His career was an extraordinarily long one, starting in the depths of the Depression and active through the year before he died, 1993, age 86.

This piece and more can be seen in the Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering, Book Arts and Special Collections (@sfplbookarts), on the sixth floor of the SF Main Library.
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Much of his work and papers are in the Newberry Library, but you can see these bookmarks and much else in the Harrison Collection.

Thank you to Don Moy, for his tribute in Alphabet, Vol 19, No 2, Spring 1994, the basis for this post. The Friends of Calligraphy recognized James Hayes as an honorary member in 1983. He did the logo design for the Harrison Collection’s bookplate.

There are among us those who can letter with dazzling skill and there are those who can cite historical alphabets by chapter and verse, but those who can do both well are rare indeed. In James Hayes we count ourselves lucky to have known such a person.

James Hayes was a gracious friend, a distinguished colleague, an enthusiastic supporter of the regional societies, and an invaluable source of knowledge and experience.

Even in a complicated design, his certificates convey elegant simplicity, accomplished lettering and design skills, and an authoritative air of official recognition.

Consequently, the bulk of Hayes' professional work shows his own highly personalized lettering style, rather than Johnstonian models. Hayes was at the top of his game when he was designing broadsides, the projects that best exemplify his range.

Hayes took the view that the value of Johnston's precepts rests not upon the meticulous copying of his alphabets, but upon his analysis of the nature of lettermaking in a broader sense.

Historical models figured large in Hayes' thinking and his extensive library was a constant source of reference for him.

5. Going full asemic with Andrew van der Merwe.

#asemic #asemicwriting #nicoletegray

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3. The Papal handwriting designed to prevent, or at least reduce, forgery, also from Lettering as Drawing and with Monica Dengo.
4. Alphabet based on the Burmese - Myanmar script with Randall Hasson using the Brady system of finding and analyzing the component pieces that make letterforms.

1. Block stamps, negative and positive, inspiration from the work of Hans Schmidt, and monoline letters ala Jean Evans.
2. Channelling Paul Klee and Nicolete Gray with Monica Dengo.

You'll recognize names from our earlier posts.

1 - Alan Blackman, official song leader
2 - Terry Englehart
3 - Georgianna Greenwood
4 - Nick Gregoric
5 - Jenny Hunter Groat
6 - Erma Takeda
7 - Susie Taylor
8 - Carla Tenret
9 - Debby Turrietta
10 - unsigned

For more information, or to register, go to friendsofcalligraphy.org, click on the Classes tab and scroll down to Weaving Words.

#richardharrisoncollection #sfplbookarts #sfpubliclibrary #FOCremembers

His calligraphy typically consisted of diverse mediums and materials.

This piece and more can be seen in the Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering, Book Arts and Special Collections (@sfplbookarts), on the sixth floor of the SF Main Library.

The titles of his early exhibition pieces in Kalligraphia I (1979), II (1982), and III (1985), give an insight into his out-of-the-box approach to art: No Matter How You Fold It (this image); It’s God!, Message from Babel; and With a Little Bit of Bloomin’ Luck.