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/181

 limit. Italic is not advised for the date-line, in which upright figures have to stand side by side with inclined characters.

To those who are accustomed to old methods the composition of a letter heading in lower-case, without display and in hanging indention, may not be pleasing, but the simpler treatment is gaining in favor and should have a respectful consideration. The tendency of modern typography is toward simplicity and the avoidance of all impracticable imitations. Job-printers try no longer to follow the styles of lithographers and copperplate-printers; they abandon ornamental types, curved lines, and many laborious methods of type-setting. Indeed, they often go too far in the opposite extreme of needless coarseness, but the spirit that recognizes typography as a distinct branch of the graphic arts, not dependent on any other for its models of style, and able to stand on its own feet and originate its own models, is a spirit to be commended. The mannerisms of the modern letter-writer, and those of the medieval copyist, do not deserve imitation in ordinary book composition.

To those who prefer to continue the old fashions of composing letters these suggestions are offered.

The full name of the person or society issuing the letters may be in capitals and small capitals of the