History

At one time every town in the UK had around three cut glass and brilliant cut artists and gilders and at least 30 signwriters, if not more, in every town and more in the cities.

 

Techniques

• French embossing (most endangered)
• Acid etching (most endangered)
• Brilliant cutting (most endangered)
• Water gilding
• Silvering
• Angel gilding
• Verre églomisé
• Graining (related to marbling)

 

Local forms

 

 

Sub-crafts

 

 

Issues affecting the viability of the craft

• The craft is labour intensive which puts people off learning it. It takes dedication and a lot of time to hone your skills.
• The paints aren’t as good as they used to be which is becoming an issue.
• The cut glass wheels made of carborundom are extremely hard to source. Once they were all unique to Craigleith in Scotland where you could find some of the best materials for wheel cutting. Now because of modern technology, the only wheels you can find are diamond and they are not suited for the task. It is now necessary to scour the country to find old cutting wheels from a cottage industry of previous brilliant cutting craftsmen that have passed away.
• The high cost of the materials and lanour compared to the low cost and high speed of computer designed vinyl graphics reduces the number of clients willing to commission work.

 

Support organisations

 

 

Craftspeople currently known

• David Adrian Smith – apprenticed to Gordon Farr in the 1980s in the UK and Rick Glawson in the 1990s in California and brought the craft back from a brief period where it was not practised at all in the UK. He now has clients from all around the world and is the only person in the world teaching all the processes together.
• Jack Hollands, Signwriting Jack
• Aaron Stephens, Valentine Signs
• Eddy Bennett
• Archie Salandin, Irregular Designs
• Robert Walker, Signs by Umberto
• Archie Proudfoot
• Paul Banks
• The Brilliant Sign Company

 

Other information

 

 

References