Michael Charles Farrar Bell, later Farrar-Bell (1911–1993) was a British stained glass and

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

. Bell designed

pub sign A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s, then became known as a stained glass designer as the head of

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

, which had been one of the most prolific workshops of English stained glass during the latter half of the 19th century. Bell's postage stamp designs included the 1s/6d value of the British

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

1953 stamp issue, the frame around the image of the Queen on two values of the Wilding series definitive stamp issue and the 3d value from the 1965 Salvation Army commemorative issue. He was an accomplished artist, and a ''British Pathe News'' film of 1956 shows him at work, painting pub-signs.Video of Farrar-Bell producing pub signs
from ''British Pathe News'' Farrar-Bell worked alongside Deane Skurray, son of Thomas Skurray, chairman of Morland United Breweries, Abingdon. Together they designed a plaque that went in front of every Morland pub and hotel across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and London, to commemorate 250 years of brewing. Skurray had the idea of a painter in a red frocked coat tricorn hat, so with this idea Farrar-Bell put pencil to paper and together they came up with the design, which became the new logo of Morland & Co. These ceramic plaques were first made by Carter Tile Works in London and then the Poole pottery company, and still can be seen in more than 350 pubs across the Morland trading area, many in Abingdon, Reading, Oxford, Wantage, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Thame. Farrar-Bell also painted many of Morland's pub signs.

References

1911 births 1993 deaths British designers Farrar British stained glass artists and manufacturers {{UK-artist-stub