After his death in 1947, the name MacDonald Gill fell into obscurity, overshadowed by his more famous (and controversial!) brother Eric Gill. Yet it was this mapmaker, letterer and graphic artist who left an enduring legacy that saved the London Underground and preserved the commonwealth war grave headstones.
In the illustrated biography MacDonald Gill: Charting a Life, great-neice Caroline Walker elevates the story of this unsung hero of the early 20th Century. ‘Max’, as he was known by family and friends, is restored to his rightful place in history.
In 1914, as war gathered momentum across Europe, Londoners were more preoccupied with a dirty, tardy, overcrowded Underground transport system.
Frank Pick, newly appointed commercial director at the London Underground’s Electric Railway headquarters, decided stronger branding was needed and paid Max Gill a visit. He wanted some attention-grabbing posters that would make Londoners of all social classes proud to journey around their city, visit its attractions but most of al,l make them laugh.
Macdonald Gill’s colourful Wonderground map was soon hung at every station. A mixture of cartoon, fantasy and topological accuracy, it was an instant hit with travellers and performed wonders for the public image of a service on its knees.
In 1918, MacDonald Gill took over the more serious task of lettering advisor to the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC). He devised the typeface and regimental badge representations for the Standard Military Headstone.
The unique upper-case typeface highlights Max Gill’s fastidious attention to detail. The typeface was drawn with longevity in mind. Cut at a deeper 60-degree angle (compared to the usual 45-degrees of most carved lettering) and with much tighter serifs, the letters would still be legible after years of being battered by the elements. The process also employed a novel machine-cutting technique rather than being traditionally cut by hand.
The work of the IWGC, now known as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, arguably adds up to the largest single, cumulative artwork of the 20th century, memorialising in 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries, the 1.7 million British and Commonwealth citizens who died in action during the world wars. Its tone was set by Max Gill’s chaste Roman lettering — a style he modified and made bolder in 1940 for the graves of the Second World War.
His designs are still used today.
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