All Blogs
Learn more about the book "Marcel's Letters" and the font P22 Marcel Script, which is based on the handwriting of conscripted WWII laborer Marcel Heuzé
Carolyn Porter, Marcel Heuzé, Marcel's Letters, Graphic Design, Font Design, P22 Marcel Script
18972
paged,page-template,page-template-blog-masonry-full-width,page-template-blog-masonry-full-width-php,page,page-id-18972,page-child,parent-pageid-1815,paged-7,page-paged-7,stockholm-core-2.4.1,select-theme-ver-9.6.1,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode_menu_,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.1,vc_responsive
  • Binder with class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Label on front of binder says "Drawing and Painting notebook."
  • handwritten nameplate on class notebook: reads "Charlotte Cummings, Drawing & Painting, Notebook"
  • Binder with notes from Drawing and Painting classes, made by Charlotte R. Cummings in 1921/1922 while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page reads, "Class Notes, Sept. 27, 1921: Pigments and Materials"
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At top of page read the words "Oct. 4, 1921 Technical Notes on Painting."
  • Binder with typed class notes; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page says "Jan. 10, 1922, Class Notes, Question of Painting:"
  • Binder with typed class notes; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page says "5/11/22 Landscape Painting: Sir Alfred East. Chap. III. Sketching from Nature"
  • Binder with handwritten class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Notes were made during painting classes/lectures.
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page reads, "Chap III - Color Mixture and Balance."
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Page outlines types of paint brushes, assigns Class A, B, C, or D, and explains what each class of brushes is ideal for.
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Page includes recipes to mix paint colors.
  • Binder with typed and handwritten class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Left-hand page was written in shorthand, the right-hand pages shows the beginning of a section on "Drawing and Painting, Second semester."
  • Handwritten class notes from September 22, 1922. Top of page reads "Art Structure" and "Lecture 1"
  • Binder with handwritten class notes from Drawing and Painting classes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with handwritten class notes from Drawing and Painting classes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with rectangles of green watery paint swatches; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Binder with black chalk sketch of young boy sitting on stool; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Interior page showing color study using blues, oranges and purples.
  • Binder with handwritten class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Page shows reading list, which includes the Bible, Anatol France, John Burroughs, Fabre, Huxley, Tyndall and Arnold Bennett.

1921/1922 Class Notebook

My parents are engaged in the slow process of cleaning out the home they’ve lived in the last 35 years. Recently, for example, they cleared papers out of an old secretary my grandmother used (my dad’s mother). READ MORE

It’s a small, small world

Last weekend I received an extraordinary message from a woman named Delphine.

“My mother-in-law, Suzanne Lamy,” Delphine wrote, “knew Marcel from Berchères-la-Maingot, where she lived when she was young. Marcel used to go hunting with her family… She was touched that you wrote this book that reminded her a lot from her childhood.”READ MORE

Trying my Hand at Letter Carving

Perhaps it was because he was the only other living person in the graveyard. But the old white-haired man, sitting with a straight back on a stack of wooden stools caught my attention. Or, perhaps it was the sound of his work that piqued my curiosity; the graveyard was silent other than the tapping of his mallet.

READ MORE

Ordering a Signed Copy

I am always delighted to sign copies of Marcel’s Letters — especially when I know the book is being given as a gift. If you are looking for a gift for a design school graduate, or a family member who has an interest in typography, genealogy, World War II or French history, I invite you to contact me via email at carolyn (at) porterfolioinc (dot) com. Signed/gift wrapped/mailed copies are $26 (US only). READ MORE

Marcel’s Letters is awarded a Gold IPPY

Front cover of book, Marcel's Letters, with announcement of IPPY Gold Medal

 

This week I learned Marcel’s Letters was awarded a gold medal in the 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards (the book tied with  Armand Merizon: His Life and Art 1920-2010, by Muriel Zandstra).

READ MORE

  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Carolyn Porter standing in front of the Hatch Public Library, Mauston, WI
  • Carolyn Porter's presentation on book "Marcel's Letters" at Hatch Public Library, Mauston, WI
  • Photo showing hand-held sign pointing to hotel bed with six plush pillows; the sign says "Six pillows! All to myself!"
  • Dinner at Larry and Karen Fritz' home
  • Photo of dogs Hoover and Kelly, circa 2005
  • Hat and WWI medals earned by Larry's Fritz' father
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour
  • Marcel's Letters Book Tour

A Book Tour Summary (Mostly) in Selfies

I thought I’d try something different to blog about my April 4–7 book tour to Wisconsin, so here it is: a summary of the tour mostly in selfies! Thanks to everyone who came out to one of my presentations. The trip was a delight.

In Praise of Colophons

In Praise of Colophons

 

Just when I think I’m finished reading my book,
I turn the last page and find that the lettering
of this softened paperback was first cut
by a monk in 1739, just off the Northern coast
of France. How delightful, this production
by the sea——no talking, only the small splashes
of wave against rock, a plover’s squawk,
the metal plink of each letter into the carriage.

READ MORE

Fuck, Yeah!

I recently received several lovely emails from readers of Marcel’s Letters. Their thoughtful messages noted how they couldn’t put the book down or how they, too, “fell deeply in love with Marcel, his family, and the font.” Emails like that make my heart swell until it feels like it could burst.

After I shared these messages with my husband, Aaron, we joked it was only a matter of time before I would receive a letter or email that contained an opposite sentiment. READ MORE