Skelton’s Alphabet Workbook

Boy am I excited when I make a discovery like the one I did last night. I was just settling in to read Eric Gill’s An Essay on Typography when I noticed that the introduction to the volume was penned by Christopher Skelton. Immediately, I was curious. Another Skelton interested in Typography? I jumped on the glorious internet and embarked on a grand journey. The Press Archives at the University of Reading note that Christopher Skelton was a printer, typographer and nephew to Eric Gill. Christopher Skelton ran a small press called Skelton’s Press located in Willingborough. From the looks of it the press specialized in limited edition runs of books about typography and the printed arts. Searching through many of the rare book dealers I found several editions like ‘A Mortal Craft‘ by G.R. Davis, The Book of Quiet by Michael Harlow, and Mid-Week Period Return, Home Thoughts of a Native by John Wain. This book looks especially interesting for its “reminiscences and reflections of the author on a train ride from Oxford to Stoke-on-Trent, with drawings by Arthur Keene”. There is also a book at Powells called ‘Variations on the Theme of 26 Letters‘ by David Kindersley. It’s only $44 and I’m very tempted to go get it.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. I also found a book published by Skelton’s Press called Skelton’s Alphabet Workbook. The author of the book is John Skelton! Whoa. How cool is that? John Skelton’s obituary from The Guardian notes that he too was a nephew of Eric Gill’s which would mean that Christopher and John were brothers. John Skelton also learned sculpture under the tutelage of Gill, “A vociferous member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors from 1955, and sometime vice-president, his opinions were steadfast, and his dedication to his artform, and its base in traditional craftsmanship, obvious…Skelton believed in the importance of craftsmanship and drawing as the starting base for all artists.” Check out a small sample of John Skelton‘s work.
He also founded his own workshop called John Skelton’s Workshop (what a great name, eh?). John’s daughter, Helen Mary Skelton now runs the workshop, teaching classes on lettercutting. Check it out at Skelton Workshops.