Books

I have written or co-authored quite a few how-to-do-it calligraphy books, many of them with Jan Mehigan, who’s a watercolour artist as well as calligrapher. See below for more details.

They were all commissioned by ingenious publishers who saw a gap in the market, so they cover a variety of approaches on calligraphy and are all aimed mainly at beginners, frustratingly for me and for advanced students, but where possible we have been able to include Gallery pages of high quality work by professionals, to inspire us all to keep aiming higher.

Try www.calligraphity.com a specialist calligraphy books supplier, or www.amazon.co.uk if you can’t find them in your bookshop. Some may now be out of print, as books have a short print life.

Don’t forget to try your library, they can order it for you if it’s in any of their branches, and libraries need our custom.

 

Calligraphy Masterclass:

 Watson-Guptill Publications (April 2000) – Mary Noble, Rachel Yallop, Eleanor Van Zandt

This inspirational gift set is the perfect introduction to the art of calligraphy.

The 48-page book covers all the essential techniques, from writing basic alphabets to making your own calligraphy tools. The book then introduces a series of inspirational and achievable step-by-step projects – create a stunning alphabet frieze, make a personalised greetings card, and ass a calligraphic design to a silk scarf.

The Masterclass comes complete with nibs, papers and other equipment – everything you will need to discover this highly rewarding art form.

Overview

The book’s fun, but came with a puzzling starter set of things that don’t work together – a dip pen and a cartridge of ink, and some gold foil but nothing to fix it with. Authors have no control over that sort of thing!

ISBN

ISBN 0-823056-27-9

Pricing

For current prices and availability see Amazon.co.uk or Calligraphity.com

 

Calligraphy Techniques:

The Essential Step by Step Beginners Guide to Calligraphy

Calligraphy derives its name from the Greek words kallos (beauty) and graphe (writing) and means literally ‘beautiful handwriting’.

In this illustrated guide to the craft, Mary Noble shows exactly how the beginner should set about acquiring the necessary skills to become a proficient calligrapher.

Under her expert guidance, the art pf ‘beautiful handwriting’ is put within the reach of all of us.

Overview

In addition to alphabets this one explains materials, techniques and papers in detail with short projects to illustrate their use.

ISBN

ISBN 1-86147-066-5

Pricing

For current prices and availability see Amazon.co.uk or Calligraphity.com

 

The Art of Colour Calligraphy:

A comprehensive guide to applying colour techniques to traditional calligraphy

Clear, step-by-step photographs show how to use colour in five basic areas: lettering, backgrounds, borders, images, and gilding.

Covers the fundamental principles of colour and demonstrates each technique in a wide range of media, from gouache and watercolours to masking fluid and bleach

Features a gallery of more than 20 finished works from accomplished calligraphers

Overview

No alphabet exemplars just colourful things to try for people with some experience

ISBN

ISBN 0-7624-0000-5 (US)
ISBN 0-7472-1722-X (UK)

Pricing

For current prices and availability see Amazon.co.uk or Calligraphity.com

 

The Beginners Guide to Calligraphy:

by Janet Mehigan and Mary Noble

The beginners Guide to Calligraphy is your key to mastering the skills of letter art. Anyone who can hold a pen will soon grasp the basic techniques using this easy-to-follow, three-stage program.

From there you’ll move on to practicing your new found skills in projects that help you learn as you create. And by the time you’ve finished you’ll be achieving flawless results – every time.

So pick up your pen and get lettering!

Overview

Each alphabet is broken down in detail then a step by step project supplied to use it.

ISBN

ISBN 0-7607-1370-7(US)
ISBN 0-7153-10-208 (UK)

Pricing

For current prices and availability see Amazon.co.uk or Calligraphity.com

 

The Calligrapher’s Companion:

by Mary Noble and Janet Mehigan  (published by Collins in the UK)

The Textbook

This shows what nib to choose and how to hold the pen; how to add colour or decoration; choosing backgrounds and text. In the Script Identifier section there are 100 alphabets to copy and practice, reproduced with directional arrows to show order and direction of strokes

The Workbook

The workbook contains skill-building exercises to master popular letterforms featured in the textbook. Ten major alphabets are shown stroke by stroke, with space provided to practice each stoke and directional arrows and numbered strokes as guidelines.

Please note that the UK edition of this book published by Collins does not include the work book.

Overview

Original version came with a workbook with lines to write on but recent editions focus on the 10 alphabets with enough variations to last a lifetime plus layout & colour ideas.

ISBN

ISBN 1-57145-089-0 (US)
ISBN 0-00-413378-1 (Collins UK)

Pricing

For current prices and availability see Amazon.co.uk or Calligraphity.com

 

The Encyclopaedia of Calligraphy & Illumination:

 Watson-Guptill Publications (April 2000) – Mary Noble, Rachel Yallop, Eleanor Van Zandt

This inspirational gift set is the perfect introduction to the art of calligraphy.

The 48-page book covers all the essential techniques, from writing basic alphabets to making your own calligraphy tools. The book then introduces a series of inspirational and achievable step-by-step projects – create a stunning alphabet frieze, make a personalised greetings card, and ass a calligraphic design to a silk scarf.

The Masterclass comes complete with nibs, papers and other equipment – everything you will need to discover this highly rewarding art form.

Overview

The book’s fun, but came with a puzzling starter set of things that don’t work together – a dip pen and a cartridge of ink, and some gold foil but nothing to fix it with. Authors have no control over that sort of thing!

ISBN

ISBN 0-823056-27-9

Pricing

For current prices and availability see Amazon.co.uk or Calligraphity.com

 

The Practical Encyclopaedia of Calligraphy:

Lorenz Books (2006) Janet Mehigan, with projects by Mary Noble, Maureen Sullivan, Viva Lloyd, Dr George Thomson and Jan Pickett.

This expertly presented new book covers all the necessary aspects of the art of “beautiful writing”, setting out the essential tools needed to begin, teaching all the basic strokes to form letters, and providing a rich variety of alphabet templates from which to work. A dozen classic alphabets are illustrated, with step-by-step pictures showing pen angles and strokes and common group structures. This book also contains over 50 original step-by-step projects that offer practical ideas and inspiration for using calligraphy in all kinds of ways, including invitations, menus and place names, posters and flyers, headed paper, certificates, and greetings cards. With its authoritative text, inspirational gallery of examples and clear step-by-step guidance and alphabet templates, this practical teaching course is the perfect starter manual for beginners as well as an inspirational sourcebook for more experienced calligraphers.

Overview

The banner on the cover is designed by Mary Noble; the book is written by Janet Mehigan.   This is a big book of 50 projects and 12 alphabets for beginners and experienced students, the projects are fun and very varied and include some computerised calligraphy.

ISBN

ISBN 0-754816-25-7

Pricing

For current prices and availability see Amazon.co.uk or Calligraphity.com