Edward Johnston,
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(11 February 1872 – 26 November 1944) was a British
craftsman who is regarded, with
Rudolf Koch
Rudolf Koch (20 November 1876 – 9 April 1934) was a German type designer, professor, and a master of lettering, calligraphy, typography and illustration. Commonly known for his typefaces created for the Klingspor Type Foundry, his most widel ...
, as the father of modern
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
, in the particular form of the broad-edged pen as a writing tool.
He is most famous for designing the
sans-serif
In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than seri ...
Johnston typeface
A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.
There are list of type ...
that was used throughout the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
system until it was redesigned in the 1980s. He also redesigned the famous
roundel
A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
symbol used throughout the system.
Early life
Johnston was born in
San José de Mayo
San José de Mayo () is the capital city of the San José Department in southern Uruguay.
Location and geography
The city is located at the centre of the state, on the intersection of Route 3 with Route 11, from the centre of Montevideo. The r ...
, Uruguay.
His father, Fowell Buxton Johnston (born 1839), was an officer in the
3rd Dragoon Guards, and the younger son of Scottish MP
Andrew Johnston and his second wife, abolitionist
Priscilla Buxton
Priscilla Buxton (25 February 1808 – 18 June 1852) was a British slavery abolitionist. She was co-secretary of the London Female Anti-Slavery Society. In 1833 a petition of 187,000 women's signatures were presented to parliament to end slavery. ...
, daughter of Sir
Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet (1 April 1786Olwyn Mary Blouet, "Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, first baronet (1786–1845)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online ed., May 201accessed 25 April 20 ...
. Johnston's uncle (his father's elder brother), also
Andrew Johnston, became an MP in Essex in the 1860s.
The family returned to England in 1875. With his father seeking work, and his mother ill, Johnston was raised by an aunt. He was educated at home, and enjoyed mathematics, technology, and creating illuminated manuscripts. His mother died in 1891, and he began to work for an uncle. He spent some time studying medicine at
Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...
but did not complete the course.
After his mother's death, his father was remarried, to a sister of
Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers
Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers, (18 August 1858 – 17 November 1938) was a British civil servant, and a Pali and Buddhist scholar. In later life, he served as the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.
Background and education
Chalmers was b ...
. Johnston's half-brother, Andrew Johnston (1897–1917), was killed when his aeroplane crashed while serving in the
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, decorations ...
in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Career
![Twelfth Night Johnston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Twelfth_Night_Johnston.png)
After studying published copies of manuscripts by architect
William Harrison Cowlishaw
William Harrison Cowlishaw (1869–1957) was a British architect of the European Arts and Crafts school and a follower of William Morris."William Harrison Cowlishaw." ''A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture''. Oxford Universit ...
, and a handbook by Edward F. Strange, he was introduced to Cowlishaw in 1898 and then to
William Lethaby
William Richard Lethaby (18 January 1857 – 17 July 1931) was an English architect and architectural historian whose ideas were highly influential on the late Arts and Crafts and early Modern movements in architecture, and in the fields of co ...
, principal of the
Central School of Arts and Crafts
The Central School of Art and Design was a public art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central ...
. Lethaby advised him to study manuscripts at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, which encouraged Johnston to make his letters using a broad edged pen.
Lethaby also engaged Johnston to teach lettering, and he started teaching at the Central School in
Southampton Row
The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/ Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station.
Kingsway
Kingsway is a major road in central London, desig ...
, London, in September 1899, where he influenced the typeface designer and sculptor
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
. From 1901 he also taught a class at the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
and many students were inspired by his teachings.
He published a handbook, ''Writing & Illuminating, & Lettering'' in 1906. He started a second book in the 1920s but it was unfinished at his death.
In 1913,
Frank Pick
Frank Pick Hon. RIBA (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway, before moving to the Underground Electric Railways Compan ...
commissioned him to design a typeface for London Underground, and the simple and clear
sans-serif
In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than seri ...
Johnston typeface
A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.
There are list of type ...
was the result.
In 1913, Johnston was one of the editors of ''
The Imprint'', a periodical for the printing industry. For this paper,
Monotype
Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The ...
made a complete new font:
Imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
, series 101, exclusively for use in ''The Imprint''. Actually this was the first revival character font Monotype made. In the 9 issues of ''The Imprint'', many articles about
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
were included.
He has also been credited for reviving the art of modern
penmanship
Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different implements. The various generic and formal hist ...
and lettering single-handedly through his books and teachings. Johnston also devised the simply crafted round calligraphic handwriting style, written with a broad pen, known today as the foundational hand (what Johnston originally called a slanted pen hand, which was developed from
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
and
half-uncial
Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library, p. 494. script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to ...
forms).
He influenced a generation of British typographers and calligraphers, including
Graily Hewitt
William Graily Hewit or Graily Hewitt (1864–1952) was a British novelist and calligrapher, second only to Edward Johnston in importance to the revival of calligraphy in the country at the turn of the twentieth century.
Biography
Hewitt wa ...
,
Irene Wellington
Irene Bass Sutton Wellington (1904–1984) was an influential British calligrapher and teacher of calligraphy.
Early life
Born in Lydd, Kent, in 1904, Irene Bass attended Ashford County School, and later Maidstone School of Art, where she beg ...
, Harold Curwen and
Stanley Morison
Stanley Arthur Morison (6 May 1889 – 11 October 1967) was a British typographer, printing executive and historian of printing. Largely self-educated, he promoted higher standards in printing and an awareness of the best printing and typefaces o ...
,
Alfred Fairbank,
Florence Kingsford Cockerell
Florence Kate Kingsford, Lady Cockerell (25 May 1871 – 18 September 1949), known variously as Florence Kingsford and Kate Cockerell, was a British illustrator and calligrapher who specialized in creating illuminated manuscripts. She worked ...
, and
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
. He also influenced the transition from Gothic to Roman letters in Germany, and Anna Simons was a student. He also lectured in Dresden in 1912. In 1921, students of Johnston founded the
Society of Scribes & Illuminators (SSI), probably the world's foremost calligraphy society.
Not all his students were happy with his decision to create a sans-serif design for the Underground, in a style thought of as modernist and industrial. His pupil Graily Hewitt privately wrote to a friend:
In Johnston I have lost confidence. Despite all he did for us...he has undone too much by forsaking his standard of the Roman alphabet, giving the world, without safeguard or explanation, his block letters which disfigure our modern life. His prestige has obscured their vulgarity and commercialism.
Johnston also created a
blackletter
Blackletter (sometimes black letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for the Danish, Norweg ...
-influenced design for a 1929 German edition of ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''.
Private life
He met Greta Grieg, a Scottish schoolmistress, in 1900, and they were married in 1903. They had three daughters. They lived in London until moving, in 1912, to
Ditchling
Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling.
...
, Sussex, where
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
had settled in 1907. His wife died in 1936. He was appointed a CBE in 1939. He died at home in Ditchling, and is buried in St Margaret's churchyard.
Edward Johnston Memorial in Farringdon Station
On 24 June 2019 a memorial was erected at Farringdon Station for Edward Johnston and his underground alphabet. Huge woodtype was mounted on the wall of the underground station, to celebrate Edward and his type.
Publications
![West Brompton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/West_Brompton.jpg)
*
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*
*
** First publication of this text appeared in "The Imprint", 1913, vol. 1: pp. 7–14, vol. 2: pp. 128–133
*
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*
*
*
References
Further reading
* Holliday, Peter (2007). ''Edward Johnston: Master Calligrapher''. London: British Library Publishing. .
* Johnston, Priscilla (1959, 1976), ''Edward Johnston'', Pentalic Corporation, New York, N.Y.
External links
The Legacy of Edward Johnstonat www.ejf.org.uk The Edward Johnston Foundation
Edward Johnston's works held at the Central Saint Martins Museum and Study CollectionEdward Johnston at the Crafts Study CentreNational Portrait GalleryEdward Johnston, 1937
* Example of condensed form Johnston font used on a bus blind
Edward Johnston Collectionheld by the Crafts Study Centre and hosted online by th
Visual Arts Data Service (VADS)Ditchling Museum of Art + Craftholds many Edward Johnston works and personal effects
Underground: 100 Years of Edward Johnston's Lettering for Londonexhibition a
Ditchling Museum of Art + CraftMarch - September 2016
*
Writing & Illuminating & Lettering, 8th edition 1917is online at The Internet Archive in various formats PDF, Plain Text, DAISY, ePub and Kindle]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Edward
1872 births
1944 deaths
People from San José de Mayo
British calligraphers
British graphic designers
British typographers and type designers
Academics of the Royal College of Art
People associated with transport in London
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Academics of the Central School of Art and Design
Transport design in London
History of the London Underground
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Uruguayan people of British descent