Abstract/Summary

This study surveys teachers of formal writing, lettering, type and typography at the Central School, London, from its early years until the 1990s. Featured individuals include Emery Walker, W. R. Lethaby, Edward Johnston, J. H. Mason, Graily Hewitt, Nicolete Gray and Nicholas Biddulph. The study constructs a continuous ‘lineage’ of teaching in these areas, by these individuals, in part through the consideration, analysis and interpretation of the ‘forms’ this teaching took, whether as illustrated lectures, published works, graphic and typographic practice, or as an archive of exemplars. In addition to its historical concerns, the study provides context for the ‘Typeform dialogues’ CD interactive interface (presented elsewhere in the published PDF document), whose editorial conception and design was informed by the lineage and tradition of teaching the study addresses.