Type–not dead trees
The South West of England is fortunate in possessing some beautiful country churchyards with a rich collection of incised slate headstones. This talk looks at the rural area of West and North Devon and examines a variety of headstones of the period from the mid seventeenth century up to the mid nineteenth century when there were up to fifty lettercarvers practicing in the area. The evolution of letter forms and associated pictorial devices are illustrated, as well as an insight into the life of the period.
Justin Beament grew up in Canada and moved to Britain in the mid 1960s to study Typography at the London College of Printing. Over the years he has combined a typegraphic design practice with teaching Typography at London College of Printing, Norwich School of Art and Exeter School or Art & Design. Recent design commissions have included signage, interpretation and informatio design for Exeter Cathedral and Manchester Cathedral.
He is a member of the Fabric Advisory Committee at Exeter Cathedral and a student assessor for the International Society of Typographic Designers. Over the past two years he has been involved in researching and photographinc incised headstones in West and North Devon between 1650 and 1860. This has led to him looking further afield in the UK at the subject and this research has developed into “In Blessed Memory…” an exhibition on the subject currently travelling to six different venues in Britain.