John Smith - Queen Anne Death Memorial - 1714

"There are many names in calligraphy once famous in their time that are now forgotten. One such name is the rather anonymous sounding John Smith. Smith was Writing Master at Christ Hospital (then the premiere penmanship college in England) from 1676 to 1695. When Smith began, Christ Hospital had 60 students; within 10 years that number rose to over 250. Smith resigned as Writing Master at Christ Hospital after almost 20 years of service, and having raised the number of students to nearly 400. One of the last known works of John Smith is this 1714 tour de force of illustrative calligraphic flourishing memorializing the passing of Queen Anne."

~2015, Don Marsh~