Michael Harvey
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(11 November 1931 – 18 October 2013)
was an English lettering artist, teacher and writer specialising in
lettering
Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to d ...
,
type design
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 ...
and letter cutting. His work appears in many English cathedrals and on the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
, London.
Originally inspired by reading
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 ...
's ''Autobiography'', he worked as
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 ...
's assistant between 1955 and 1961. He then became a freelance, producing some 1500 hand-lettered book jackets over the next twenty years for major publishers such as
Heinemann Heinemann may refer to:
* Heinemann (surname)
* Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company
* Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
See also
* Heineman
* Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin Hyneman (born Se ...
,
The Bodley Head
The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...
and
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
. As technology changed he developed his interest in type, producing designs for
Adobe Systems
Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware
and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the crea ...
and
The Monotype Corporation and later, with Andy Benedek for his own foundry, Finefonts. His inscriptional work included a long collaboration with
Ian Hamilton Finlay
Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE (28 October 1925 – 27 March 2006) was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener.
Life
Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas, to James Hamilton Finlay and his wife, Annie Pettigrew, both of Scots descent.
He was ...
. He gave talks and demonstrated widely and taught for a number of years at Poole Art College and later ran the Letterforms course at
Reading University
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
with James Mosley.
He designed a number of typefaces, including Zephyr,
Andreas
Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of B ...
, Mentor, Strayhorn and
Ellington.
In 2012, he published under his own 47 Editions imprint Adventures With Letters, an extensively illustrated memoir of his working life.
He was an active member of The
Double Crown Club The Double Crown Club is a dining club and society of printers, publishers, book designers and illustrators in London that was founded in 1924. Among its early members was the typographer Stanley Morison.
According to Sir Sydney Roberts, writing in ...
, The Wynkyn de Worde Society,
ATypI
The ATypI () or Association Typographique Internationale (the International Typography Association) is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to typography and type design. The primary activity of the association is an annual fall confe ...
,
Letter Exchange Letter Exchange is a professional organization dedicated to the promotion of lettering in all media. Letter Exchange was founded in the United Kingdom in 1988. It organizes lectures held at the Art Workers Guild, publishes its journal ''Forum'' twic ...
and The Edward Johnston Foundation.
Select bibliography
* Harvey, Michael. ''Letters into words''. London: s, 1973.
* Harvey, Michael. ''Lettering design: form and skill in the design and use of letters''. London: Bodley Head, 1975.
* Harvey, Michael. ''Creative lettering, drawing and design''. London: Bodley Head, 1985.
* Harvey, Michael. ''Carving letters in stone and wood''. London: Bodley Head, 1987.
* Harvey, Michael. ''Calligraphy in the graphic arts''. London: Bodley Head, 1988.
* Harvey, Michael. ''Reynolds Stone: engraved lettering in wood''. Netheron: Fleece Press, 1992.
* Harvey, Michael. ''Creative lettering today''. London: A. & C. Black, 1996.
* Harvey, With Letters''. Bridport: 47 Editions, 2012
References
Harvey, Michael. ''Creative lettering today''. London: A. & C. Black, 1996.
External links
Michael Harvey biographyon www.myfonts.com
Adventures With Letters, Harvey's memoir of his working lifewww.finefonts.com, fonts designed by Michael Harvey and Andy Benedek
1931 births
English typographers and type designers
Members of the Order of the British Empire
British calligraphers
2013 deaths
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