Page:The practice of typography; correct composition; a treatise on spelling, abbreviations, the compounding and division of words, the proper use of figures and nummerals by De Vinne, Theodore Low, 1828-1914.djvu/159



WRITER'S desire for small capitals in print is indicated in manuscript by underscoring the specified words with two lines. For purposes of emphasis or display the small capitals have been rated as superior to italic, but this superiority is not apparent. In regular fonts the small capitals are no taller than the round letters of the lowercase, are on a narrower set and usually of a lighter face, and are obscured by more connecting lines. In many fonts they are really the weakest and least distinct of the five correlated series (roman capitals, lower-case, and small capitals, italic capitals and lower-case) furnished as a complete font of book type. For this reason small capitals are seldom selected for any division of the book for which more distinctness or emphasis is desired, us