Margaret Wolpe: The curious maker

This book is a celebration of the little known artistic life of Margaret Wolpe, the wife of Berthold Wolpe the famous graphic artist and typographer, best known for his Faber & Faber book designs, ‘at least 1,500 jackets, probably hundreds more’ and the design of the typeface Albertus. This book paints a picture of Margaret’s considerable talents as a sculptor, artist, jewellery maker, costume designer, wood engraver and illustrator, whilst bringing up a family of four. Berthold and Margaret travelled far and wide, always on the lookout, in an era of mass production, for the original, the handmade and the quirky. She never signed her pieces, personal acclaim was irrelevant; what mattered was beauty and suitability, and she was as happy painting a portrait for a friend as making a silver teaspoon. The structure of this book is the same as that of its companion volume Berthold Wolpe: The Total Man, with anecdotes from family and friends. Rather than matching the text point by point, the photographs are arranged to tell the stories of Margaret’s art in different media. Berthold died in 1989, but Margaret continued to be productive, carving, repairing picture frames and furniture, until the very end of her life, in 2006.

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Subject: Book Design & Typography