Rarely do we think about the fact that the newest ads this season are written with letters that are over 2,000 years old. Indeed, the subtle beauty of Roman capitals—like the ones found on the ancient column erected for Emperor Trajan—continues to inspire type designers today, and this lavishly illustrated visual history examines their enduring influence in detail. Essays here by leading practitioners of typography, lettering, and stone carving discuss the fine points of classical capital letters, the popularity of certain typefaces like Helvetica and Adobe Trajan, and the evolution of type in the work of designers like Edward M. Catich, Frederic W. Goudy, Eric Gill, and Hermann Zapf.