The Art of Letter Carving in Stone portrays the beauty of this age-old craft alongside practical instruction. Written by an eminent practitioner and teacher, it guides the novice through the basics of letter carving, drawn lettering and making simple designs, and for the more experienced it explains a new proportioning system for classical Roman capitals and demonstrates a useful approach to designing letterform variations. Topics covered include the development of twentieth-century letter carving; detailed instruction for V-incising the key strokes of letters; drawing a range of alphabets for use in letter carving; making inscriptions, gilding and painting letters and finally, designing headstones and plaques, house names and poetry texts. This beautiful book illustrates a wide range of exciting and creative pieces, and celebrates the inspiring work of contemporary letter carvers.

The development of twentieth-century letter carving

Detailed instruction for V-incising the key strokes of letters

Tools, materials, stone and making a letter carving easel

Drawing a range of alphabets for use in letter carving

Making inscriptions, gilding and painting letters, and simple fixings for inscriptions

Designing headstone and plaques, house names, alphabets and poetry texts