SOCIETY OF SCRIBES AND ILLUMINATORS
In 1898, 26-year-old Edward Johnston (1872-1944) gave up his medical studies in Edinburgh and moved to London where he began reviving the practice of formal penmanship. In 1921 his students founded the Society of Scribes & Illuminators to promote and advance high standards of craftsmanship in writing and illumination. Edward Johnston and his students influenced the understanding and design of public and commercial lettering throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. The original London Underground signage, with the roundel, was designed by Johnston and remains in use today with modifications. Significant carved lettering commissions and good typefaces, such as those by Johnston’s student Eric Gill (1914-2009), are still seen and used daily. From the beginning, Members, later Craft Members and now Fellows, were elected by their peers on the standard of their workmanship and ability to interpret and express their ideas using calligraphy and illumination in a contemporary manner. Today Fellows and Lay Members of the SSI design some of the coins and banknotes in your pocket, formal documents, memorial books and many public and private commissions that require an original one-off piece.
Website: https://calligraphyonline.org