The front cover of The Dial is printed in black on buff coloured paper; the inset illustration pictures an enclosed garden with a central sundial.

Inspired by Emery Walker's lecture on typography at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1888, Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon produced The Dial from their shared home in The Vale, Chelsea, along with a small coterie of friends. The publication of the first volume in August 1889 brought them into contact with Oscar Wilde, who became a close friend, and Laurence Housman, whom Ricketts mentored. Published occasionally rather than at set intervals. The Dial came out in five issues between 1889 and 1897. Laurence Housman contributed a story to the fifth and final volume.


Event date


Aug 1889

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Event date

Parent Chronology





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