Pen & Print: The Legacy of Edward Johnston 1906-2006

St Bride Printing Library, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EE, October 2006

The exhibition marked the centenary of the first publication of Edward Johnston's influential Writing and Illuminating, and Lettering in 1906 – it has been in continuous print ever since. Johnston's teaching and philosophy was shown through contemporary work in many mediums including formal penmanship, carved and engraved lettering and modern typeface design. Calligraphy is thereby seen as the root of our various lettering systems.

The exhibition was jointly curated by the Edward Johnston Foundation and the Society of Scribes and Illuminators.

Words as Images

This major exhibition for 2000–2001 has its own gallery section on this web site.

Calligraphy '97

The 1997 exhibition was held in two excellent UK locations, Durham and Leamington, during the summer. The Gallery of Calligraphy '97 shows samples of work from the exhibition.

Celebration of Calligraphy, 1996

'Celebration' was a major exhibition for the Society, falling as it did in the 75th year of the SSI. Images of some of the entries can be seen here in colour. The catalogue of the exhibition in full colour (64 pages) is still available from the Sales page. It is introduced by forewords from Wendy Selby, Gerald Fleuss and Donald Jackson.

Fine Words, Fine Books

This adventurous exhibition was the result of a collaboration between the calligraphers of the SSI and the Designer Bookbinders guild. It was held in the crypt of St. Paul's cathedral, London, to great acclaim.

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Calligraphy 84

A major exhibition of modern works by members of the Society.

The Art of The Scribe

Held in 1981, this was the 60th anniversary exhibition of the Society, its first major event for 12 years in London. Those 12 years were remarkable for the advances made in the spontaneity of the craft, after slow perusal of perfection via more traditional means such as Presentation Addresses, Rolls of Honour, Service Books etc. Now expressive calligraphy was to be seen, growing from the roots of sound understanding of writing styles and letterforms.

Future Exhibitions

The display of new work to a broad public is a continuing commitment of the SSI. Plans are being formulated for a major new exhibition in 2011. Details were announced in The Scribe, Spring 2010 and the Newsletter.

Past exhibitions have included Calligraphy '97, Words as Images, Small is Beautiful, Love Letters, Age of Innocence and Making Old Words New. Slide sets and catalogues of some of these exhibitions are still available to members through the Hon. Secretary or the Society's Sales Form.