Letter cutting is a form of inscriptional architectural lettering closely related to

monumental masonry Monumental masonry (also known as memorial masonry) is a kind of stonemasonry focused on the creation, installation and repairs of headstones (also known as gravestones and tombstones) and other memorials. Cultural significance In Christian cu ...

and

stone carving Stone carving is an activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, stone work has survived which was created during our prehistory or past time. Work carried ...

, often practised by artists,

sculptors Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, and

typeface designer Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

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". "However, the majority of letter cutting is now manufactured using methods such as

sand blasting Sandblasting, sometimes known as abrasive blasting, is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove su ...

and laser etching". Notable practitioners include: *

Nicholas Benson Nicholas Waite "Nick" Benson (born August 19, 1964) is a third generation American stone carver, stone letterer and owner of The John Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island. He was named a 2010 MacArthur Fellow. Early life Nick Benson began work ...

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 ...

Ralph Beyer Ralph Alexander Beyer (6 April 1921 – 13 February 2008) was a German letter-cutter, sculptor and teacher. He was most noted for his work on Basil Spence's new Coventry Cathedral where Beyer carved ''Tablets of the Words''.

* Michael Harvey *

David Kindersley David Guy Barnabas Kindersley Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (11 June 1915 – 2 February 1995) was a British stone Letter cutting, letter-carver and typeface designer, and the founder of the Kindersley Workshop (la ...

Richard Kindersley Richard Kindersley is a British typeface designer, stone letter carver and sculptor. Career Kindersley studied lettering and sculpture at Cambridge School of Art and in the workshop of his father David Kindersley David Guy Barnabas Kind ...

* John Shaw *

Reynolds Stone Alan Reynolds Stone, CBE, RDI (13 March 1909 – 23 June 1979) was an English wood engraver, engraver, designer, typographer and painter. Biography Stone was born on 13 March 1909 at Eton College, where both his grandfather, E. D. Stone, and fa ...

Macdonald Gill Leslie MacDonald Gill (6 October 1884 – 14 January 1947), commonly known as MacDonald Gill or Max Gill, was a noted early-twentieth-century British graphic designer, cartographer, artist and architect. Biography Born in Brighton, Gill was the ...

References

Masonry Artisans Arts occupations Monumental masons Calligraphy {{job-stub