Alfred Fairbank

Alfred Fairbank
CBE
Born(1895-07-12)12 July 1895
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Died14 March 1982(1982-03-14) (aged 86)
Hove, Sussex
EducationCentral School of Art and Design
Known forCalligraphy, Handwriting, Palaeography
StyleItalic Script
Parents
  • Alfred John Fairbank (father)
  • Emma Greetham (mother)
RelativesElsie Kneeshaw
Websitefairbankcalligraphysociety.com

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

Fairbank was a founding member of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators in 1921, and later became its honourable secretary.[3] 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.[4][5] His portrait was painted by Anna Hornby.[6][7] For Penguin Books he wrote A Book of Scripts, on handwriting styles.[8]

Fairbank 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.[9][10][11][12] Fragments from medieval manuscripts collected by Alfred Fairbank are located at the Cadbury Research Library of the University of Birmingham.[13]

  1. ^ "Alfred Fairbank" (PDF). Klingspor Museum. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Obituary". The New York Times. 9 April 1982. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "Society for Italic Handwriting – History". Society for Italic Handwriting. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  5. ^ Sassoon, Rosemary (2007). Handwriting of the Twentieth Century. Intellect Books. pp. 71–5. ISBN 978-1-84150-178-9.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Royal Academy Exhibitors 1905–1970, Vol IV (EP Publishing LTD, 1979)
  8. ^ A Book of Scripts. Penguin Books. 1949.
  9. ^ "Alfred Fairbank". Arts and Humanities department. University of Brighton. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Alfred Fairbank (1895–1982)". VADS. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Calligraphy and Palaeography: Essays Presented to Alfred Fairbank on His 70th Birthday. A. S. Osley (review)". doi:10.1086/619520. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ Classical Mediaeval and Reinassance Studies in honor of Berthold Louis Ullman. Ed. di Storia e Letteratura. pp. 255–257. GGKEY:5CR8RLSTFAY.
  13. ^ "UoB Calmview5: Search results". calmview.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2021.