Old-time Dignity: Certificate Letter

When one works on books about slabs, stencils, shadows, and scripts, one needs a lot of examples around. Like, when Louise Fili was working on Scripts, she picked up this specimen of Certificate Letter, a beautiful white sheet of laid bond paper which gives the impression of quality and distinction you want your letters to carry—and it’s an admirable paper, also, for announcements and all financial advertising. But check that script! It’s both crystal clear and no fun to read. Why? Because it lacks variety and every character looks the same. Still, we bet that’s what caught Louise’s eye. This is from her collection—and this is the very item reproduced on page 280 of Scripts. Historic!