Alfred Fairbank

Alfred John Fairbank CBE (12 July 1895 – 14 March 1982) was a British calligrapher and author on handwriting.[1][2]

Influenced by Edward Johnston, Fairbank[3] was a founding member of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators in 1921, and became chairman.[4] He was involved in the foundation of the Society for Italic Handwriting in 1952; his work and 1932 textbook A Handwriting Manual were influential on the italic script handwriting taught in British schools.[5][6] His portrait was painted by Anna Hornby.[7][8] For Penguin Books he wrote A Book of Scripts, on writing systems used throughout the world.[9] Fairbanks was a civil servant who spent his professional career working at the Admiralty in London and Bath; he retired to Hove on the south coast and lectured at what is now the University of Brighton after his retirement.[10][11][12][13]

Fairbank also designed one upright italic typeface for Monotype.[14] It was named "Bembo Condensed Italic", Monotype series 294 as part of their Bembo family, a name which irritated Fairbank who thought it should have been kept as an independent design.[15] This face was for the composition caster in metal type only available in 4 sizes: 10, 12, 13 and 16pt. The last size was made for large composition. It was digitised in 2004 as "Fairbank".[16][17][18]

Manuscript books by Alfred Fairbank
  • 1921-2, 17 Rolls of Honour of L.C.C. Schools, made under the direction of Lawrence Christie [19]
  • 1922, The Bull, by Ralph Hodgson, Paper, bought by Edwin J. Evans
  • 1922, Winter Nghtfall, by J.C. Squire, parchment
  • 1922, Marriage Service, Parchment, Illuminated by Mary H. Robinson
  • 1923, Eye & Other Poems, by Ralph Hodson, paper
  • 1923, Poems, by W. H. Davies, paper
  • 1923, Eight Poems by R. L. Stevenson, parchment
  • 1923, Biggleswade Book of Remembrance, parchment, illuminated by Lawrence Christie
  • 1924, The XII Months, parchment, drawings by Lawrence Christie. (two copes, one purchased by Ambrose Heal)
  • 1924, Thoughts in a Garden, by Andrew Marvell, parchment, illuminated by Marta Bowerley, bought by Ambrose Heal
  • 1925, Three Poems, parchment, commissioned by G.B. Clothier
  • 1925, Sirena, by Michael Drayton, parchment
  • 1926, Comus, by John Milton, paper, illuminated by Louise Powell, in possession of Leonard Schlosser, New York
  • 1926, Deed of Gift of Branze Bust of Wm. Archer. Written for the British Drama League
  • 1926-9, Ecclesiasticus, parchment, illuminated by Louise Powell, commissioned by A.D. Power, who edited it, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
  • 1926, The book of Ruth, paper, in possession of Miss Catharine Powell
  • 1926, 25 sonnets of Shakespeare, paper, illuminated by Louis Powell, commissioned by Edwin J. Evans
  • 1926-7, 24 Manuscript Copy-books of the Italic Hand, one in the Pierpont Morgan Library
  • 1927-32, The Odes and Epodes of Horace, vellum, illuminated by Louise Powell, commissioned by Edwin J. Evans
  • 1931, Aesop & Rhodope, by Savage Landor, paper, presented to Ambrose Heal
  • 1931, Lines on the Euganean Hills, by Savage Landor, paper, illuminated by Louise Powell, in possession of Philip Hofer
  • 1932, Sampler book of Sonnets, written in five italic hands, paper, commissioned by the Dryad Press, Leicester
  • 1932, Twelve Poems, vellum, commissioned by H.H. Peach
  • 1932-8, the Eclogues and Georgics of Virgil, vellum, illuminated by Louise Powell, commissioned by St John Hornby
  • 1939, Book of Names, presented to Tom Jones C.H.. decorated by Bertold L. Wolpe
  • 1949, Speeches on unveiling of memorial to President F. D. Roosevelt, in Westminster Abbey, vellum, presented by the Prime Minister to Mrs. Roosevelt

Publications by Alfred Fairbank
  • S. P.E. Tract No XXVIII English Handwriting Continued from Tract XXIII with Thirty-one Additional Plates, Alfred Fairbank, Edited By Robert Seymour Bridges (1844–1930) with Notes on penmanship, At the Claredon Press Oxford University Press 1927, P.[223]-251, 35–65 pages. fasc,[20]
  • A Handwriting Manual, Leicester, The Dryad Press, 1932
    • revised editions 1947 & 1948: The Dryad Press, Leicester, printed at the Curwen Press, Plaistow, E.13,
    • third edition: revised and enlarged, 1961: London, Faber and Faber, 95 p., [32] p. pl,[21]
    • Faber & Faber Ltd, new & enlarged edition, 1954, 5th edition 1956, revised & enlarged edition 1961, paperback edition 1965
  • Woodside Writing cards, 1932, Dryad Press, Leicester
  • Dryad Lettering Card No. 2, 1932, Dryad Press, Leicester [22]
  • The Dryad Cards, Originally issued in 1935 as: The Barking Writing Cards. publisher: The Dryad Press, Leicester.[23]
  • Lettering Of To-Day, C.G. Holme; Eberhard Holscher, Alfred Fairbank, Anna Simons, Percy J. Smith, and R. Haughton James, Studio 1937
  • A book of scripts, 1949, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, The King Penguin Books nr. 48, 64 p, ill., facs,[24]
  • Augustino Da Siena, the 1568 Edition of His Writing Book in Facsimile, Alfred Fairbank, publisher: David Godine, Boston, 1975. limited edition of 750 copies
  • BEACON WRITING: A Course in Italic Set of 6, Alfred Fairbank, publisher: Ginn & Company LTD, London, 1958
  • Humanistic script of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Alfred John Fairbank & Richard William Hunt (1908–1979), Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodleian picture books nr. 12, 8 p., 24 p. facs.[25]
  • Renaissance Handwriting: An Anthology of Italic Scripts, Alfred Fairbank & Berthold L. Wolpe (1905–1989), publishers: The World Publishing Company & Faber & Faber, London, 1960, 104, 96 p, facs,[26]
  • The Italic Hand in Tudor Cambridge: Forty-one Examples, Alfred Fairbank & Bruce Dickins. publisher: Bowes & Bowes, London, 1962, Monograph / Cambridge Bibliographical Society no. 5, VIII, 32 p., 24 p. pl, facs.[27]
  • How to Teach the Italic Hand Through the Beacon Writing Books, Alfred Fairbank, Ginn 1963
  • Calligraphy and Palaeography, essays presented to Alfred Fairbank on his 70th birthday, ed. by A.S. Osley, publisher: Faber & Faber, London, 1965, with index. XXIII, 286 p, illustrations,[28]
  • Lettering – Modes of Writing in Western Europe from Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century, Hermann Degering with preface By Alfred Fairbank, Ernest Benn Ltd., London 1965 & Pentalic Corporation, N Y, 1965
  • The Story of Handwriting: Origins and Development, Alfred Fairbank, Faber & Faber 1970

Articles by Alfred Fairbank
  • Notes on Penmanship (reproduced in fascimile), Society for Pure English Tract no. XXVIII: English Handwriting, edited by Robert Bridges, 1927[29]
  • Calligraphy and the Manuscript Book, London Mercury, May, 1030
  • Edward Johnston und die englische Kalligraphie, Schrift und Schreiben December 1931
  • Italic Handwriting, The Dryad Quarterly, April 1932
  • The Teaching of Handwriting: A Suggested Reform, Journal of the RoyalSociety of Arts, 16 December 1932
  • Writing Reform, The Teachers World, 11 January 1933
  • English Calligraphy and Illuminating, Die Zeitgemasse Schrift, no. 32, January 1935,
  • Calligraphy, Lettering of Today, Studio Ltd. 1937, 1941, 1945, 1949, Edited by C.G. Holme
  • Handwriting Reform, Typography, 4, Autumn 1937, repeated in: P.M. Journal U.S.A. December-January 1938-9
  • On Writing `Fair', Tribute to Walter de la Mare on his Saventy-fifth Birthday, Faber & Faber Ltd. 1948
  • Tribute IV, Tributes to Edward Johnston Calligrapher, Maidstone School of Art, 1948
  • Handwriting Reform in England, Schweizer Graphische Mitteilungen, August 1948, Repeated in: Printing Review, Spring 1950
  • Italic Handwriting, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 19 October 1951
  • With Pen in Hand, Childrens Newspaper, 26 January 1952
  • Handwriting, Manchester Evening Chronicle, 26 November 1952
  • This is Everyman's Handicraft, Christiaan Science Monitor, 9 March 1951
  • Take Pen and Write, Venture: Journal of the Civil Service Council for Further Education, September 1953
  • A Graceful Cure for the Common Scrawl: A Fair Italic Hand, London Illustrated News, 12 March 1955
  • Cursive Handwriting, The Calligraphers Handbook, Faber & Faber Ltd., edited by: C.M. Lamb
  • Die Cancellaresca in Handschrift und Drucktype: Die Schreibücher von Arrighi, Tagliente und Palentino, Imprimatur 1956/7, Edited by: Siegfried Bunchenau und Dr. Georg Kurt Schauer
  • Italic Handwriting, The Schoolmaster, October/November 1960
  • Morris and Calligraphy, The Journal of the William Morris Society, Winter 1961
  • Bartholomew Dodington: Elizabethan Scholar and Penman, Motif 9, Summer 1962, edited by: Ruari McLean
  • Looking at Letters and Words, Studies in Honor of Berthold Louis Ullman, Volume II, Editioni di Storia e Letteratura 1964, edited by: Charles Henderson Jr.
  • Italic in its Own Right, Alphabet 1964, edited by: R.S. Hutchings

References
  1. "Alfred Fairbank" (PDF). Klingspor Museum. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  2. "Obituary". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  3. Photo
  4. "Former Chairmen". The Society of Scribes and Illuminators. Retrieved 14 May 2016. At the instance of Stanley Morison, he [Fairbank] designed in 1928 the elegant compact typeface known as Narrow Bembo, a title he detested.
  5. "Society for Italic Handwriting – History". Society for Italic Handwriting. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  6. Sassoon, Rosemary (2007). Handwriting of the Twentieth Century. Intellect Books. pp. 71–5. ISBN 978-1-84150-178-9.
  7. "Papers of Anna Hornby - Held at: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford". Archives Hub. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  8. Royal Academy Exhibitors 1905–1970, Vol IV (EP Publishing LTD, 1979)
  9. A Book of Scripts. Penguin Books. 1949.
  10. "Alfred Fairbank". Arts and Humanities department. University of Brighton. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  11. "Alfred Fairbank (1895–1982)". VADS. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  12. "Calligraphy and Palaeography: Essays Presented to Alfred Fairbank on His 70th Birthday. A. S. Osley (review)". doi:10.1086/619520. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. Classical Mediaeval and Reinassance Studies in honor of Berthold Louis Ullman. Ed. di Storia e Letteratura. pp. 255–257. GGKEY:5CR8RLSTFAY.
  14. "Alfred Fairbank". MyFonts. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  15. Osley, A.S. (1965). Calligraphy and paleography: essays presented to Alfred Fairbank on his 70th birthday. Faber & Faber. p. 18. His only contribution to type design has been the so-called Narrow Bembo Italic ... it was conceived as an italic type to be used entirely in its own right and not in any way related to Monotype Bembo, which Fairbank had not seen.
  16. "Fairbank". Monotype. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  17. "Fairbank". MyFonts. Monotype.
  18. "Fairbanks Italic specimen" (PDF). Monotype. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  19. Calligraphie and Paleographie, Essays presented to Alfred Fairbank, Edited by A.S. Osley, October House Inc., New York, 1966
  20. http://www.kb.nl Royal Library The Hague, request: S 1425 28
  21. http://www.kb/nl%5B%5D Royal Library The Hague, code: 0347 yd, request: LHO HS.B 76k FAIhan
  22. Calligraphy and Palaeography, Essays presented to Alfred Fairbank, edited by A.S. Osley, 1965, Faber & Faber Ltd, p 21
  23. Alfred Fairbank, A book of Scripts, page 35, Penguin Books, 1949
  24. http://www.kb.nl Royal Library The Haque code: 0347 y, request: ADT 811
  25. http://www.KB.nl Royal Library The Hague: code 1381 eaf, request: LHO HS.B 42k FAIhum
  26. http://www.kb.nl Royal Library The Hague code: 1381 eaf, request: LHO HS.B 42k FAIren
  27. http://www.kb.nl Royal Library The Hague code: 1381 ecb
  28. http://www.kb.nl Royal Library The Haque, codes: 347 y, 0311 bba, 1381 cd, request: LHO HS.B 04 FAI
  29. Calligraphy and Paleography, essays presented to Alfred Fairbank on his seventienth birthday, edited by A.S. Osley, Faber & Faber ltd, 1965, p.24
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