The Case for Legibility

The Bodley Head, London, first edition, 1979. Cloth, 8vo, 20 cm,. 77 pp. From the blurb: "In an age of computer setting and lightning-fast printing, and of continuous efforts to hold down ever-soaring costs, the risk of eroding the legibility of the printed word increases every day. But does legibility matter ? John Ryder believes that since it is self-evidently of paramount importance to the reader, legibility must also be the guiding principle of the typographer. His own work over many years is a convincing demonstration that legibility and elegance go hand in hand. In The Case for Legibility he makes a strong plea for the recognition and maintenance of this central principle and discusses its application to the whole process of designing a book, from the choice of an alphabet for the text setting to such finishing touches as margins, headlines and folios. He illustrates his points with visual examples. This is not a typographer's handbook, nor a 'do-it-yourself' guide to book design. It is a personal statement of great sincerity and conviction by a distinguished practitioner of the art. Dustwrapper somewhat darkened at top of front panel, otherwise Very Good in Very Good dustwrapper.