Margaret Calkin James (June 1895 - 1985), was a calligrapher, graphic designer, textile printer, watercolour painter and printmaker, and is best known for her posters designed for 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 ...
and
London Transport between 1928 and 1935.
Early life
Margaret Calkin James was born in Emmanuel,
West Hampstead
West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage to ...
, the third of seven children of Harry Bernard Calkin (1861–1926), a senior underwriter at
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...
and Margaret Agnes Palfrey (1870–1936), daughter of
Penry Powell Palfrey (1830–1902), a well-known artist in stone and stained glass.
She attended
North London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is an independent school with a day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju I ...
from 1909 to 1913. She was a student at the
Central School of Arts and Crafts
The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of 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 School of Arts and Cr ...
between 1913 and 1915, specialising in calligraphy and winning the
Queen's Scholarship in her final year. She then enrolled at the
Westminster School of Art
The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London.
History
The Westminster School of Art was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Royal Architectural Museum.
H. M. Bateman described ...
. In June 1922 she married
Charles Holloway James, a distinguished architect who trained under Sir
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...
. After her marriage she worked from a studio at her home. They had a son and two daughters. Her younger daughter, Elizabeth Argent, lived in
Alcester
Alcester () is a market town and civil parish of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England, approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 7 miles south of Redditc ...
till her death in 2016. Her grandchildren Alison, Jennifer, Nicholas and Jeremy continue to promote their grandmother's legacy.
Career
Work by James was displayed at ''The Rainbow Workshops'' in
Great Russell Street
Great Russell Street is a street in Bloomsbury, London, best known for being the location of the British Museum. It runs between Tottenham Court Road (part of the A400 route) in the west, and Southampton Row (part of the A4200 route) in the east ...
in
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, which she opened in 1920 and was one of the first galleries started by a woman to promote art, craft and design.
She lived and worked at Lapstone Farm, in
Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. She designed posters for
London Transport, book jackets for
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
, pattern papers for the Curwen Press, programmes and booklets for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
In the late 1960s James suffered a stroke, paralysing her right side and depriving her of speech. Undaunted, she started a series of wool embroidery designs using her left hand. She died in 1985.
*http://dovegreyreader.typepad.com/dovegreyreader_scribbles/2007/05/margaret_calkin.html
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