R. J. Beedham

Born in London in 1879, R. John Beedham trained as a professional reproductive wood engraver after being apprenticed at age 13 to Hare & Company in the Strand. By the time his apprenticeship ended, newer photo-mechanical methods were replacing much of that trade, but he carried his skills forward through teaching and specialist engraving work.

He taught evening classes in wood engraving at the London County Council School of Photo-engraving and Lithography, where his students included notable names such as Noel Rooke and Joan Hassall. In 1917 he moved to Ditchling and worked with Eric Gill at the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, later assisting Gill and also working with Robert Gibbings on wood engravings and related press work.

Beedham also worked for presses including Saint Dominic’s Press, the Gregynog Press, the Golden Cockerel Press, and the Shakespeare Head Press. His book on the technical side of wood engraving, first published in 1920, went through multiple editions, which helps explain why his name still appears so often wherever the craft’s history is discussed.