An original hand drawn verse in pencil by Lady Lettersmith (b.1963) on 90 g/m paper and signed with initials (lower right) - mounted in an antique oval chinoiserie frame, H33cm x W235cm max
Lady Lettersmith (aka Naomi Chappell) was born in Harrow, London in 1963. Having studied at Leicester University she graduated in 1984 with a BA Hons in information design / typography. She was also trained and mentored by the renowned calligrapher, David Howell.
The subject matter in this piece lent itself to a technique used by typesetters in a bygone era when small metal blocks, each containing an individual letter, were lined up alongside one another to create words. It was an extremely time consuming process, so they rendered (drew) each letter in tiny diagonal lines before they type set it in its entirety to ensure the text would look correct first.
