decorative

Treefrog

A one-time co-worker of mine sometimes used a fanciful inkpen-style script in display-lettering situations. I liked it a lot. "Phil," I says, "why not do the whole alphabet, maybe a few little ...

decorative

Texas Hero

It occurred to me years ago that the graphic arts community might find useful a digital typeface that mimicked the classic look of nineteenth-century handwriting. Conveniently, my mother then still ...

funny

Speed Bump

I, uh, don't know quite what to say. I'd toiled so long over Pumpkinseed back in '96 that I guess I needed a good, wild ride to shake out the head cramps, or something. Whatever grabbed me, it forced ...

script

Schooner Script

I happened to mention to the proprietor of an antique barn near here that I'd be interested in any old typewriters she happened to come across. A conversation ensued, the proprietor withdrew into a ...

legible

Pumpkinseed

The tale of Pumpkinseed began with a bit of hand-printing I noticed on the dinner menu at a local restaurant. I took a menu home for future reference. Several months later, some similar ...

legible

Professor

My father is retired from teaching after a distinguished career as a professor at the University of Texas (and other colleges). He's also retired from writing in longhand, ever since I digitized his ...

modern

Oak Street

There's a little restaurant in an old house on a sidestreet in town (Rockland, Maine, USA) called Cafe Miranda. The staff is friendly, the setting intimate, and the appetizer a basket of hot bread ...

modern

Marydale

While helping produce a trade magazine years ago, I admired the hand-lettering of the art director -- a woman named Marydale -- and suggested she let me model a font after her penmanship. She agreed ...

script

Lamar Pen

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar had an exotic name for a historic Texan, but he left his mark beginning in 1836, the year of Texas independence and the first year that pioneers other than mountain men made ...

script

Houston Pen

Early Texas patriots had fascinating penmanship. In researching Texas Hero years ago, I had occasion to pore over copies of letters by the likes of Stephen F. Austin, William B. Travis, Thomas J. ...