have used one style of letter for the main lines and for the sake of contrast of face, have used a roman letter for the balance of the card.
Harmony of Proportion is produced when a job is so constructed that all the borders, panels, lines of type, etc., of which it is composed, bear a proper proportion to one another in heft, height, and length, and are located so as to produce a nice balance—the whole being properly proportioned to the size of the sheet or card upon which it is to be printed.
So then it may be said that when a job shows a harmony of type faces, and at the same time a harmony of proportion in all its parts, it is a very perfect specimen of the compositor's art.
When it is possible to set the whole of a job in the different sizes of one style of letter without producing a disharmony of proportion—one of the best results in job composition is attained. For example, see Plates 43, 49, 61, 80, and 88. This harmony in type faces bears the same relation to type, that the harmony of scale does to colors; for example, see Plate 80, which was set in different sizes of one letter, and the borders at top and bottom were printed in different tones of one color; the balance of the page was printed in two tones of another color.
When a fancy letter or one that is peculiar in character is used for the main display lines of a job, it is always in good taste to use a plain roman or [1]gothic letter (or sometimes both) for the balance of the matter. The gothic and roman letters bear the same relation to type faces that gray does to colors; gray is a neutral color, and can be used with any other color without producing a disharmony. So it is with the gothic and roman letters; they can be used with any other letter without producing a bad effect. This rule also applies to any plain letter in which
- ↑ The type known as gothic, in the United States, is composed of plain lines, and is the simplest in form of any type made.
125
