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Grilled Cheese Kitchen Bread Cheese Everything in Between Heidi Gibson PDF Download

The document discusses the book 'Grilled Cheese Kitchen: Bread, Cheese, Everything In Between' by Heidi Gibson, which features 39 grilled cheese recipes and various accompaniments. It also shares the personal journey of the author and her husband in creating a successful grilled cheese restaurant, emphasizing their passion for the dish. The book aims to inspire readers to enjoy and experiment with grilled cheese sandwiches in various forms.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
32 views55 pages

Grilled Cheese Kitchen Bread Cheese Everything in Between Heidi Gibson PDF Download

The document discusses the book 'Grilled Cheese Kitchen: Bread, Cheese, Everything In Between' by Heidi Gibson, which features 39 grilled cheese recipes and various accompaniments. It also shares the personal journey of the author and her husband in creating a successful grilled cheese restaurant, emphasizing their passion for the dish. The book aims to inspire readers to enjoy and experiment with grilled cheese sandwiches in various forms.

Uploaded by

gittondomson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BY. ANTONIS |
DL ACHILLEOS *
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PREFACE

GRILLED CHEE SE IS MAGICAL,


GRILLED CHEESE IS LOVE
Nate and | first started to research, plan, and develop The around town. We had an appetite for fun and adrenaline.
American Grilled Cheese Kitchen in the winter of 2009. This served us well as we built our relationship and, in
It was the height of the Great Recession, and the idea of the near future, our business.
two industry amateurs opening up an artisanal, gourmet
As fate would have it, we (us and a lot of the country!)
grilled cheese restaurant was simply outrageous—to our
were laid off from our office jobs in December of 2008,
friends, to our family, even to us.
after failed mortgage—backed securities took down the
Thirty-five banks didn’t believe in us. Industry profession- global economy. Afterward, we spent a good amount of
als didn’t believe in us. We even doubted ourselves. But time thinking about our next steps: scheming and brain-
grilled cheese—cheese toastie, toasted cheese, Welsh storming fun businesses that we could own and operate,
rarebit, croqgue monsieur ... whatever you call it—is together.
something you have to believe in. Something wonderful
One Saturday afternoon during that time, | brought home
happens when you melt cheese between two pieces of
my fifth grilled cheese trophy from a regional competi-
buttered bread. The sight and the smell universally evoke
tion. After a few drinks and a small celebration, Nate took
smiles; it’s magical. Everyone can relate to it, everyone
out a pen and paper and we started planning what would
can feel it, everyone can love it. Really, somehow, grilled
become The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. We soon
cheese is a culinary miracle that has the power to elicit
found we had complementary skills. | had natural cooking
everything from nostalgic moments from childhood and
and kitchen instincts, good knowledge of food and
the laid-back years of early adulthood to the savory
cheese, and a unique scientific approach to testing and
satisfaction of being an adult who can eat grilled cheese
creating delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Nate loved
anytime you want to.
developing the restaurant concept and our brand, think-
We believed, and continue to believe, in grilled cheese. ing through the entire customer experience, and handling
It inspired us to create and grow a successful restaurant all aspects of administrative business management, from
concept that served more than a million people in our finance to marketing and HR to technology. We divided
community in less than four years. But most important, and conquered.
it brought Nate and me together.
For a couple with no income, we spent heaps of our
We met in an elevator in an office building in downtown scarce cash on fine groceries and specialty foods so we
San Francisco in 2007. | had been working at software could develop and test our recipes. We studied hundreds
companies for over a decade. Nate had been billing hours of cookbooks, took endless small-business planning
as an analyst for a strategy consulting firm for almost as classes, and exhausted every professional networking
long. We were not professional cooks. We were not opportunity that might help us. We dined out when we
restaurant managers. We were driven professionals. had the chance, sneaking notepads under the tables to
document what we liked/didn’t like/were going to copy
Yet we still had as much fun as possible. | spent my
for our restaurant.
weekends participating in grilled cheese competitions—
| have seven trophies from national contests, displayed We ate grilled cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
proudly in our first restaurant—and riding my bicycle and sometimes for dessert. We tested our baked treats,
across California. Nate competed in chili cook-offs and soups, Salads, coffees, and beers with friends and at
played accordion professionally in a polka-party band dinner parties. Everyone’s opinion mattered to us; every

GRILLED CHEESE KITCHE


N
data point was valuable. The coffee-and-cookie tasting and gratifying experience of our lives. There’s nothing
party was particularly memorable: After ten kinds of like the anticipation, the satisfaction of making one of
coffee and twelve types of cookies, most of the guests our toasty, melty, buttery grilled cheese sandwiches for
were hovering off the ground from the sugar and caffeine a customer and ultimately the smile earned after he or
overload. she bites into it. In many cases, these customers have
We completed a seventy-page business plan and secured become our friends—we host their wedding and birthday
a brick-and-mortar restaurant space in San Francisco. parties, make their child’s first grilled cheese, and bring
After being denied capital from multiple sources, we treats to their dogs that are waiting on our patio. And we
drained the remainder of our savings and our retirement are grateful every day for their loyalty and support. ;
accounts to fund the construction and opening of the first In 2013, we opened our second location in San Francisco,
American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. a larger facility allowing us to expand our menu beyond
When you believe in magic, you throw caution to the our grilled cheeses, soups, salads, and baked treats.
wind; and we believed in grilled cheese. With additional kitchen facilities, we developed recipes
for some classic comfort food dishes like buttermilk fried
Saying it was hard work is an understatement; we were chicken and a B.E.L.T. sandwich (bacon, fried egg, lettuce,
on a shoestring budget and enlisted friends to help tomato, and Tapatio aioli, a house specialty). We also
with drywall and painting, traded with artists to help with developed slow-roasted meat recipes, like our coffee-
decorations, and lived off of ingredient samples while rubbed pulled pork, which became excellent ingredients
we developed the menu. Blood, sweat, tears, and LOTS for grilled cheese sandwiches, mac ’n’ cheeses, soups,
of bread, butter, and cheese (and the occasional beer) and other menu items.
is what went into the opening of our first store. But Nate
The third outpost opened in 2015, and Team American,
and I, and our supporting cast, were united in serving
as we like to refer to ourselves, plans to open additional
a common mission, which we by then had defined: To
stores in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area.
serve the tastiest grilled cheese sandwiches using the
highest-quality local and unique ingredients with the best If you can open a business, especially a restaurant, with
possible service. the person you love most in the world, there is definitely
magic there. Nate and !| continue to complement each
And that’s what we did.
other, in work, in friendship, and in life. We got married in ©
We opened the first American Grilled Cheese Kitchen in 2014 and live in San Francisco with our awesome rescue
May of 2010. | was the culinary director and champion dogs, McLovin (Mickey) and Tillamook (Tilly). We’re so
grilled-cheese maker, with the official title “Commander excited to share our recipes with you. What a thrill! We’ve
in Cheese.” Nate oversaw all business operations, earn- had so much fun with these recipes and we really hope
ing the title “The Big Cheese.” The store was a smash you do too.
success. We had no experience, but we had no fear. We
And yes, we still eat grilled cheese almost every day.
learned everything as fast as we could and constantly
strived for improvement. People lined up around the With much hot, cheesy love,
block to try our grilled cheese and smoky tomato soup,
and to enjoy the Kitchen experience. Almost five years dteidi
and Nate
later, after dozens of menu revisions, expanded catering
services, a close-to-fifty-person
staff, three restaurants
and more on the way, and now a cookbook, our wonder-
ful customers continue to line up and support our
mission. They continue to enjoy the magic of our grilled
cheese and comfort foods. It’s been the most fulfilling

PREFACE
eorrceetee vpeeereeeeerr*
2 eeoe

INTRODUCTION

A GREAT

GRILLED
CHEESE‘
We get this question almost every day. There a cheese plate, and select fresh, ripe, high-
are a few simple rules—okay, suggestions—for quality ingredients for the fillings and add-ons.
crafting delicious grilled cheeses. A really good seasonal tomato fresh out of
the garden or from the farmers’ market will
USE GREAT INGREDIENTS
taste better in any recipe than a mealy out-of-
This one may sound obvious, but it’s the most
season tomato with no flavor, and that’s true
important place to start. Use the best-tasting
in a grilled cheese as much as anywhere. And
artisan bread you can get your hands on,
don’t cut corners on the “secondary” ingre-
choose cheeses that you’d want to eat on
dients either—use good-quality fresh butter

GRILLED Gllelea Sie KITCHEN


or extra-virgin olive oil to create that perfect with some sugar, like honey whole-wheat
crunchy crust—the flavor will shine through. or Hawaiian bread; the sugar will cause the
There are very few ingredients in most bread to brown faster, so you will need to be
grilled cheese sandwiches, so make every on guard for burning. |
one count.
Our favorite breads for grilled cheese
Bread
are listed below, and you can find
What’s the most important part of a good
descriptions of the breads in the
grilled cheese, the bread or the cheese? Our
Glossary on page 164:
opinion, though some may consider it heresy,
is that the bread wins this showdown. Our 9-grain/multigrain Pretzel rolls/bread
go-to bread is a pain au levain (country-style Brioche Pumpernickel
French bread made with partial whole-wheat Challah Rye, including light,
flour and natural fermentation, shaped into Focaccia dark, and marble rye
batards, or oval loaves) made a few blocks Italian loaf Semolina
from our first restaurant at Pinkie’s Bakery. Miche Sourdough
Pinkie’s levain is a wonder to behold, slightly Oat bread Whole-wheat/stone-
sour with great structure and a bit of tooth, Pain au levain ground wheat/honey
whole-wheat
crackling crust, and just the right touch of Pain de mie
salt. Prowl your local small bakeries and find
the gems made in your own neighborhood. Butter

For a great grilled cheese, the bread is best You can use salted or unsalted butter, com-
when it’s not perfectly fresh, so get a loaf of pound butter (which is just a fancy name for
your favorite bread for dinner and make an butter with flavoring added in, such as garlic
outstanding sandwich with the remainder the or herbs), margarine, olive oil, or even mayon-
next day. Buy unsliced loaves to cut yourself naise and it’s still a grilled cheese sandwich.
or have the bakery slice it to your specifica- There is a dizzying array of butter options on
tion, if you can; you want slices approximately the market today: cultured, European-style,
V2 in [12 mm] thick for the optimal bread-to- whipped, light, churned, ghee, even goat
cheese ratio. butter. We encourage you to try different alter-
Generally, you want to look for breads natives and see the effect they have on the
with a dense crumb and some chewiness to sandwich, but we prefer high-quality regular
them; these breads will hold up best to butter- sweet cream (uncultured) salted butter as
ing and toasting, plus will be more durable if our go-to standard for grilled cheese. Some
you have any wet ingredients like tomatoes purists will insist on European butter or ghee,
or onions. Be careful when you use bread which have higher fat-to-water ratios and are

INTRODUCTION
more expensive, but we find that we can’t tell Usually it won’t matter which side of the
the difference in the finished sandwich, and bread you deem to be the outside, but if you
sweet cream butter is more readily available. are using slices from.a boule or batard, one
Salt content can vary widely among salted side of the bread is likely to be a bit smaller
butters, but not so much that you’ll be able to than the other side. Butter the smaller side
tell the difference in a grilled cheese. and you'll have a neater-looking sandwich.
We use butter at room temperature so that
Cheese
it is easy to spread but does not soak into the
Now that we’ve discussed the bread and
bread. Our goal is a light crispy crunch just
butter, we can’t leave the cheese hanging.
on the outside of the bread, so we butter just
There are no hard-and-fast rules, but in gen-
the side of the bread that will come in contact
eral the best cheeses for grilled cheese are
with the hot skillet, and we use butter very
“semisoft” and “semihard” cheeses. We do
sparingly. Spread the butter with a butter or
use a couple of hard cheeses (e.g., Idiazabal,
table knife, as thinly as you can. Don’t worry
a smoked, aged sheep’s-milk cheese from
about trying to get the butter evenly spread
Spain, and Parmesan), but they are usually
across every corner; the butter will melt in the
grated and used sparingly for flavor because
pan and take care of the edges. We prefer to
they don’t melt as beautifully as the semisoft
butter the bread rather than melt the butter in
and semihard. We also use some soft cheeses
the pan and then place the bread on top. That
(e.g., chevre and Brie), but they are very much
way the butter is less likely to burn, will be more
the exception. We pair hard or soft cheeses
evenly distributed, and will be less likely to
with a good melting cheese to get that grilled
soak into the bread, yielding a more evenly
cheese ooey-gooeyness.
crunchy crust. ;
There are great melting cheeses from all
We store our butter in the refrigerator
over the world, made with every kind of milk—
and take out the amount we need about an
cow, goat, sheep, and water buffalo. If you
hour before we'll be using it. Just cut a chunk
are slicing the cheese yourself, try to slice the
of butter off the stick and let it come to room
semisoft and semihard cheeses about ¥% in
temperature in a small dish. If you don’t have
[3 mm] thick. (Cheese is easier to slice when
time to wait for your butter to soften, warm it
cold.) Hard cheeses can be grated, or sliced
in the microwave, checking every 5 seconds,
very thinly, to facilitate melting. For simplici-
until soft but not melted. If you accidentally
ty’s sake, we call for “slices” of cheese in the
heat it too much and it’s begun to melt, place
ingredient lists, although we realize that not
the dish back in the fridge while you get your
all cheese chunks are conveniently shaped
other ingredients ready and it should firm up a
to match a bread slice. For our purposes, one
bit quickly.

R\ILLED CHEESE KITCHE,


“slice” means enough to just about cover the START WITH A PLAN
surface of the bread in a %-in [3-mm] layer, If you want to design your own grilled cheese
and should weigh about % oz [20 g]. masterpiece, which we highly recommend,
you will need to put some thought into the

Here is a list of good melting cheeses combination of flavors you put together. When

you can explore as you craft your own we are building a new sandwich, we have a

grilled cheese masterpieces. few tried-and-true techniques for coming up


with combinations that work. Even with tons of
Asiago Ibérico practice, we’ve found that it takes an average
Bel Paese Jack, Monterey or of three rounds of experiments to get it just
Blue Sonoma Jack (includ- right, so expect to make a few sandwiches
Brick ing with garlic, pep-
and try a few different ingredients.
pers, or herbs)
Brie
é, Jarlsberg Plan A
Butterkase Mahon Reimagine a favorite dish featuring cheese

apa Manchego and turn it into a grilled cheese. We’ve turned


Cheddar, white : pizzas (Hawaiian, margarita, pepperoni),
: Mimolette
or yellow; mild, pasta dishes (gnocchi Gorgonzola, butternut
medium, or sharp; Mozzarella
squash ravioli in brown butter and sage), and
young or aged Muenster
even salads (caprese, Greek) into grilled
Cheshire Ossau-lraty
cheese sandwiches. You may need to tweak
Colby Port Salut
what goes where—for instance, we found
Comté Provolone we could get the sage flavor into the ravioli
Crescenza P’tit Basque sandwich as a sage butter on the bread, and
Double Gloucester Queso Oaxaca we roasted squash slices instead of using
Edam Raclette a purée, so the sandwich would have more
Fontina Roncal texture and be less wet.
Gouda, red wax, Sage Derby
Plan B
black wax, smoked, Scamorza (smoked Turn any sandwich into a grilled cheese.
or aged; goat’s Of ~—mozza rella) Many of our most popular grilled cheeses are
cow’s milk .
2 Swiss variations on other sandwiches that aren't
meas Teleme traditionally grilled cheeses. We’ve turned var-
Havarti (including
with dill, horse- es ious regional specialties, like Reubens, Italian
radish, or other Urgelia Beefs, Muffalettas, and tuna sandwiches into
flavorings) grilled cheeses. The trick with this plan is to
remove things like lettuce that won’t hold up

INTRODUCTION
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Bible. Typographic treatment good as shown in Examples 22, 26 or 28 would be
ridiculous for a church program. Example 27-a shows a page historically appropriate. The
type-face is peculiarly fitting because of its pointed form, and also for the reason that a
letter of similar design was used by medieval scribes on ecclesiastical books (see Example
27-b). The crossed rules, which should be printed in orange-red, are adapted from the
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EXAMPLE 30

Title-page in semi-
Colonial style,
appropriate for use
with a cover design
such as Example 29

When a holiday crowd is gathered, dignity is put aside and all enter into the festive spirit
of the occasion. Here is the motive for the typographic treatment of a booklet or catalog
of decorative materials as presented by Example 28. It would be excessive emphasis of
appropriateness to print such a page in a combination of bright red and blue. The colors
should be softened. The page would look well printed in a deep blue with a flat blue tint
overprinting the star border.
There is room for improvement in the support typographers give artists in the production
of booklets and catalogs. In many cases title-pages are constructed with no regard to the
motive suggested by the design on the cover. Bibliophiles judge a book not only by the
excellence of its execution, but by the harmonious unity that may be expressed in every
detail, from the literary contents to the last bit of tooling worked on the cover. The type,
ornamentation, paper, ink, margins, leather, the arrangement of the title-page and the
cover treatment, all must be selected and utilized in expression of a dominant central
motive. The same rule presents the key to good typography in job work. Example 29
shows the Colonial arch adapted as the border of a booklet cover. The artist gives this
treatment to the cover because of the motive suggested by the name “Colonial Trust
Company,” and when the title-page is set it would be a mistake not to use some Colonial
arrangement. Example 30 blends with Example 29 and is modified from the old Colonial
title-page treatment just enough to give it a modern appearance without sacrificing the
old-time atmosphere. The border suggests both the widely-spaced rules of the Colonial
printers and the architectural pillars of Example 29. No letter spacing is used, despite the
temptation offered.

EXAMPLE
29

The
Colonial
arch

Discussion of the subject of harmony and appropriateness could be extended much


further than is allowed by these limits. Pages could be filled with descriptions of instances
in which the compositor had erred in treating typography and ornamentation
inharmoniously or with an unimaginative appropriateness. The use of angelic ornaments
on Y. M. C. A. printing, where something more substantial is desirable; the double-
meaning that may be read into the use of a horseshoe ornament on a printer’s
letterhead; the placing of illustrations of live fish, lobsters and animal food on banquet
programs—these are a few of the things that might be mentioned.
High-class catalogs have been marred by the use of stock decorative initials which were
at variance with the other decoration. In order to save a few cents both printer and
customer are inclined to use stock decoration that happens to be on hand at the
moment. Hundreds of dollars are spent on the work and then for the sake of saving thirty
cents (the cost of a harmonious initial or ornament) many dollars in effectiveness are
sacrificed. Another way of injuring the appearance of a book is to use a type-face on the
title-page that does not harmonize with that used for the body matter and the sub-
headings. In order to secure complete harmony even the lettering on the cover should
blend in style with that used for the title-page, sub-headings and text pages.
Altho strict adherence to the laws of harmony and appropriateness is necessary in the
production of good work in any field of endeavor, Americans seem to be really proud
when they violate such laws. We all know the person who dresses in a slouchy manner
because he read somewhere that Horace Greeley dressed that way. And there is the
modern politician who wears a slouch hat and constantly carries a quid of tobacco in his
mouth because Henry Clay did so. There are also house-organ publishers who use
inharmonious and inappropriate type-faces and decoration because Elbert Hubbard thus
treats the cover of the Philistine.
It is not a question of the sort of clothes a person actually needs to go from one end of a
street to another—Lady Godiva reached her destination with no clothes at all—yet we
often admire a person dressed harmoniously and in good taste without knowing the
reasons for our admiration. As there is art in tailoring and in the selection of clothes,
there is also art in printing, and he who investigates will find that the great natural laws
of beauty apply even to typography, which some by their work seem to think requires no
more thought than ditch-digging.

EXAMPLE 43

Uniform tone in classic typography.


Page by Bruce Rogers
TONE AND CONTRAST

This chapter is a story of the alpha and omega of color—white and black. Since the
creation of the world, when light first illumined the darkness, these two colors (if I may
call them colors) have been emblematic of extremes—white, the symbol of purity and
goodness, black of impurity and evil. White and black represent extremes in color. Mixing
of all the color rays of the solar spectrum produces white, and mixing of all the colors in
the solid form of printing ink produces black. From this contrast of white and black maybe
drawn a lesson in color. (Example 31.) Light represents warmth, darkness cold. As the
colors are toward light they are warm; as they are toward darkness they are cold. Red
becomes warmer as it takes on an orange hue, and colder as it takes on a purple hue. A
warm color should be contrasted with a cold color—as orange with black. The further in
tone the color is from black the more it contrasts with the black. As an illustration:
Orange is more pleasing than a deeper shade of red as a companion color for black. Blue,
purple or green, selected to be used with black, must be lightened with white ink to get
the desired contrast.

EXAMPLE 31

Contrast in color
and tone

White and black as a combination are and ever have been popular with writers, printers
and readers. Fully nine-tenths of the newspapers, books, catalogs and other forms of
reading matter are printed with black ink on white stock. It is coincident that optical
necessities require for best results in reading a black-and-white combination, and black
ink and white paper are more cheaply and easily produced than other colors of ink and
paper.
EXAMPLE 32

An example of
uniform tone and
contrast of black
and white. Page by
F. W. Kleukens,
Darmstadt

This chapter is also an illustrated sermon on uniformity of tone or depth of color, in which
is pointed out the necessity of bringing many spots of black or gray into harmonious
relation. The esthetic importance of uniformity of tone is universally recognized. Choirs
are robed in white and black; fashion has its uniform clothing for the hours and functions
of the day and night; theater choruses and the soldiery are living masses of uniform tone
and color. As uniformity is important in these things, so is uniformity important in the
tone of a page of printing. A type-page exhibiting a variegated mass of black and gray
tones is not unlike a squad of recruits in different styles of clothing marching irregularly;
while on the contrary a type-page of uniform tone and arrangement maybe likened to a
uniformly equipped regiment of soldiers marching with rhythmic tread.
A page of display typography composed of a mixture of irregular gray and black tones is
inexcusable in the sight of the art-loving reader. As combinations of inharmonious type-
faces are wrong, equally so are combinations of incongruous tones. For the sake of
contrast and variety in typography, art principles are too often ignored, the printer
confessing to ignorance or lack of ingenuity. Contrast is necessary, but it may be had
without sacrificing uniformity. Again making use of a military simile: soldiers are marched
in platoons, companies, battalions and regiments that the monotony of solid formation
may be broken; type is arranged in groups and paragraphs for similar reasons. While an
absolutely solid page of type may present a pleasing tone, a slight break in the regularity
is desirable for reading purposes. Thus art makes concession to utility, but such
concession should always be granted reluctantly. There is classic authority for the
arrangement of the type lines in Example 20 of the preceding chapter, but on the
majority of printing jobs it is necessary to compromise with utility and emphasize
important words, as in Example 19-a of the same chapter. The secret of producing artistic
typography in these practical times is to pilot the ideas of the customer into artistic
channels; emphasize the words he wants emphasized, but do it in a way that will result in
creditable typography. There is a right way and there is a wrong way of arranging type,
and too many typographers arrange type the wrong way and unjustly blame the
customer for the result.
EXAMPLE 34

The effectiveness of uniformly black tone on a background of white is well illustrated on


the beautiful book title shown as Example 32, in which even depth of color is consistently
maintained. There is not a weak spot on the page; border, ornament and lettering are of
equal tone, and the white background is reflected thru the black print in agreeable
contrast. The Germans are masters in their treatment of contrast and uniform tone, and
he who bewails the limitations of black and white printing should ponder over the results
shown by this specimen from over the sea.
Here is a practical demonstration of the workings of the theory of uniform tone in
typography. Example 33 displays four ornaments, each of a different tone or depth of
color. One of the customs when constructing a booklet cover-page to be ornamented, is
first to select an ornament that is appropriate in design and of proper proportions. Upon
this ornament the page is constructed, and it dictates the characteristics of the border
and of the type-face; its tone determines the tone of the entire page. This is also true of
a trademark furnished by the customer, altho such plates are frequently so inartistic that
a compromise is necessary.

EXAMPLE 35
Assuming that a cover-page is to be designed and that ornament A has been selected for
use on the page, a rule border is chosen with triple lines approximating the strength of
those in the ornament. (Example 34.) The lines are very thin, and white space is a large
factor in producing a tone that is light and dainty, in keeping with the subject of the
illustration. A perfect result would be obtained with a type-face of very thin strokes, yet
Caslon capitals, slightly separated to let in white space, give good results.

EXAMPLE 33

Four ornaments, each of a different


depth of tone, used in the construction
of the four pages shown as examples 34,
35, 36 and 37

EXAMPLE 36

The ornament shown as B has been formed of lines darker than those used in the first
ornament, and a mass of white forms a spot of contrast. Rules of the proper tone are
selected and a border unit adopted that reflects the spot of white in the ornament.
(Example 35.) Cheltenham capitals maintain the tone scheme. In this case, as in others,
the type-face is a trifle stronger in tone than ornament and border. This is well. Type-lines
on a cover are usually of more importance than the decoration.
EXAMPLE 37

EXAMPLE 38. Dark


tone—solid

EXAMPLE 39. Light tone—spaced

Two extremes of tone on book pages.


The same type-face is used on both
pages; the spacing between words and
lines alters the tone
EXAMPLE 40

A page by J. H.
Kehler, in which
illustration and text
are blended in
uniform tone

Ornament C differs from ornament A in that it is composed of light lines contrasted with
solid blacks. A border is made of a light line and a dark one, and the Bodoni type-face,
containing light and heavy strokes in contrast with a white background, assists in
producing a decidedly pleasing medium black tone (Example 36).
This combination of ornament, type and rule demonstrates there is considerable tone
beauty in a well-selected contrast of light and dark lines when set off by liberal white
space between lines and in the background.
The dense black tone of ornament D is duplicated in the dark-line border filled with black
decorative units (Example 37). The black-printing Chaucer Text reflects not only the tone
but the decorative characteristics of ornament and border. The tone of this example
approximates that of the German page (Example 32).
These four examples afford an interesting study in uniform tone.
As the tone or depth of color increases from the light gray of Example 34 to the dense
black of Example 37, it will be observed that the contrast between the print and the
paper background also increases. This leads to the subject of contrast. What amount of
contrast is needed on the ideal job of printing? There is conflict between art and utility on
this question, but there need be none. Art demands that the print be a part of the paper
upon which it is impressed, much as the plant is a part of the earth in which its roots are
buried, and utility demands that the print shall be strong and clear that reading may be
made easy. The artist-printer lessens the contrast between print and paper by printing
with gray ink on gray stock, brown ink on light brown stock, and so forth. The utility
printer gets the maximum of contrast by printing with black ink on white stock. As
printing is both art and business some compromise must be made, and it is this: On two-
color printing have all reading matter in the stronger color and subdue the color of the
decoration so that the contrast between the paper and the print of the reading portion of
the page is softened by this intermediate tone. Black print on white paper is made artistic
by impressing the print firmly on antique paper. This roots the print to the paper, and the
result is more idealistic than that presented by the print daintily set upon the surface of
glossy, enameled papers.

EXAMPLE 41

The spotted black


tone of the border is
reflected in the
treatment of the
text. The tone is
made uniform by
printing the border in
a light color. Page by
University Press,
Cambridge

Lack of artistic feeling among typographers and customers is responsible for unpleasant
contrasts in tone. A dense black illustration or initial will be set in a page of light gray
reading matter, or type of black tone will be used on a page with an illustration of light
lines. Great contrast in any detail of typography is not art but eccentricity; this statement
may be made plain by a comparison. One winter’s day when the conventional folk of New
York were wearing clothing of a somber hue, they were startled by the appearance
among them of Mark Twain in a suit of white. Six months later the humorist’s garb would
have excited no comment, but the black clothed mass of humanity around him
emphasized the whiteness of his attire, and the conspicuousness thus produced
separated him from his surroundings and made him an object of curiosity. Such things
are done by great men to show their disregard for custom and by others because they
are foolish or are advertising something; but it is common-sense right from Cervantes to
do when in Rome as the Romans do (meaning that printed work which both attracts and
repels by its gaudy, unconventional appearance is not nearly so good or desirable as the
more conventional printed work which tastefully and quietly presents its message in
subdued tones). One man will become widely known because he has dived from a big
bridge or gone over Niagara Falls; another because he has painted a great picture or
modeled a great statue. The one thrills, the other impresses. It may be easier to produce
typography which attracts attention by contrast, but such results do not bring the lasting
satisfaction that comes from typography thoughtfully and artistically designed.

EXAMPLE 44

A study in uniformity of tone as


found in combinations of type and
decoration

EXAMPLE 42

The tone of the


illustration and type-
face is here
blended. Card by
School of Printing,
Boston, Mass.
Several other points are suggested by Examples 34 to 37. A page for a cover should be of
darker tone than a page to be used as a title inside the book; this where the body-type of
the inside pages is of the customary gray tone. A cover placed upon a book to protect it
suggests strength, and the typography of the cover should conform to this suggestion.
The reason for the uniform tone presented by each of the four examples above
mentioned is another important point. Were the border darker than the ornament and
type lines, the ornament darker than the border and type lines, or the type lines darker
than the ornament and border, there would not be uniformity of tone, and a consequent
loss in the effectiveness that comes from tone harmony.

The tone of a massed page is of vital importance in the typography of a book, and a
happy medium is somewhere between the under-spaced black type-page of Morris and
the over-spaced hair-line type-page against which the Morris page was a protest.
Examples 38 and 39 show the manner in which the tone of a page may be controlled by
spacing. In Example 38 the page is moderately spaced between words and lines and in
Example 39 the page is liberally spaced, presenting two extremes and vividly picturing
the manner in which spacing influences the page tone.
The tone of the pen-and-ink outline illustration in Example 40 is admirably duplicated in
the typographical treatment accorded the page. The result would not have been so
satisfactory if there had been no quad lines to break the solidity of the page.
The spotted black tone of the decorative border in Example 41 is reflected in the
typography of the page, a result obtained by using a bold-faced body-type and separating
the words with a liberal amount of space. However, the tone would not be equal printed
in one color, but by printing the border in a lighter color the tones are equalized. Here is a
suggestion for obtaining even tones. Where one portion of the page is bolder than the
other, print it in a lighter shade of ink, or if any part of a type-page must be printed in a
lighter color, set that part in a type-face of darker tone (Example 47).
Job printers should be interested in Example 42, as it is a good presentation of the theory
of uniform tone. The effect of the open-line illustration is duplicated in the spaced Jenson
capitals and cross lines. The result would have been even better had the small groups on
both sides of the illustration been slightly letterspaced and the line at the bottom spaced
less.
Example 43, on the insert, is a classic interpretation of uniform tone. The architectural
design is formed of lines about the same strength as the strokes of the type-face and the
massed capital letters admit sufficient light to give them a tone near to that of the open-
spaced border.
Example 44 (insert) is a pleasing blend of tone and characteristics. The delicate light-gray
tone of the Camelot type-face is closely matched in the decoration and border, and
altogether this is an almost perfect exemplification of the subject of this chapter. It is
seldom that an artist so carefully considers the characteristics of a type-face and
reproduces these characteristics in so admirable a manner as was done in this instance.
EXAMPLE 45

In which the tone of


the initial and
headpiece is
lightened to near
that of the text
portion. Page by
Heintzemann Press,
Boston

Initials and headpieces should approach closely the tone of the type-page of which they
are parts. Example 45 shows such a combination, with the tone of the decoration just a
trifle darker than that of the text portion. An initial has other duties to perform than
merely to look pretty; it must direct the eye to the beginning of the reading matter. In the
manuscript books of the Middle Ages, written without paragraphs, the starting point of a
new thought was denoted by an initial more or less elaborate. The utilitarian purpose
thus served by the initial is reason for making it a trifle darker than the remainder of the
page. However, if there is great contrast in tone, the page will be difficult to read because
of the initial claiming too much attention. The effect would be much like attempting to
listen to one speaker while another is calling and beckoning.

EXAMPLE 46
EXAMPLE 48

Display lines in tone


should match the
border

Every rule has its exception and I wish to record one in the matter of uniform tone. On a
page composed of display lines and a large amount of reading matter it is an offense
against legibility to set the reading matter in a type-face of black tone to correspond with
the display lines, considerable contrast being necessary in such cases to make reading
easy. (Example 48.) Notwithstanding this exception in the case of reading matter, uniform
tone should be retained between display lines and border.

EXAMPLE 47

If a catalog is illustrated (and the majority are) it is important to have the illustrations
prominent on the page, sacrificing tone to utility if necessary. Sometimes the illustrations
are printed in dense black and the remainder of the page in gray or brown. While this
causes the illustrations to stand out in relief—an important point when machinery is
depicted—it should not be forgotten that the type matter must be read.
In advertising composition it is seldom possible to have an even tone on the entire page.
The New York Herald advertising pages are unique in this respect. Outline type-faces are
used, and all illustrations are redrawn in outline before they are published. This serves to
give a uniformly gray tone to the pages, but the advertisers are not enthusiastic over the
effects. While other newspapers may not be able to maintain uniform page tone, it is
possible at least to have each advertisement present a tone uniform in its displayed parts
and border, and the good typographer will secure such effects. The gray shaded type-
faces now available should enable printers and publishers to obtain tone uniformity where
gray effects are desired and large type sizes used.

EXAMPLE 49

Equal spacing is
necessary to obtain
uniform tone

Irregular letterspacing has been the cause of many pages of unsatisfactory tone. In a
displayed page where one line is spaced between letters, all lines should be similarly
spaced. Example 49 presents a decidedly unconventional letterhead by reason of the
letterspacing, and it illustrates the point that all lines should be spaced equally. It may be
well to warn job compositors inclined to imitate the style of this heading that there are
few customers who would concede any merit to such an arrangement, and it should be
used sparingly. Unconventional treatment, even tho good along the lines of the style
chosen, is not always appreciated.
EXAMPLE 58

In which the ornament, the border


and the type-face are in proportion
PROPORTION, BALANCE AND SPACING

Symmetry is necessary to beauty. This law of esthetics is as applicable to typography as


to sculpture and architecture. Proportion and balance—the things that make for
symmetry in typography—are obtained only by giving the work more attention than
seems necessary to the average producer and buyer of printing.
Why should the printer worry about esthetics—about symmetry? What has art to do with
printing, anyway? Questions such as these find too frequent voice in the printing trade,
coming from the employee whose interest and ambitions end when he “gets the scale,”
and the employer who is satisfied merely to deliver so many pounds of paper and ounces
of ink for so much money. Pity the man whose work is drudgery and who denies that art
and beauty are meant for him. He has his antithesis in the man who, appreciating the
higher blessings, neglects to give value to the more common and practical things.

EXAMPLE 50

One method
of
determining
the page
length. The
page should
measure
diagonally
twice its
width

There have always been two opposing classes—in religion, politics, art, music, business.
On all questions one portion of humanity is “for” and the other “against,” mostly because
of the influence of environment upon tastes and interests. Mozart’s and Beethoven’s
music charms and enthuses and also lulls to sleep. One class should try to understand
the other. Each has good reasons for its preferences, but none at all for its prejudices.
The painter Rubens, gathering inspiration in the courts of royalty, portrayed luxury and
magnificence. Millet, painting in a barn, pictured poverty, sorrow and dulled minds. What
pleased one found little sympathy in the other. During the Middle Ages learned men
talked, wrote and thought in Latin, and when it was proposed to translate the Scriptures
into the language of the masses these men held up their hands in horror.
Not so many years ago the book printer looked upon the job printer as the Roman
patrician looked upon the plebeian, but the job printer has absorbed dignity and
typographic taste from the book printer. While the book printer’s highest ideal is a volume
with uncut leaves ornamenting the book shelves of the collector, the job printer’s mission
is to be all things to all men. He prints the refined announcements of art schools one day
and another day finds him placing wood type to tell the story of a rural sale of articles
“too numerous to mention.”
There should be more sympathy between the book printer and the job printer, and also
between the printer who regards his calling as a business and the printer who regards it
as an art. The employer and employee who consider printing only a means to an end and
that end money, are as near right and as near wrong as they who produce art printing for
art’s sake and forget the pay envelop and the customer’s check. The first starve their
souls, the last their bodies.

EXAMPLE 51

Another
method of
determining
the page
length. The
length of
the page
should
measure
fifty per
cent more
than its
width.
These
examples
also present
proportionat
e margins,
the foot
margin in
each
instance
being the
largest

The printer who does things artistically in an economical manner “strikes twelve” (in the
slang of Elbert Hubbard). Printing need not be shorn of beauty to be profitable to both
printer and customer, tho beauty too conspicuous turns attention from the real purpose
of the printed job—which, in the case of a booklet, is the message the words convey. An
equestrian statue of Napoleon should feature the great conqueror, not the horse, but
would be impossible with the horse left out.
Art is essential to printing; so are Uncle Sam’s specimens of steel engraving. The more
art the printer absorbs the larger should grow his collection of these engravings. Study of
art arouses ambition; ambition brings better and harder work. It reveals in the
typographer the difference between mere lead-lifting and the artistic selection and
arrangement of types. The boy who sweeps the floor and does his best is nearer art-
heaven than he who sets type and cares not how he does it.
The printer who determines to learn about art—who makes continued effort to find the
reason why one man’s work is good and another’s is not, will be surprised and gratified at
the new world that unfolds itself as he studies. He will find that altho having eyes, he has
really seen only as he has appreciated. There is no easy road to the appreciation of the
beautiful. Art does not consist merely of a set of rules to be observed; there are few
beacon lights placed by those who have trod the road. Beyond a certain point the novice
must depend upon intuition or “feeling.” Great painters have been asked their method of
producing masterpieces, and have been unable to explain.

EXAMPLE
53

In which
vertical
lines
predomin
ate

In introducing the subject of “Proportion” it is well first to dispose of book pages. In


olden times the sizes of books were known by the number of folds to a sheet of paper
about 18 × 24 inches. A book made from such sheets, folded once into two leaves, was
known as a folio volume and measured about 12 × 18 inches. Folded twice into four
leaves, a quarto, measuring 9 × 12 inches. Folded three times into eight leaves, an
octavo, measuring 6 × 9 inches. Paper is now made in a variety of sizes, which allow of
individual preferences being satisfied. For the sizes of catalogs 9 × 12 and 6 × 9 are
becoming standard. The sizes do not depart far from the rule of proportion which holds
that the width of the page should be two-thirds its length.
Examples 50 and 51 illustrate two widely-used methods of determining page lengths. By
the first method (Example 50) the page should measure diagonally twice its width. In this
instance the width being eight picas, the diagonal measurement is sixteen picas. By the
second method the length of the page should measure fifty per cent more than its width.
Here the width being eight picas, the length is twelve picas. These measurements may or
may not include the running titles or folios.

EXAMPLE 54

Compare with Example 53

If only small margins are possible, the page (exclusive of running title) should be about
centered, with a slight inclination toward the head and back. But when margins are
reasonably ample the page should set liberally toward the head and back; the margins of
the head and back (exclusive of the running title) should be about the same, the outer
side margin should be fifty per cent more than the back margin, and the foot margin one
hundred per cent more than the back margin. Various explanations of this rule have been
put forward, a few of which are: The old book-owner making marginal notations as he
read, needed wide margins for the purpose. Early manuscript books were bound on
wood, and this wood was extended at the foot and used to hold the book when reading.
Two pages being exposed to view were treated as one page, much as double columns
are now treated. As book illuminators required room for their handiwork the margins may
have thus originated. The principal reason why we should observe such margins is that
the arrangement has the sanction of long usage and the approval of the best bookmakers
since books were written.

The job printer, it is reasonable to suppose, is more interested in proportion as it refers to


display typography. He asks: What relation has type, in the shape of its face, to the page
of which it is a part? And the answer is: A type-face should conform in the proportion of
its letters to the proportion of the page. Let us thoroly understand this. In Example 52
there are shown three widths of type—condensed, medium and extended. The type of
medium width is more used than the condensed or extended kind, and most pages have
a proportion such as Example 55. From viewpoints of both economy and art, the type-
face of medium width should be given preference when selecting type equipment.
Condensed types are properly proportioned for use as headings in the narrow columns of
newspapers and for narrow folders and booklets.

EXAMPLE 55

The
conventional
page shape,
with type and
ornament in
proportion

EXAMPL
E 52

Three
widths
of type-
faces
EXAMPLE 57

Compare
with
Example 56

Many of the laws that are necessary to good typography also govern the other arts. As an
instance, in architecture it is requisite that a tall and narrow building contain a
preponderance of vertical lines, a feature most noticeable in church buildings of Gothic
style (Example 54). Because the extent of vertical lines is greater than that of horizontal
ones in a condensed type-face, such a face is proper for a long and narrow page
(Example 53). The proportion of page shown by Example 55 is about that met with most
frequently in printing production. Here the vertical lines are in a slight majority, but it is
interesting to observe that in Example 56 where the page is more wide than long,
horizontal lines are more numerous than vertical ones.

EXAMPLE 56

In which horizontal
lines predominate

It is not always possible to follow out in every detail the requirements of proportion.
Architects must sacrifice much in the interests of utility and in deference to the wishes of
their clients. Printers must do likewise, but as a rule they travel farther from true art
principles than do architects. Consider the contrasting proportions of the structures in
Examples 54 and 57. In Example 54 notice that the openings have been made to conform
to the general proportions, and that vertical lines have been multiplied to emphasize
narrowness and hight. As a contrast, in Example 57 observe the width of the openings;
how it blends with the general proportion of this structure. Now to ascertain that
typography parallels architecture compare Example 53 with 54, and 56 with 57.
EXAMPL
E 59

EXAMPLE 60

The type-faces of these two examples


are not in proportion with the pages

An exaggerated idea of the relation of lines to proportion is furnished by Examples 62


(see insert) and 63. The vertical lines of Example 62 run with the length of the page as
smoothly as a canoe floating down stream. The horizontal lines of Example 63 are
irritating in their disregard of proportion. For the eye to take in at a glance both the page
lines running vertically and the rules running horizontally is as difficult as watching a
three-ring circus. Examples 59 and 60 also illustrate this point.
I have prepared in Example 58 (see insert) a page in which not only are ornament, type-
face and page-design in proportion, but the characteristics of the ornament are reflected
in the border, and the tone is uniform.
Irregularity of form is valuable in breaking monotony, and in some forms of art may be
essential, but as contained in Example 61 this feature is inharmonious. Before
experimenting with variety or becoming agitated about monotony the typographer should
perfect himself in the things that make for regularity. When he learns to set a page that is
harmonious and in proportion then it may be well to introduce irregularity—in
homeopathic doses.

There is much uncertainty manifested among typographers as to the proportionate


strength of display lines on a page. A type line is proportionately large or small as it
contrasts with its environment. Gulliver was a giant when among pigmies. The foremost
citizen of a country town is considerably reduced in importance when he rubs elbows with
the big men of the cities. The homely adage that “a big frog in a small puddle is a small
frog in a big puddle,” is applicable to typography. A display line surrounded by other type
lines (Example 64) must be made larger or by strengthened strokes made bolder than
when alone on the page (Example 65). The old City Hall in New York is claimed to be the
most beautiful work of architecture in the city, but is ridiculously out of proportion with
the towering office buildings surrounding it.

EXAMPLE 63

Horizontal
lines are not
suitable for
a vertically
narrow page
(See
Example 62,
insert)

EXAMPLE 61

Type-faces
and borders
are
mismated

Examples 66, 67 and 68 are studies in the proportion of a type-face to the page of which
it is a part. In Example 66 the page is largely covered with type, treatment that is
necessary on poster, dodger and other printed matter that must force its presence upon
the public. In Example 67 the page consists mostly of blank space, the type standing
modestly and apologetically in the midst of that space. This treatment is proper on dainty
works of poetry or when the demands of extreme refinement are to be satisfied. Example
68 is the “happy medium,” the compromise—a strength of display that will be satisfactory
in almost every case. This method of arriving at correct treatment emphasizes the need
in the typographer of a judicial as well as an artistic temperament. The wise judge knows
that truth is about midway between the claims of opposing counsel.

EXAMPLE 64

EXAMPLE 65

A display line surrounded by other type


lines must be made larger than when
alone on the page, to obtain
proportionate emphasis

Balance is another important subject, as it has a big share in making typography good or
bad. The builder works with plumb-line and spirit-level that his walls may be in perfect
balance, tho sometimes he is tempted, as the printer is tempted, to work away from the
center of gravity. In Italy there is a building, an architectural curiosity—the leaning tower
of Pisa (Example 73) in the construction of which gravity has been defied to the limit, and
in Canada only recently a bridge in course of construction on this gravity-defying
principle, fell in a mass into the river. In typography, safety from blunder lies in type lines
horizontally centered. Typographic experts experimenting with out-of-the-center balance,
both succeed and fail. Compositors imitating them generally fail. Example 76 is an out-of-
the-center arrangement that is fairly successful. Balance is saved by the type-lines in the
upper left corner and by the border surrounding the page. Examples 69 and 75 show out-
of-center balance adapted to a business card and a booklet cover.

EXAMPLE 69

Out-of-center
balance,
adapted to a
business card

While horizontally the center is the point of perfect balance, vertically it is not. Stick a pin
thru the very center of an oblong piece of cardboard and twirl the card; when movement
ceases the card may not hang uprightly. Mark off the card in three equal sections and
stick the pin thru the horizontal center of the line separating the upper two thirds. After
being twirled the card will cease to move in a perfectly upright position. Example 71
shows a word placed in exact center, yet it appears to be low. Example 72 shows a line
above center at the point of vertical balance. On a title-page, business card, and on most
jobs of printing the weight should come at this point. The principal line, or group, should
provide strength necessary to give balance. Example 70 presents a page with type group
and ornament placed unusually high. The typographer responsible was undoubtedly
testing balance to the limit.

EXAMPLE 66

Type
proportionate
ly too large
for the
average page

EXAMPLE 67

Type
proportionate
ly too small
for the
average page

EXAMPLE 68

This
proportion is
about right
for the
average page

EXAMPLE 62

In which the lines of the design


run in the proper direction.
Arranged by Will Bradley
EXAMPLE 70

In which the
upper type
group is
unusually
high. Page
by D. B.
Updike

Sometimes the customer gets a notion he wants a type-line placed diagonally across the
page in a manner like Example 74. Such arrangements generally show lack of imagination
and are crudely freakish. There are so many orderly ways of arranging type that such
poorly balanced specimens are deplorable.

EXAMPL
E 74

A
disorderl
y
arrange
ment

Spacing is seemingly one of the little things—merely incidental to the mechanical practice
of typography. When the apprentice compositor is told to divide his spaces evenly among
all the words in a line; not to thin space one line and double-thick space another; to
transpose a two-point lead, or make some other what to him may appear to be trivial
alteration in spacing, he judges his instructor to be over-particular. Yet the proper
apportionment of space on a page determines the tone and the balance and aids in
giving proportion and emphasis.
In type-making, when a font of type is designed, not only is each letter considered
separately, but in combination with every other letter of the alphabet, that when the
letters are assembled into words space may be evenly distributed. The designers of the
best type-faces have given attention to this feature and have demonstrated that legibility
is increased with proper space distribution. Because of the excessive open space it
contains, the capital L gives the most trouble of any letter used as an initial. As part of
the word “Millinery” the irregularity of spacing is particularly prominent (Example 79-a).
Partly to overcome this irregularity the companion letters should be spaced as shown in
79-b. When the letters A T occur together, and the space between them should be
decreased, it is necessary to file the metal in the upper right of the type A and the metal
in the lower left of the type T.

EXAMPLE
71

A word
placed in
exact
center
appears
to be low

EXAMPLE
72

Showing
the point
of vertical
balance
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