A. E. Callam

Albert Edward Callam was born in Great Kimble, Buckinghamshire, on 11 August 1904, the son of Arthur William Callam, a straw hat stiffener (1870-1947) and Kate Callam, a straw hat machinist (née Parsons, 1874?-1955), married in 1892 at Christ Church, Luton. Albert had two older siblings, Bernard Arthur (1893-1960) and Lilian May (later Parsons, 1895-1975), who also worked in the straw hat factory, as clerk and machinist respectively.

The family lived in Luton (during the 1911 census, their address was 11 Newcombe Road), which was the centre for the manufacture of straw hats, said to have been introduced from France by Mary I of Scotland, whose craftsmen were brought south when her son, James 6 of Scotland, ascended to the throne of England (as James I) in 1603. The craftsmen were left in the care of Napier family, who owned the grand estate of Luton Hoo. (If you want to explore this further, English Heritage have published The Hat Industry of Luton and its Buildings (2013), which explains the clever art of straw plaiting amongst many other things.)

Albert was educated at Luton Grammar School  and first studied drawing under his old schoolmaster, Frederick F(enton) May (1876-1952).

He was only 14 when the Great War ended, so did not serve, and the next sign of him is in 1930, when he married Gertrude Marion Norwood. The couple lived at "Dingley Dell," Argyll Avenue, Luton.

In 1933, Callam, already a member of the Society of Industrial Artists, successfully passed the British Typographers’ Guild test in layout draughtsmanship. According to a report in a local newspaper, “It is a rule of the Guild that only those who can produce an attractive and technically correct layout from copy supplied to them can be admitted to membership. Mr. Callam’s layout was of exceptional merit. A certificate of proficiency is awarded to successful applicants.” (Beds & Herts Pictorial, 26 September 1933) Callam was one of the first members of the Guild, who counted Eric Gill, the sculptor, and Sir Francis Maynell, Master of the Faculty of Royal Designers in Industry, amongst its early members.

In the 1930s, Callam was employed as the studio director of Askew Younge, a creative advertising company owned by Victor Antony Askew and his wife Margaret Mitchell Askew. A deed of assignment was issued for the benefit of creditors against the Askews and James Philip Edgar in November 1934, although the company continued to trade, and Callam is still listed as a director in the Advertising Art Annual for 1939. (Askew Younge was eventually struck off the register of companies in September 1968, but had probably ceased trading years, if not decades, earlier.)

In 1938, Callam teamed up with Ronald Brett, who was in charge of the studio at lithographic print company Baynard Press, to form Brett Callam Designers, taking over the studio of Baynard Press as their nucleus and still working with and for the printing company. Unfortunately, the war devastated the printing industry, and Brett left to join Service Advertising in 1940. Callam and his wife continued to trade under the name of Brett Callam Designers from its office in Blackwell Street, London S.W.9. and was still active until at least 1942.

At this time [fl. 1939], the Callams were living at 94 Station Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, but later moved to 66 Apsley House, St. John's Wood, London N.W.8. [fl. 1952].

Callam continued to work as a designer and painter, one of his designs – for a  perfume casket – being chosen for exhibition at the Festival of Britain on the South Bank. Six of his paintings were exhibited at the Imperial Institute in South Kensington in 1954. One, entitled "Buildings in Washington, D.C.," was almost certainly inspired by a trip to America, as Albert and Gertrude had set sail for New York in March 1952. The painting was hung in the 1954 Paris Salon.

Callam, who had been awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts, was also a member of the Council of The Army Art Society at that time [fl.1954]. Founded as the Army Officers' Art Society in 1925, the Society was only opened up to all ranks in 1946. They held an annual exhibition at the Imperial Institute in October.

At the same time, Callam became the publisher of various books, beginning with Letters to Lisette by Rosemary Cobham in 1950. A steady stream of new titles appeared throughout the 1950s, including poems by Elizabeth Stanton Lay, K. M. Westaway, Marion Alice Bowers, J. A. R. Stevenson, Florence Gubbins, Alexander Simpson and Kathleen Periton. His publications included the first short (75-page) novel, Peace in Rapallo, by Alexander Reissner.

He published the Collected Poems of Robert E. Kay and Edgar Newgass in 1961. Newgass was also the author of two books on biblical subjects published in 1964.

Two books published in the early 1960s charted the history and genealogy of the Norwood family back as far as the 13th century. The Norwoods: An Introduction to Their History and The Norwoods: Heraldry and Brasses, were written by Gertrude Callam (formerly Norwood), and a third volume, A Chronological History, was self-published  by Mrs. Callam in a limited edition of 400 copies in 1997.

By then, her husband Albert was long gone. The couple lived at The Studio, Collington La West, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, where Albert Callam died on 9 September 1980. His birth was erroneously given on death records as 11 August 1906. He was survived by his wife, Gertrude, who continued  to live in Bexhill-on-Sea, until her death on 13 October 2003. They had no children.