Book Review: Hand Job - A Catalog of Type

Being a hand-lettering fan, Hand Job, A Catalog of Type, By Michael Perry, Princeton Architectural Press, was a no brainer when it came to sitting down and doing a review. Just for aesthetics alone, I knew I would be inspired, and as I turned each page and was introduced to each artist featured (some of them even previously featured on this blog before); I was even more inspired to see a collection of so many people, all interested in the same form of art.

Hand Job is essentially a "curatorial celebration" of the hand typography of the peers of author, Michael Perry. As he writes, "It's a book for everyone who has the ability to transform words into art" and I'll add, and for those who appreciate that ability. He wanted to show what hand type is today and what it means to him and to leave a mark of it's impact on art. He writes, "I use my hands because I want mistakes, quirks and imperfections - those qualites that give my work warmth. Keeping in mind that, at different times in history, that warmth could've gotten you fired. Now we view these results as the elemental quality of working by hand".

A must-have if you are a hand lettering fan, not only for inspiration, but for reference and appreciation of an art form that is making strides amidst the digital age and to see a small subset of typographers who still believe in working by hand.