Founded in 1929, Faber and Faber has built a reputation as one of London’s most important literary publishing houses, partly due to the firm’s insistence on good design and illustration.  This lecture traces its history through its illustrations, covers and designs, employing celebrated artists.  Toby Faber is the grandson of the firm’s founder, so the talk will also be peppered with personal insight and anecdote.

Has written two works of narrative history, Stradivarius and Fabergé’s Eggs, published by Macmillan in the UK and Random House in the US, and given lectures associated with these two subjects at venues including The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Library of Congress and the Huntington Library, as well as a number of literary festivals. His career began with Natural Sciences at Cambridge and has been through investment banking, management consulting and five years as managing director of the publishing company founded by his grandfather, Faber and Faber, where he remains on the board. He is also non-executive Chairman of its sister company, Faber Music and a director of Liverpool University Press and the Copyright Licensing Agency.