Brooklyn Store Fronts

2008. Paul Lacy

A colorful celebration of New York’s wonderfully diverse and popular borough.

What do the Bari Pork Store (King of the Sausage), the Los Doctores Tires Shop, the Great Eagle Photo Company, and the St. Jude Religious Articles shops have in common? If you were Paul Lacy, they would be among the hundreds of storefronts you photographed on bicycle trips throughout Brooklyn. Over the years Lacy has managed to capture every conceivable type of shop, decorated with spectacular and wildly varied signs and displays and representing countless ethnic groups. A more colorful array of graphics, both amateur and professional, is unimaginable. Brooklyn’s storefronts are a vibrant canvas that reflects the changing trends and distinct character of this dynamic community. You don’t have to be from Brooklyn to enjoy this book―playful while documenting a fast-changing scene, it transcends geography to speak to anyone with an interest in urban culture.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

Mexican Blackletter

2006. Christina Paoli

Excellent photographic essay that examines the popularity of this letterform in Mexico. Letters shown in context of the signage they come from as well as side by side with letters of the like.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

Letters to Live By Vol. 1

2010. Mr Big Sleeps

Finally…Los Angeles artist Mr. Big Sleeps drops the bomb!!! Here you have 55 pages of custom alphabets and real street hand styles. This artist has a truly gifted hand for creating letters. You can’t go wrong with the material in this book. He’s even dropped alot of helpful hints throughout the pages. This book is a must have for every tattoo shop.

Available at Big Sleeps Ink

Letters to Live By Vol. 2

2011. Mr Big Sleeps

Has a little bit of everything in it, from page 1 to 50, it’s non stop variety of examples, ideas, alphabets and great tips on shading, placement, and creating that real custom flow. This book hits you with that real L.A. GANGSTER STYLE LETTERING! If you have volume 1, then you know what to do! Much thanks to all the support. Mr. Big Sleeps

Available at Big Sleeps Ink

Store Front: The Disappearing Face
of New York

2011, 2017. James T & Karla L Murray

The Murrays' brilliant documentation of New York's irreplaceable, generations-old storefronts has made headlines all over the world. For many of these establishments, the photographs mark the end of a legacy. In the wake of gentrification, vital facets of New York's cultural heritage are disappearing at an alarming rate. Store Front (Mini) immerses the reader in a virtual tour of NYC at its most authentic. From tiny stores tucked away on narrow side streets to well-known institutions on historic avenues, this book presents the individual images and shop owner stories that together make up a collective history. Up until now, there has been little attention paid to New York's storefronts; this book reverses that glaring omission and makes clear that the spirit of New York City is etched in its facades.

The influx of big box retailers and chain stores pose a serious threat to these humble institutions, and neighborhood modernization and the anonymity it brings are replacing the unique appearance and character of what were once incredibly colorful streets. Store Front is a visual guide to New York City's timeworn storefronts, a collection of powerful images that capture the neighborhood spirit, familiarity, comfort and warmth that these shops once embodied.

Storefront (Coffetable sized) Available at
Amazon (paid link)

StoreFront II (Mini) Available at Amazon (paid link)

A Love Letter For You

2012. Steve Powers

Graffiti artist Steve Powers started painting his "ESPO" alias across the walls and rooftops of Philadelphia in 1984, just as the city's Anti-Graffiti Network was launched. Twenty-five years later, in the summer of 2009, he returned to Philly, armed with 1,200 cans of spray paint, 800 gallons of bucket paint and 20 of the finest spray-painters in America, to inscribe an epic love letter on the rooftops facing the Market-Frankfurt line, as a public art project. Powers consulted the community in West Philly and collaborated with The Mural Arts Program and the Pew Center, and with their help transformed this 20-block stretch of buildings into visual and architectural Valentine poems, with lines such as: "This love is real so dinner is on me" and "Knocked on your door/ legs tired back sore/ migraine for sure/ no more I swore you smile I'm cured." A Love Letter for You: Brick Valentines on the Philly Skyline documents in full color the art and the neighborhood that inspired Powers' work, and is designed as an open Valentine love letter for all to use.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

Sign Painters

2012. Faythe Levine & Sam Macon

There was a time-as recently as the 1980s-when storefronts, murals, banners, barn signs, billboards, and even street signs were all hand-lettered with brush and paint. But, like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of quicker and cheaper. The resulting proliferation of computer-designed, die-cut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creeping sameness into our visual landscape. Fortunately, there is a growing trend to seek out traditional sign painters and a renaissance in the trade. In 2010 filmmakers Faythe Levine, coauthor of Handmade Nation, and Sam Macon began documenting these dedicated practitioners, their time-honored methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. Sign Painters, the first anecdotal history of the craft, features stories and photographs of more than two dozen sign painters working in cities throughout the United States.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

Sign Painters

2012. Faythe Levine & Sam Macon

Featuring interviews with more than two dozen artists from across the United States, "Sign Painters" is the first film to explore the history of the time-honored craft of sign painting. Documenting these dedicated practitioners, their methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship, the film profiles sign painters young and old, revealing the growing renaissance in the trade.

Available to stream at Amazon (paid link) or on DVD

A Love Letter To The City

2014. Steve Powers

Stretched across city walls and along rooftops, Stephen Powers's colorful large-scale murals sneak up on you. "Open your eyes / I see the sunrise," "If you were here I'd be home," "Forever begins when you say yes." What at first looks like nothing as much as an advertisement suddenly becomes something grander and more mysterious—a hand-painted love letter at billboard size. Combining community activism and public art, Powers and his team of sign mechanics collaborate with a neighborhood's residents to create visual jingles— sincere and often poignant affirmations and confessions that reflect the collective hopes and dreams of the host community. A Love Letter to the City gathers the artist's powerful public art project for the first time, including murals on the walls and rooftops of Brooklyn and Syracuse, New York; Philadelphia; Dublin and Belfast, Ireland; São Paolo, Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist's Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector

2015. Jessica Hische

This show-all romp through design-world darling Jessica Hische's sketchbook reveals the creative and technical process behind making award-winning hand lettering. See everything, from Hische's rough sketches to her polished finals for major clients such as Wes Anderson, NPR, and Starbucks. The result is a well of inspiration and brass tacks information for designers who want to sketch distinctive letterforms and hone their skills. With more than 250 images and metallic silver ink printed throughout to represent her penciled sketches, this highly visual book is an essential—and entirely enjoyable—resource for those who practice or simply appreciate the art of hand lettering.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

The ABC of Custom Lettering: A Practical Guide to Drawing Letters

2016. Ivan Castro

Need to produce some flyers? Want to draw up a logo for a band? Does your local speed shop need a T-shirt design? Don't want to use the same old computer fonts? Well let graphic designer and typography teacher Ivan Castro show you The ABC of Custom Lettering. This practical and inspirational workbook features easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for hand drawing a range of letterforms, from Modern Roman and Gothic through to Latin, Script, and Interlocked. Offering traditional instruction methods with a modern twist, this reference also comes with gallery sections for inspiration and accompanying projects to practice your technique.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

The Art of Lettering: Perfectly Imperfect Hand-Crafted Type Design

2018. Brooke Robinson, Ken Barber and more

Hand lettering is making a comeback, bursting out of its graphic-design bubble and finding a mainstream via collecting social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest. The avid interest in hand lettering seemingly goes hand in hand with the weariness audiences feel with constant slick digital presentation of the information they consume. The Art of Lettering collects myriad new and established graphic designers for whom hand lettering is a time-honored art that has modern applications. Showcasing more than 100 artists from all over the world, the book displays their typographic takes and illustrates their perfectly imperfect handcrafted art, from beautiful photographs of concept sketches to the end result. Straying away from traditional pen calligraphy, artists today employ new and creative approaches, including building type with coffee grounds, watercolors, and combinations of different hand tools, resulting in a dynamically fresh approach to creating type.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

Graphic Art of Tattoo Lettering: A Visual Guide to Contemporary Styles and Designs

2019. BJ Betts & Nicholas Schonberger

A groundbreaking reference covering the key styles and schools in contemporary tattoo lettering. This book includes step-by-step guides to lettering design from a wide array of leading tattoo artists.

Covering the history and context of tattoo design, as well as offering a comprehensive instruction in hand lettering, this guide is packed with enough detail to fascinate anyone interested in tattoo design.

Learn to recreate all of the most widely used techniques―from embellishing West Coast letter forms to mastering calligraphic style―with guidance from one of today’s most influential tattoo artists. Each chapter also includes an account of individual styles’ histories, complexities, and relevant substyles, along with interviews spotlighting leading practitioners and galleries of innovative tattoo design.

394 illustrations

Available at Amazon (paid link)

Lettering Alphabets & Artwork: Inspiring Ideas & Techniques for 60 Hand-Lettering Styles

2019. Joey Moeder

In his latest hand-lettering guide, designer and illustrator Jay Roeder has compiled a vibrant collection of alphabets that will have you racing for your pens, markers, and sketchbooks. He explains everything you need to know to create each set of letters, from the required pen strokes to fun embellishments. The alphabets are divided by typographical approach for easy navigation. Whether you're looking for an elegant script, a whimsical collection of doodle-inspired letters, or a striking set of dimensional letters, you'll find something that perfectly suits your personal style and projects. Each section includes a beautiful gallery showcasing work by the author and other artists.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

House Industries
Lettering Manual

2020. Ken Barber & Andy Cruz

Learn the history and techniques of hand lettering from a renowned design studio. This practical and visual guide features exercises, case studies, and typographic models for letter styles such as serif, sans serif, brush, and script--now featuring a new and improved binding.

Modeled after a series of sold-out lettering workshops that Ken Barber (House Industries) has conducted around the world, this highly illustrated handbook outlines the history of lettering, various methods and techniques, common letter styles, and best practices for getting paid for your work. This handy how-to guide also provides lettering models to help sharpen your drawing skills and offer departure points for further experimentation. Designed by House Industries and including copious examples, exercises, and opportunities to practice what you've learned, plus photographs of works-in-progress and finished projects, this instructive and visually engaging book will help you master the dynamic art of lettering, whether you're a budding artist or an experienced designer.

Available at Amazon (paid link)

The Sign Painting: A Practical Guide to Tools, Materials, and Techniques

2021. Mike Meyer & Friends

This book introduces the fundamentals of sign painting, allowing readers to learn about the tools, materials and techniques needed to create painted signs. All the basics are covered, from choosing and using brushes, paints, mahl sticks, dippers and pencils, to how to prepare and finish surfaces, transfer designs, mix paint and work with the brush. A gallery section of original alphabets, created for the book by sign painters around the world, provides visual inspiration and demonstrates a wide variety of styles and approaches.

Available at Amazon (paid link)