Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/350

342 examples are given of the character called Aldine, a very refined letter of a narrower character than the other; these are both adapted for situations where a rather long inscription has to be got in, but, although the last looks well in print, it is not adapted for letter painting, in which characters narrower than those in Fig. 69 should not be used.

Fig. 72 is an example of a letter now very much used, under the name of Runic, but it would be difficult to defend the appellation, considering that it differs in every particular from the truly Runic characters, but in the multiplicity of letters it had become necessary to give some designation to this style, and on the principle that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, the title by which this character is known has been bestowed upon it.

Runic letters possess much of the lightness and elegance

of the Roman, whilst at the same time, owing to the greater equalization of the thickness of the lines, they are bolder, and may be used with both thickness and shading, whilst the thickening of the fine lines is gradually lost in a pointed termination of the serifs.