rfectly to its individual surroundings by judgment of
the eye than to rely upon any hard and fast rules.

Certain variations between the stone-cut forms of the Roman letters and
their forms as drawn or printed should be understood before an intelligent
adaptation of stone forms to drawn forms, or the opposite, is possible.
When drawn or printed a character is seen in black against a [10] white
ground with no illusory alterations of its line widths caused by varying
shadows. In stone-cut letters, on the other hand, where the shadows rather
than the outlines themselves reveal the forms, different limitations govern
the problem. The thin lines of a letter to be V-sunk should generally be
made slightly thicker in proportion to the wide lines than is the case with
the pen-drawn letter, especially as the section is likely to be less deeply
and sharply cut nowadays than in the ancient examples, for the workmanship
of to-day seems to be less perfect and the materials used more friable. A
slight direct sinkage before beginning to cut the V-sunk section is a
useful method of [11] partially atoning for modern shallow cutting, as
shadows more directly defining the outlines are thus obtained. The student
should, however, be warned at the outset that all reproductions or tracings
from rubbings of ancient stone-cut letters are apt to be more or less
deceptive, as all the accidental variations of the outlines are
exaggerated, and where the stone of the original has been chipped or worn
away it appears in the reproduction as though the letter had been actually
so cut.

[Illustration: 4. DRAWING FOR INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS IN GRANITE. F.C.B]

[Illustration: 5. PHOTOGRAPH FROM INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS SHOWN IN 4]

[Illustration: 6. INCISED ROMAN CAPITALS. ARCH OF CONSTANTINE, ROME]

The photograph of a panel of lettering from the upper part of the Arch of
Constantine, Rome, shown in 6, well indicates the effect of shadows in
defining the classic Roman letters; and the effect of shadows on an incised
letter may be clearly observed by comparing 4 and 5, the former showing a
drawing for an inscription in which the Serlio-Ross [14] alphabet was used
as a basis for the letter forms, and the latter being a photograph of the
same inscription, as cut in granite. It will be noted how much narrower the
thin lines appear when defined only by shadow than in the drawing. The
model used for the lettering on the frieze of the Boston Public Library, 7,
w