My Word!

As an early Christmas present, what should arrive in my mailbox yesterday but a copy of Bound and Lettered!

It started last year with a subscription to Letter Arts Review. I had had no idea that such magazines existed, then somewhere or other I saw a reference to John Neal Books, looked into it, and discovered what may be my favorite magazines of all time. Letter Arts Review contains calligraphy-- that sounds simple, but it contains the kind of calligraphy that keeps my eyes on the prize-- what calligraphy can be when it's done by artists. Absolutely inspiring. If you're a letter artist, the best thing you can do for yourself (apart from tossing the fake parchment and buying some serious paper) is get a subscription to this magazine.

Bound and Lettered is also very well done, featuring book arts and a dollop of calligraphy (this issue, a feature on Denis Brown, whose work boggles my tiny mind). The new issue has a tutorial for a "Turkish Map fold" book, and features the work of several book artists. Beautiful pictures, and much food for thought. Again, if you're a book artist, you could do worse.