This is a brief history of ASCII Art, originally created by Joan G Stark, a prolific creator of ASCII Art with contributions by Charles Panati, John Foust, George Hutchison, Marc Leavey, Fred Lehmann, John Sheetz, James Willing and updated by Abbey Hawk Sparrow, creator of this software.
Over time, the written word developed into symbols which looked more like present-day text. The very first text art pictures were drawn by hand. Creative people used ornamental penmanship to create wondrously beautiful documents and pictures. The monastic monks created breath-taking manuscripts which incorporated letters of text into their art. However, there were few other pieces of art that were made from text characters.
French poet and surrealist, Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), used the shaped text in his handwritten visual word poems. These visual word poems were given the term "calligrams" (1917). They are one of the precursors of modern concrete poetry.
People were relieved from writer's cramp once mechanical methods to create text were created. The Chinese are generally recognized as the first group of people to develop the stamp/ink printing process (2nd Century AD) and the movable-type printing process (11th Century AD). It wasn't until the year 1450 that Johannes Gutenberg (along with businessman, Johann Fust and calligrapher, Peter Schoeffer) invented the printing press in Germany. It was based on a wine-press design and could print about 300 pages a day. As a result, books were produced more quickly and for lower cost. The art of typography could begin!
A nice example of typography is from the 1865 book, Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). The following tail of a mouse is from Chapter III, "A Caucus Race and a Long Tale":
"It _is_ a long tail, certainly," said Alice, looking
down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; "but why do you
call it sad?" And she kept on puzzling about it while the
Mouse was speaking, so that her idea of the tale was
something like this:----"Fury said to
a mouse, That
he met in the
house, `Let
us both go
to law: _I_
will prose-
cute _you_.--
Come, I'll
take no de-
nial: We
must have
the trial;
For really
this morn-
ing I've
nothing
to do.'
Said the
mouse to
the cur,
`Such a
trial, dear
sir. With
no jury
or judge,
would
be wast-
ing our
breath.'
`I'll be
judge,
I'll be
jury,'
said
cun-
ning
old
Fury:
`I'll
try
the
whole
cause,
and
con-
demn
you to
death'."
Alice in Wonderland was published a few years before the typewriter was invented. Therefore, it can be considered as one of the first printed text art creations.
Concrete poetry and typography continues today as evidenced by this modern 1997 example created by 'Donovan':
The Dolphins' Way,
In Me Aspirations of the living
sea The dolphins do move within me The aura of
their soul, I feel deep down To be in the water
and not on ground Sifting through the
ocean, an expressing show Communi-
cation of a song and a blow Pro-
tecting even those not of their
kind They ask nothing in return,
they do not mind The most gracious
and unselfish of all that wander I
wish to swim with them, nothing could
be fonder The dolphins mean so much
to me, you see I need to thank them,
for showing us how to be (Donovan 1997)
To many people, Christopher Latham Sholes is considered to be the inventor of the modern typewriter. His first machine was completed in September of 1867. E. Remington & Sons manufactured the typewriter in 1874. The keyboard has changed many times but the basic characters remains.
Since 1867, people have used the typewriter not only for printing manuscripts but creating works of art. In the 1890s, typewriter manufacturers and secretarial agencies organized public speed typing competitions. They also organized competitions for typewriter drawings. The earliest preserved example of typewriter art was made in 1898 by a woman named Flora Stacey. Not much is known about Flora Stacey except that she was probably a secretary. Her framed picture of a butterfly was published in the October 15th, 1898, edition of Pitman's Phonetic Journal. The entire rendering of this picture was created with the typewriter -- yes, even the butterfly! The butterfly is composed of brackets, hyphens, points, oblique strokes, a single asterisk, and several "o"s.
The journal commented:
"We think it will be generally admitted that the illustration is in the highest degree creditable to the artistic ability, skill and patience of the lady, and to the unique capabilities of the Bar-lock for this class of work. It may be noted that in competitions for typewriter drawings Miss Stacey has been extremely successful.... An outsider, or one unaccustomed to the use of the typewriter, can scarcely realise what an expenditure of time and patience is necessary in order to successfully execute one of these curious drawings. The paper has, of course, to be turned and re-turned, and twisted in a thousand different directions, and each character and letter must strike precisely in the right spot. Often, just as some particular sketch is on the point of completion, a trifling miscalculation, or the accidental depression of the wrong key, will totally ruin it, and the whole thing has to be done over again."
This brief synopsis describes some of the negative and positive aspects of typewriter art. First of all, once a mistake is made, it generally can not be corrected. There are no delete or overwrite keys on a typewriter. Secondly, the positioning of paper can be crucial. One slip and the typewritten picture may be ruined.
There are a number of techniques available to the typewriter artist that are not available to the ASCII keyboard artist. A typewriter artist can manipulate the sheet of paper in various directions and angles. The characters can be spaced in any way -- often overstriking another character or "half-spacing" to achieve a special effect. Typewriter art offers more flexibility and variation than the computer ASCII art. However, ASCII art is much more forgiving.
Typewriter art was a popular art medium in the 1950s to the 1970s. There are many wonderful examples of typewriter art found in Alan Riddell's book, Typewriter Art (London, 1975). Some of the images are colorized by using tinted ink ribbon. Several of the images are abstract. A few of the images are portraits (Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, Gandhi, Winston Churchill, and Henri Chopin). All of the pictures are superb. There is a listing of over 60 typewriter artists who have contributed to this 100+ image collection, one of whom is Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic.
I found the Henri Chopin portrait most clever as the image was created using only the letters of his name "henri chopin". The background of this 1974 image repeatedly spells out "audiopoems". The text artist is Robert Morgan. He created the image as a design for the sleeve of Henri Chopin's record entitled "Audiopoems" -- Tangent Records.
Another fine example of typewriter art was posted on USENET a few years back. A reader found an article in an unnamed magazine (1960) about a man named Guillermo Mendana Olivera. The article states that Mr. Olivera was a stenographer by day in Leon, Spain, and a keyboard artist by night. He used small o's and x's and periods, dashes, and commas to create his typewriter art masterpieces. And each picture took about 70 hours to complete! Incredible!
There are very few books about ASCII art. Most computer art text books deal with modern graphics and programming. Eventually I'd love to put together a publication of my ASCII art creations, information on the history of text art, and the "how-to create" guidelines for ASCII art. (Are there any publishers out there interested in such a project?) In the meantime, you're stuck reading my cyberspace meanderings. At right, you'll find a listing of typewriter art books that I've been able to identify.
- Typewriter Art by Dan Carlinsky
- (1978, Price Sloan Publishers)
- ISBN 0843104333
- Typewriter Art edited by Alan Riddell
- (1975, London Magazine Editions)
- ISBN 0-900626-99-2
- Art Typing by Nathan Krevolin
- (1962, Fearon Pittman/MacMillan Publishers)
- ISBN 0028306104
- Typewriter Art by Bob Neill
- Second Book on Typewriter Art by Bob Neill
- (1984, The Weavers Press)
- Art Typing, by Nathan Krevolin
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX XXXXXXXXXXX
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X X X XXXXX
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X XX XX X XXX X X
X X XXX X X
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This is a house and a tree as illustrated in the 1962 book, "Art Typing"
There is a section on how to make type-written reports, price lists, and menus, as well as how to make a card. (Perhaps a precursor to 'Print Shop'?) Some mention is made of half-spaces and tilting type paper to get a unique look-- neither of which apply to ASCII art. One page identifies 'cartooning' with keyboard characters-- this is the page which reminded me most of today's ASCII art... Here are two of the ten items pictured...
*
/
HH
SSSSSS
SSSSSSSS
S )))) S
SS - - SS
SSS o o SSS
SSSS 6 SSSS
SSS __ SSS
SSS SSS
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o/ o XXXXX
( / XXXXX
/___) XXXXX
( XXXX
( ____ ) XXX
( XX
( ) X
( ) *
( ) ***
*
Two cartoon characters from the 1962 book, "Art Typing"
Similar text images were broadcast via Radio Teletype (RTTY). RTTY is a machine-to-machine method of communication which takes place over radio or telephone lines. Its purpose is not for text art transmissions, but for text communication between operators. The teletypewriter (or teleprinter) was invented in the early 1900s. The largest manufacturer of the teleprinter in the United States was the Teletype Corporation. The term "teletype" is used to refer to the teleprinter. However the word "teletype" is actually a trademark of the AT&T Teletype Corporation (much like how the word "xerox" took over the copying machine industry). The radio teleprinter became popular with the public after World War II when surplus teletype machines became available at a reasonable cost. These large machines provided a keyboard for input and a paper roll for printed output. Video monitors didn't become feasible until the mid-1970s. Even today, there are many active RTTY operators and clubs. RTTY operators (ham operators) have used various codes to transmit messages. These codes include BCD, EBCDIC, Morgan code, and Baudot code. However RTTY transmissions typically used the five-bit, 32 character Baudot code. Initially, RTTY did not use seven-bit ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). ASCII was not standardized until 1968. There are differences between Baudot and ASCII. Differences include bit-size and number of characters allowed. The Baudot code uses numbers, upper case letters, and some punctuation characters. It does not allow for lower case letters. The ASCII code uses upper and lower case letters, numbers, and more of the "standard" punctuation characters.
There are, of course, other differences between the two codes. Even though most radio amateurs In the United States use the Baudot code, they have been authorized by the FCC to use ASCII as well as the older Baudot code for RTTY communications. This took effect in March of 1980.
The text art images sent in the ham radio community consist of capital letters and are sent on long paper tapes. RTTY is slow. Transmissions are sent at 45 baud -- 50 baud is standard in New Zealand. Compare that to the 53,000 baud modem connections that we're using with our computers today! A large RTTY art image could take an hour to transmit. The speed of the RTTY transmission is approximately 60 -100 words per minute.
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According to a chapter in the "RTTY Handbook", text images have been sent via teletypewriter as early as 1923. However, I have not discovered any of this "old" RTTY art. From what I have found, the text images appeared frequently on radio teletype in the 1960s and the 1970s. They were sent from ham operator to ham operator via radio transmissions. There was an article about RTTY art in an early 1960s issue of "73 Magazine" -- the publication for RTTY enthusiasts.
Collection of Baudot / RTTY Art RTTY Information
Another interesting web site that focuses on radio teletype artwork from the 1960's and 1970's can be found at the Jefferson Computer Museum web site. The subtopic, Ancient Alphabetic Art, highlights teletype artwork from the1960s and the 1970s. The webmaster, John Foust, has collected and posted numerous works from this era. You can also find information regarding outdated computer systems. It is definitely worth a look!
example of computer punch tapePunch cards and punched paper tape were ways that information could be stored and rebroadcast. Teleprinter messages could be received on tape and then be resent to other teleprinters by using a taper reader. I haven't seen artwork created from punched paper tape, but I do remember seeing pictures made with punched cards. The holes were punched in strategic locations so that when held to the light, the cards displayed an image. The card I recall seeing was that of a Christmas tree. Alas, it wasn't mine and it has long since disappeared. I welcome e-mail from people who remember this art and might have an example of punch card art in their attic or basement! "Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate"
There are many sites on the Internet that thoroughly describe what ASCII is all about. I will not go into great technical detail. However I will list a few web pages that have additional and detailed information about ASCII. To begin, ASCII is an acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII was created in the early 1960s but did not become a United States government standard until 1968. In the 1960s, there were many data communication codes that were competing for the US Standard. In 1962, IBM created and promoted a coding standard known as Extended Binary-Coded-Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC). This was an 8-bit code which allowed up to 256 characters. However it lost out to ASCII as a "PC standard". EBCDIC is still used on many mainframe systems even today.
ASCII was defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1968 as "ANSI Standard x3.4". It has also been described as ISO 636. It is a 7-bit code that has a maximum of 128 characters/controls. ANSI is the Institute that defines American National standards. ASCII code is one of these standards. So, technically speaking, ASCII is an ANSI code. Got that?
There is another ANSI standard, ANSI Standard x3.16, which is an 8-bit code. This expansion was defined in 1979 in an effort to standardize graphic character representations and cursor control. It is based upon a 256 character set. It includes the 128 characters/controls of ASCII and an extra 128 characters/controls. It is sometimes called "extended ASCII" or "high ASCII", but it is really neither. It is a different ANSI Standard -- but not the "American Standard Code".
For more reading on ASCII and other text encodings:
Perhaps the real start of ASCII art is with the beginning of the Internet. The Internet began in the 1960's as a means to communicate if nuclear war broke out. Military authorities created a network called ARPANET which connected 37 computers and several defense departments. No war came (thankfully) and the computer system expanded to include universities and other educational institutions. For many years the Internet belonged to the military and to the schools.
In the early 1990's, the World Wide Web was developed in the Switzerland. It was there that Hyper-Text Mark-Up Language (HTML) was first used.
Many people use the Internet for e-mail. Initially, the Internet was pure text - no graphics and certainly no animations. E-mail was the same. ASCII art was used to create diagrams and charts. It was also used for "fun" and to enhance and liven up the plain text messages.
Besides digrams and charts, probably the earliest ASCII art from the Internet are the "Spy at the Wall" collection and the "Silly Cows" collection. David Bader, an ASCII art enthusiast and editor of the 'Cows", recently sent me the COMPLETE, UNCUT, ORIGINAL, and OFFICIAL Silly Cow collection! These cows can be seen all over the Internet and are truly considered to be "classic" ASCII art..
ASCII art has also been used in the BBS (computer bulletin board systems) scene and in the underground art groups.
BBSs were developed in 1978 and became quite popular in the early 1980s.. MUDs (multi-user dungeons) and MUGs (multi-user games) also became quite popular in the early years of the Internet. These are all text based applications. So, if someone wanted to include a picture or diagram, it had to be created from text. Even today, BBSs, MUDs, and MUGs exist -- many are still text based.
- ANSI art: ANSI art is a cousin to ASCII art. It is often used on BBS (bulletin board systems). It also includes color and animation codes. ANSI art is still created today.
- ANSI BBS Information
- AOL 'macro' art: America Online (AOL) is one of the few Internet/e-mail programs that did not allow for a fixed-width font. Up until the release of version 4.0, all AOL users had one font. -- yes, ONE font. That one font was Arial-10. Arial is a proportional font. The ASCII art of the Internet looked totally skewed to AOL users. In response, AOL users modified the spacing (by hand) so that the ASCII art would look good in their Arial proportional font. These AOL Arial-font text pictures have been called "macros". Unfortunately, because there medium no longer exists, many macros have disappeared.
An example of a proportional font macro:
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- The Surprisingly Rich History of ASCII Art
- The Lost Ancestors of ASCII Art
- The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of ASCII Art
- Textmode Art Collective
- Artpacks.org
- The History of ASCII
The Internet is ubiquitous and textual, in nature. For this reason, ASCII art continues to be relevant and sees frequent use.
Microsoft declared ASCII art "dead" in June of 1998 because they wanted to break fixed width alignment in their applications, but it proved premature. All computer systems have capabilities for fixed-width font and for terminal usage it's the standard, so ASCII art isn't going anywhere.
ASCII art is far from dead. People continue to be intrigued and amazed by what can be created using basic keyboard characters. ASCII Art is still used in e-mail, in e-zines, on BBSs, in MUDs/MUGs, and on mIRC and in terminal consoles everywhere. It has a rich history and an active userbase which has only expanded with the advent of UTF.
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© Copyright 1999-2001 Joan G. Stark, All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2019 Abbey Hawk Sparrow, All Rights Reserved.