliminated, but, whatever mechanical
superiority its absence may represent, there can be no question but
that it represents a loss of character. All book papers produced by
machinery (particularly the laids in which the effect of laid lines
is mechanically faked) are as much imitations of and substitutes for
hand-made paper as machine-made lace is a substitute for hand-made
lace, and the disparity in quality is as great. We speak of "imitation
lace" and "real lace," meaning machine-made and hand-made; we might,
with equal propriety, speak of "imitation paper" and "real paper."
Ideally, then, the fine book, in the fullest and strictest sense of the
term, can be printed on no other than paper that is hand-made and of
the best quality.
As to the color of paper for fine books, the whole question may be
considerably clarified at once by the statement that everything
suggestive of artificiality should be avoided. A paper that is chalky
white or bluish white tells us at once that the rags which went
into its manufacture were chemically (that is to say, artificially)
bleached. A great many toned papers, described as "cream" or "india,"
are artificially colored and show it. The most desirable tone for fine
book paper is the "natural" tone of unbleached (and sorted as such)
linen rags. Its slight creamish color is at once pleasant to the eye
and holds the promise of that agreeable mellowness which comes, very
slowly, with age. A number of very pleasant books have been printed
in recent years on gray, blue, green, and brownish papers (the last
usually a deliberate simulation of ancient paper), but, despite their
charm, they are, I think, open to the charge of affectation, against
which, if true, there is of course no defense. If not actually "arty,"
they come perilously near to it.
It has not been my purpose in this paper to lay down the rules for
making a fine book, for, after all, rules are of no use whatever (in
an art or in a craft) except to be broken--wisely. Neither has any
attempt been made, since this is not a technical treatise, to outline
the methods by which the results described may be produced. I have
tried merely to set forth the various criteria by which fine books
should be judged and the principles (quite different from rules) that
underlie them. If the "specifications" seem over-exacting, if they
are to be dismissed as _trop raffinés_, I must ask the caviler if
that which purports to be "fine" can be "too refined"? Let those who
wish to compromise (with popular taste, with outlay and returns, with
honesty, with self-respect, or with machinery) do so, but unless the
thing they produce represents, with eloquence and beauty, the full
and unconditional employment of _every realizable aid to betterment,
physical and technical_, it is something other than a fine book of
the first order. We must discourage ourselves in order that we may be
strong.
[Illustration]W. A. DWIGGINS[Illustration]
EXTRACTS FROM _AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF
BOOKS_ AS THEY ARE AT PRESENT PUBLISHED UNDERTAKEN BY THE SOCIETY OF
CALLIGRAPHERS, 1919
Copyright 1919 by L. B. Siegfried. Reprinted by permission of the
author.
NOTE: _The accompanying extracts from the Transactions of the Society
of Calligraphers are published with the approval of the Society.
They form a part of the exhaustive and unbiased Report returned by
the Committee in charge of the Investigation, which Report will be
presented in its entirety in the Annual Bulletin. The report is of so
surprising a nature that it was deemed unwise to withhold all notice
of the findings until the annual publication. The Society, therefore,
has the honour to present certain portions of the Inquiry together
with an abstract of the Committee's recommendations._
W. A. DWIGGINS, _Secretary_
384A _Boylston Street, Boston_
_December 1, 1919_
_Editor's Note_: In commenting on the reception of the now famous
_Investigation_, Watson Gordon pointed out (in _Mss. by WAD_, a
collection of the writings of Dwiggins on various subjects, published
by The Typophiles, New York, 1947) that it "received wide attention
in publishing circles where some exceptions were taken to the
findings. Certain publishers felt sure that some of those replying
to the pertinent and impertinent questions of the investigator were
members of their organizations who preferred to remain anonymous." The
complete report, with its original note and illustration, as well as
the sequel of twenty years later, follow.
It may be said in introduction that the Society's Investigation into
the Physical Properties of Books was undertaken by a special committee
whose personnel insured that its consideration would be thorough and
unbiased.
The Committee began its labour by an examination of all books published
in America since the year 1910. This examination forced upon the
investigators the conclusion that "All Books of the present day are
Badly Made." The conclusion was unanimous.
Working out from this basic fact in an effort to arrive at the
reasons underlying the evil, the Committee held numerous sittings in
consultation with men concerned with various branches of printing and
publishing. From these sittings there developed a mass of information
of an unusual and stimulating character.
The publishers have chosen from the Record of the examination a few
examples, not because they are extraordinary but because they present
typical points of view. They are transcribed verbatim. It will be
obvious that in certain cases it has been no more than courteous to
suppress the names of the persons assisting the investigation. For the
sake of uniformity it has been deemed wise to follow this practice
throughout.
I. MR. B.
Q: Mr. B----, will you please tell the committee why you printed this
book on card-board?
A: To make it the right thickness. It had to be one inch thick.
--Why that thick, particularly?
--Because otherwise it would not sell. If a book isn't one inch thick
it won't sell.
--Do you mean to say that people who buy books select them with the
help of a foot rule?
--They have to have some standard of selection.
--So that it is your practice to stretch out the text if it is too
short by printing it on egg-box stock?
--Not my practice, particularly. All publishers do it. We are obliged
to use this and other means to bring the book up to a proper thickness.
You must remember that our prices are not based on the contents of a
book but on its size.
[Illustration: A chart showing the percentage of excellence in the
physical properties of books published since 1910.]
--You mention other methods. Would you mind telling us what other
method you use?
--We can expand the letter-press judiciously. We limit the matter to
seven words on a page, say, and so get a greater number of pages. We
can use large type and can lead considerably.
--But does not that practice hurt the appearance of the page? Make a
poor-looking page?
--I am afraid I do not get your meaning.
--I mean to say, is not the page ugly and illegible when you expand
the matter to that extent?
--You don't consider the look of a page in making a book. That is a
thing that doesn't enter into the production of a book. If I understand
you correctly, do you mean to say that it matters how a book looks?
--That was the thought in my mind.
--That's a new idea in book publishing!
* * * * *
--You were speaking of the pressure of industrial conditions since the
war. Under these conditions what percentage of the traditions of the
craft can you preserve, would you say?
--The traditions of what craft?
--The craft of printing, obviously. What I am trying to get at is
this:--There are certain precise and matured standards of workmanship
in the printing craft; these standards are the results of experiment
through nearly five hundred years. How far are these standards
effective under your present-day conditions?
--Those standards, so far as I know anything about them, are what you
would call academic. In the first place, book-manufacturing is not
a craft, it is a business. As for standards of workmanship--I can
understand the term in connection with cabinet-making, for example, or
tailoring, but I should not apply the expression to books. You do not
talk about the "standards of workmanship" in making soap, do you?
--Then in your mind there does not linger any atmosphere of an art
about the making of books?
--When you talk about "atmosphere" you have me out of my depth. There
isn't any atmosphere of art lingering about making soap, is there?
--You would class soap-making with book-making?
--I can see no reason why not.
--May I ask you why you were selected by ---- Company to manage their
manufacturing department?
--Really, I must say that you overstep the borders--
--Please do not misinterpret my question. It is really pertinent to the
inquiry.
--It should certainly be obvious why a man is chosen for a given
position. I am employed to earn a satisfactory return on the
shareholders' investment. Is that the information you want?
--I think that is what we want. Would you then consider yourself as
happily employed in making soap as in making books?
--Quite as well employed, if making soap paid the dividend.
* * * * *
--While we are on this subject, may I ask you how you choose the
artists who make your illustrations?
--My practice is to select an illustrator whose name is well known.
--Is that the only point you consider?
--I should say, yes. I am not aware of any other reason for spending
money on this feature. It is always an uncertain detail and this way of
making a choice puts the matter on a safe basis.
--It is sometimes assumed that the illustrations should have a
sympathetic bearing on the story. Does not that consideration have some
weight with you in choosing your artist?
--None, I should say. You see, the pictures are not really a necessary
part of the book. They are a kind of frill that the public has got in
the way of expecting, and we have to put them in. Illustrations as
a rule stand us as a dead loss unless they are made by a well-known
artist. Then, of course, they help sell the book.
II. MR. McG.
A: The gentlemen of the committee must remember that the
book-publishing business is a gamble. Each new issue, particularly in
the department of fiction, is a highly adventurous risk. Our percentage
of blanks would astonish you if we dared to state it. But any book may
turn out a best-seller. This hope keeps us going. It is absolutely a
gamble, as I say. You can see that under these conditions we cannot
spend very much money on non-essentials. We have to strip the books
down to the barest necessities.
Personally I should like to see the firm put out nothing that is not
well designed and well printed. But as an agent of the firm I have to
set aside my personal preferences. The directors are very much down on
what they call art.
--Has the firm ever looked into the question of good workmanship as a
possible aid to sales?
--Not under the present management. The founder looked at good work as
more or less a marketing advantage.
--What do you think caused the present management to change from that
opinion?
--They haven't changed. They never had it. They get at the matter from
another angle altogether. Their policy is to reduce the production cost
to the minimum. The minimum in theory would be reached when the public
complained. The public hasn't complained, so you can't tell when to
stop cheapening.
You see the directors don't look at a book as a fabricated thing
at all. Books are merely something to sell--merchandise. Our
management--and all the rest of them, for that matter--come from the
selling side of the business and do not have any pride in the product.
Old Mr. ---- was a publisher because he liked books. That made an
entirely different policy in the old firm, of course.
--To get back to the question of good workmanship helping sales:--Here
are two books published abroad to be sold at 50 cents and 80 cents.
They can very well be called works of art. Do you not think that these
well designed paper covers would stand out among other books and invite
customers to themselves?
--Undoubtedly they would.
--Have you ever tried the experiment of putting out editions in paper
covers of attractive design?
--Never. It couldn't be done. People wouldn't buy them.
--But you said a moment ago--
--Moreover the difference of cost between cheap cloth sides and paper
covers of the kind you have there is so slight that it wouldn't pay to
try the experiment. People want stiff board covers. It doesn't much
matter what is inside, but they insist on board covers.
--How do you arrive at that fact?
--Through our salesmen.
--And you say that paper covers have never been tried?
--Never. None of our travellers would go out on the road with a sample
in paper covers.
* * * * *
--A little while ago you said something about your salesmen helping
you to an understanding of the public taste. I infer that you get
considerable help from this source?
--Most valuable help indeed. We depend entirely on the reports the
sales force turns in in these matters. The salesmen are in direct
contact with the retailers and are naturally in a position to feel
the public pulse, so to speak. Their help is invaluable. They can
anticipate the demand very often.
I had reference more particularly to the way books are made.
--Oh, on that point too. We never make a final decision on a cover
design, for instance, without showing it to the salesmen. They very
often make valuable suggestions as to changes of colour, etc. They run
largely to red.
--It would seem, then, that the designing of the books is very much in
the hands of the salesmen?
--Quite in their hands.
--Are the office-boys often called into consultation?
--Mr. ---- finds his stenographer a very great help in passing upon
certain points--illustrations, etc.
--Does it appear to you that the sales department would be the one best
qualified to pass on points of design?
--Well, there, you see--the books have to be sold--that is what we make
them for--and the sales department is the one in closest touch with the
people that buy the books--that knows just what they want.
--The standards of quality, then, are set by the people who buy the
books?
--Oh, absolutely so. How else would you move the books? It is a
merchandising proposition, you must remember.
--But do you not think that people would buy decently made books as
willingly as poorly made books?
At the same price, yes. No question about it. The book-buying public
doesn't worry its head about the way books are made. It doesn't
know anything about it. And well made books cost more. The trade is
committed to a dollar-and-a-half article and can't risk going above it.
--Your opinion is that the price of a well made book would be so high
as to prevent its sale?
--In the case of fiction, yes. The price has become almost a fixture.
--We shall have to go outside of fiction, then, to look for well made
books?
--It amounts to that.
--You have said that certain unproductive factors prevent you from
spending what you otherwise might on good workmanship. What specific
factors would you mention?
--Plates--electros. We plate everything on the chance of its running
into several printings. 80 per cent of the books are not reprinted. You
can see that the money tied up in plates is a very considerable sum,
and, as I say, 80 per cent of it is dead loss. We are obliged to take
the chance, however.
--Has any remedy occurred to you?
--If stereotyping could be revived as an accurate process it might help
us out. It would cost much less to make and to store paper matrices
than to make electrotypes. The difficulty here is that no one knows how
to make good stereotypes, and the stereotype plates at their best are
more trouble to make ready. Trouble with the press-room, you see.
--Is it possible under good conditions to get satisfactory results from
stereotype plates?
--Unquestionably. The books printed from this kind of plates in the
first days of the invention are entirely satisfactory.
III. MR. L.
Q. Can a trade-edition book be well made and sell for $1.50?
--That depends on how high you set your standard.
--Well, let us not be too rigorous. Can it be made better, say, than
this book?
--Beyond question. It will all depend upon whether or not the printer
has a few lingering memories of the standards of printing.
--But should not the setting of standards come from the publisher?
--Oh yes, under ideal conditions. Both printer and publisher should
have a hand in it.
--How would you make a book of fiction to be sold for $1.50?
--Well, such a book could have a good title-page as cheaply as a bad
one--and the whole typographic scheme would cost no more if it were
logically done instead of crudely strung together. By logically done I
mean with well proportioned, practicable margins and legible headings,
etc. The press-work on books is reasonably good but the "layout" or
design is entirely neglected. It calls for a little planning, of
course, but no more than should be available in any reputable plant. It
isn't so much that these books are badly planned as it is that they are
not planned at all.
--But most printing firms have a planning department, do they not?
--The planning in most presses is concerned with the handling of
material, not with the _designing_ of material. This is no doubt due
to the fact that the Taylor System has not yet got around to Aesthetic
Efficiency.
--Are not the typographical unions concerned to train their men on
these points of design that you mention?
--The unions have only one idea--and it is not concerned with the
improvement of printing.
--Are there any trade schools that teach these things? Are not the
employers' associations promoting schools to train men in the craft?
--The employers' associations have one idea--a little different from
the idea of the unions, perhaps, but not concerned with the improvement
of printing. There are trade schools but they teach only the mechanics
of the craft.
--Apparently, then, there is no place in this country where one can
learn how to design printing?
--You can safely say that there is no such place.
IV. MR. A.
Q: What is your own opinion on the subject of illustrations in books?
--In what particular do you mean?
--I mean, do you think that illustrations help or hinder the quality of
a book?
--The question is too general to be answered easily. May I ask you to
be more specific?
--For example, here is a "best-seller" with several--five or
six--half-tone illustrations. Do you consider that these pictures make
the book a more complete thing as a specimen of book-making?
--Most certainly not.