# Letter cutting
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{{Short description|Form of inscriptional architectural lettering}}
[[File:Coventry Cathedral.jpg|thumb|240px|right|One of [Ralph Beyer](/source/Ralph_Beyer)'s ''Tablets of the Words'' in [Coventry Cathedral](/source/Coventry_Cathedral).]]
[[File:Rydal Mount Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 895220.jpg|thumb|The plaque for the William Wordsworth Sesquicentenary, Rydal Mount, Cumbria, by [John Shaw](/source/John_Shaw_(stone_carver))]]
'''Letter cutting''' is a form of inscriptional architectural lettering closely related to [monumental masonry](/source/monumental_masonry) and [stone carving](/source/stone_carving), often practised by artists, [sculptors](/source/sculpture), and [typeface designer](/source/typeface_designer)s. Rather than traditional stone carving, where images and symbols are the dominant features, in letter cutting the unique skill is "meticulous setting out and skilled cutting of the lettering style, in terms of design, angle and depth of the lettering".[{{cite web |url=http://www.traditionalmasonry.co.uk/TraditionalCraftSkills/LetterCuttingAndCarving.aspx |title=Letter Cutting and Carving |publisher=LTM Group Ltd |location=Scotland}}]
{{blockquote|Letter carvers see the drawing and carving of letters as a particular craft in itself, allied to but distinct from masonry and carving in general. Most letter carvers are both designers and carvers. [Typeface](/source/Typeface)s designed for printing are rarely satisfactory when carved into stone, so most letter carvers design their own [letterform](/source/letterform)s.[{{cite web |title=Letter cutting |first=Daniel |last=Carpenter |work=Heritage Crafts |date= April 30, 2017 |url=https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/letter-cutting/}}]
|source=Daniel Carpenter, [Heritage Crafts Association](/source/Heritage_Crafts_Association), April 2017 }}
"However, the majority of letter cutting is now manufactured using methods such as [sand blasting](/source/Abrasive_blasting) and [laser etching](/source/laser_engraving)".