youcantdesign

Eric Gill attended and studied at the Technical College in Chichester; also where his family moved to, as well as the Technical Art School. Impressed with Gills interest in lettering and architecture, he was offered an apprenticeship with architect W.H. Caro, who belonged to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in Westminister. Simultaneously, he began to be commissioned for carving letters at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, England. This being encouraged by W.R.. Lethaby.[3]

During his time there, Gill attended classes given by Johnston; who has made his own contributions to Typography, particularly for the revival of formal lettering as an art in England. Johnston introduced him to lessons in lettering, practicing and perfecting techniques that he had acquired; focusing on penmanship.[4]  Gill was immensely influenced by Johnston’s dedicated approach to working. Learning the skills required to be a well rounded typographer, Gill used  his knowledge and was soon to become a stone and letter cutter.

In 1903, Gill decided to leave Caroe’s office, which was not fulfilling to him. He was soon thereafter commissioned again to paint a sign on a bookshop in Paris by W.H. Smith.

From this experience, in 1905 Gill started production on initials and book covers for Insil Publishers in Leipzig, England. In a mood of discontent and perfection, “Gill was so dissatisfied with the result that for Die Odyssee (1910-11) he had the drawn lettering photographed on boxwood blocks, and cut the lettering by hand.” [5]  In less than a year, he continued on to design the initials of Ashede Press.

Accompanying these accomplishments and a small family to consider, he moved to Ditchling, Sussex in 1907; where lived a large community of artists. He and his wife converted to Roman Catholicism in 1913, which was a result of spiritual exploration. Gill was given the opportunity as a newly named Christian to carve the Stations of the Cross, which was completed in 1918 and was his first major sculpture commission.[6] 

Edward Johnston eventually moved to Ditchling as well in 1912. Another companion named Hilary (Douglas) Pepler moved in, and aided in the set up of a small hand-press, of which many of Gills early engraving was completed. The members of the community together formed the Guild of St. Joseph and St. Dominic. he produced a and perfected his stone sculptures, including pieces created for the BBC broadcasting building in Portland Place, London. For approximately the next fours years of his life, he would go on to produced a few of his greatest stone sculptures during his next move to Capel-y-ffin in 1924. There he lived with his small entourage in a quaint abandoned monastery in the Welsh Mountains.[7]

In one short year, Gill was asked by Stanely Morison, who was an advisor to the monotype corporation, to design a new type for him. Gill however declined, responding to typography as being “not his country.”[8] Morison had already met with Frances Meynell of the Meynell family publishing firm of Burns and Oates, who had also commissioned Gill the engrave a few initials for them. Around 1925, Gill withdrew his withholding attitude and began to draw letters and alphabets for Morison.

These drawings were to become Perpetua, well known for having a similar style as classical fonts such as Caslon or Baskerville, which was its intention. Morison wanted this type to resemble a classic revival.[9] In describing to Monotype users, Morison said “What was wanted was a design that, while being new, was of general utility and in no respect unusual... The fine serif is not in origin calligraphic but epigraphic; not written but sculptured.”[10]

Morison went to Charles Malin, a younger man who was to finish the cutting of Frederic Warde’s Arrighi italic. He spoke to Malin about his plan to convert Gill’s drawings into traditional type. This was also due to Gills reluctant feelings towards industrial design and machine production. He did however have criticisms on what was introduced to the cutting of Perpetua by Malin; being the capitals were too short, and minor adjustments such as the ‘blob’ on the tail of the ‘y’ and the heavier ‘g’ and ‘r’. These comments were heard by Monotype and revisions were made for the final set.

About a year later, Gill drafted the drawings for what would be Perpetua italic, which would include a greater angled slope and more cursive characters.[11] Perpetua was released and issued for trade in 1932 as Series No. 239.

Later in 1925, Gill was commissioned to design block letters for the Army and Navy stores. About a year afterwards October of 1926, Gill was approached by a book store owner named Douglas Cleverdon to paint his bookshop name in these same letters. Unfortunately, he caught flu like symptoms while in Bristol, but while in bed he drew letters for Cleverdon to use as models. Morison had tried to convince the Stephenson Blake foundry to cut the same type that Gill issued to them, but was unsuccessful.[12] Although he was not a master with type, Gill had an excellent eye for perfection in forms. It was known that extra attention was due for the lower-case, there is much more detail in drawing. This type was an adaptation of Edward Johnston’s Railway type, and was also carefully executed with exact mathematical drawings and plans produced by Gill himself.[13]  One noted correction made by the Monotypes Mechanical Advisor’s were the ascenders and the descenders.

From 1928, Gill was hired by Monotype to act as an advisor, in result to his growing passion and interest for the process of type. He also had made an agreement with Robert Gibblings  of the Golden Cockrell Press to only design type exclusively for them. Caslon was the type in use for privatized presses, but Gibblings was unimpressed. Gill designed as well a new italic to replace the one that was currently in use. Gill produced the Golden Cockrell Roman, which is rather similar to Perpetua, but is considered a ‘more conventional old face.’[14] The 18 pt size was used in in The Four Gospels in 1931, which was on of the most spectacular books of the century. “A celebrated example of the combination of pictoral image, hand drawn lettering, and typography.”[15]

In 1929, Monotype issued the final type that Gill would design for them, it is called Solus. This type was based on a ‘skeletal Egyptian alphabet.’[16]  Solus was intended for the Empire Marketing Board, was it was never used.

In 1928, life was proving too difficult in Capel-y-ffin, as well considering all of the time that Gill was spending in London. He and his family moved one final time to Pigotts, a farmhouse near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. René Hague, Gill’s youngest daughters newly wed husband and son-in-law, set up a printer. Therefore Hague & Gill was established. Here, Joanna began production in 1930, and was also used in Gill’s own publication, Essay on Typography, that was issued the following June. His intention for Joanna was to mimic machine production, with a less elaborate type design. The rights to the type were purchased by a publisher named J.M. Dent in 1938.

Eric Gill also had an array of productions that varied from illustrations to stone tablets. He created illustrations for the last number of The Fleuron magazine in 1930, to which he also accompanied a decorative N. Gill was asked by Morison to design the complete alphabet for Monotype, but he refused. Six years later, after much consideration, he agreed to Morison’s proposition, and the initials were cut as Series No. 431.  

!932 Gill designed Aries, which was a privately commissioned type for Fairfax Hall’s Stourton Press. Aries is a more tightly condensed roman type. As well in 1934, Gill designed another privately funded type for Stephenson Blake, with the intentions of using it as an Advertising type. First named Cunard, but then renamed after its issue in 1935 to Jubliee.  

Eric Gill’s final roman type was conceived in 1934 as well, it was called Bunyan. Its purpose was intended for an edition to Stern’s A Sentimental Journey, which Hague & Gill printed for George Macy and his Limited Editions Club of New York.[17] Bunyan is a hybrid of Joanna and the Golden Cockrell Roman. An adaptation of Bunyan was made by Linotype which was introduced in 1953, which was called Pilgrim, and was used in an edition of Gill’s Jerusalem Diary, with an italic style which Gill had already produced, but never cut.[18] Linotype also commissioned another ‘display face’ from a well achieved wood engraver, Reynolds Stone (1909-79), named Minerva., and completed in 1954.

 
Eric Gill was a man who’s professions and talents could have required five men. His illustrious and elegant achievements, as well as undying love of perfection, are only a few attributes to which make up a large contributor to the 20th century. “His type designs are clear, distinct, and necessary, and among the few which have been appreciated by not just specialists, but the general public.”[19]

 
Eric Gill died on November 17, 1940 at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex.

Reference List
Aynsley, Jeremy. A Century of Graphic Design. Heron Quays, London: Octopus Publishing Group Limited, 1996. p30.

Carter, Sebastian. Twentieth Century Type Designers. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 1995. p7, 8, 27, 34, 39, 58, 59, 72-81, 88-89, 127, 186

Friedel, Friedrich, Nicolaus Ott, Bernard Stein. Typography. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc, 1998. p39, 249, 248.

Garton & Co and Scolar Press, “Eric Gill: 1882-1940,” 21 May 2003, <http://www.ericgill.com/index.php> (October 11, 2004).