Practicizing Carolingian

[fpupulin]

My wife gifted to me a great book on the history of calligraphy, Claude Mediavilla’s Calligraphie – Du signe calligraphié à la peinture abstract. Really a splendid journey through the styles of characters and writing in history, fulfilled with magnificent examples, and a solid manual on how to produce an elegant lettering. It is, without doubts, the best book I ever saw on this matter, worthy any single penny it costs.

I am now learning Carolingian, and I made some practice with two 149, fitted with BB and OB nibs (Toffe brown and Parker red inks respectively), a F nib 146 with MB black, a EF Hemingway with Racing Green, and a Dumas with a customised medium italic nib (Mike Masuyama's), filled with Irish Green.

The most difficult aspect of Carolingian is, in my opinion, maintaining a very light, almost imperceptible inclination of the characters to the right. The italic nib really helps at producing crispy letters.

[KaB]

Wow this is nice !

[KlytusLord]

Beautiful!

[Blade Runner]

Wonderful! What kind of paper did you use?

[_Stormin_]

That is beautiful.

[Trom]

Interesting and complicated. Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bstnnyc]

Your writing is very beautiful! And thank you for the wonderful book reference; I just put a copy on hold at the library

[fpupulin]

Wonderful! What kind of paper did you use?

 

Hi Blade Runner: the smaller, lighter paper on the left is white Hahnemühle Dürer Ingres, 100 g/m². I buy it in 48 x 62,5 cm leaves with uncut margins, and I just fold it three times to obtain a fascicle with the “vergelle” on the horizontal side and the “catenelle” on the vertical (as I prefer to use the vergata paper).

The larger paper is my preferred, a vergata Fabriano Ingres, 90 g/m². This is Fabriano’s avorio (ivory) colour, which in my opinion is quite chamois. If you prefer a “real” ivory, you can buy Fabriano’s ghiaccio (ice). They also made a quite neutral and luminous white (bianco). I buy it in 100 x 700 cm, and the octavo folding is the size you see in the photograph.

Fabriano made its Ingres paper also in heavier weight, 160 g/m2, but I prefer that for drawing, and the lighter weight for writing.

In general, I find the slight “tooth” of the vergata papers and the tenuous resistance it made to the nib quite interesting for writing. As it is typical of the vergata, the paper also has two different faces, one smoother and the other a bit harder, someway similar to the ancient vellum parchment (pergamena).

[fpupulin]

Interesting and complicated. Good luck!

 

Carolingian.jpg

 

 

 

 

Great! Gothic will be my next...

[fpupulin]

Your writing is very beautiful! And thank you for the wonderful book reference; I just put a copy on hold at the library

 

You will see, it is a book that deserves to be studied, a really great work.

[Blade Runner]

 

Hi Blade Runner: the smaller, lighter paper on the left is white Hahnemühle Dürer Ingres, 100 g/m². I buy it in 48 x 62,5 cm leaves with uncut margins, and I just fold it three times to obtain a fascicle with the “vergelle” on the horizontal side and the “catenelle” on the vertical (as I prefer to use the vergata paper).

The larger paper is my preferred, a vergata Fabriano Ingres, 90 g/m². This is Fabriano’s avorio (ivory) colour, which in my opinion is quite chamois. If you prefer a “real” ivory, you can buy Fabriano’s ghiaccio (ice). They also made a quite neutral and luminous white (bianco). I buy it in 100 x 700 cm, and the octavo folding is the size you see in the photograph.

Fabriano made its Ingres paper also in heavier weight, 160 g/m2, but I prefer that for drawing, and the lighter weight for writing.

In general, I find the slight “tooth” of the vergata papers and the tenuous resistance it made to the nib quite interesting for writing. As it is typical of the vergata, the paper also has two different faces, one smoother and the other a bit harder, someway similar to the ancient vellum parchment (pergamena).

Thanks for the information. I've received some letters on Fabriano (not sure which one) that had a cloth like feel. Quite nice.