Toby Bull

Carved in Stone: Contemporary Attitudes to Lettering in Stone

Widely associated with gravestones, memorials and institutional buildings, stone lettering appears limited both as a medium and as a practice. The use of steel and glass in modern construction, the recladding of buildings and the traditional association of lettering in stone with truthfulness and permanence in an age where these are arguably contested terms, seemingly further restricts the space in which this method of communication can operate.

Through a series of interviews with contemporary letter-cutters and consideration of various examples of letter-cutting, the intention is to highlight the ways in which contemporary letter-cutters have negotiated these seemingly restricting associations.

This is placed within a historical framework with reference to Edward Johnston and Eric Gill and the revival of lettering that took place at the turn of the 20th century.