on: FIG. 93.]

[Illustration: FIG. 94.]

The letters in the top line are counted, and the centre letter marked.
Spaces between words are counted as a letter; thus in "THE WORKS," "W"
will be the centre letter, and should be put on the paper first, and
the others added on each side of it. Some thought is needed in judging
where to put the centre, as the difference in the width of such
letters as "M" and "W" and "I" and "J" have to be taken into account.

As a general rule, lettering looks best if it comfortably fills the
panel, but of course it cannot always be made to do this. The greatest
difficulty will be found in making titles of books that consist of a
single word, look well. Thus if you have "CORIOLANUS" to place on a
back which is not more than 5/8-inch wide, if it is put across as one
word, as at fig. 95 (1), it will be illegible from the smallness of
the type, and will tell merely as a gold line at a little distance. If
a reasonably large type is used, the word must be broken up somewhat,
as at (2), which is perhaps better, but still not at all satisfactory.
The word may be put straight along the back, as at fig. (3), but this
hardly looks well on a book with raised bands, and should be avoided
unless necessary.

[Illustration: FIG. 95.]

The use of type of different sizes in lettering a book should be
avoided when possible, and on no account whatever should letters of
different design be introduced. Occasionally, when the reason for it
is obvious, it may be allowable to make a word shorter by putting in a
small letter, supposing that only thus could reasonably large type be
used. It is especially allowable in cases where, in a set of volumes,
there is one much thinner than the others. It is generally better to
make some compromise with the lettering of the thin volume, than to
spoil the lettering of the whole set by using too small a letter
throughout (see fig. 115).

On very thin books it is sometimes hardly possible to get any
lettering at all on the back. In such cases the lettering is best put
on the side.

In the case of some special books that are to have elaborately
decorated bindings, and are on that account sufficiently distinct from
their neighbours, a certain amount of freedom is permissible with the
lettering, and a little mystery is not perhaps out of place. But in
most cases books have to be recognised by their titles, and it is of
the utmost importance that the lettering should