Villu Toots, 1916–1993, calligrapher, book designer.
Villu Toots spent his formative years is Tartu, now Estonia. After high school, he worked for local cinema companies, creating posters, ads and other graphics and attended the Pallas Art School. In 1945, he moved to Talinn, where he was an art director in two publishing houses and later a designer for Essti Naine (Estonian Woman) magazine. In 1965 he established his own school of calligraphy, Kirjakunsti Kool.
In February of 1980, Toots wrote to Ismar David, saying he had learned of Our Calligraphic Heritage and wanted to obtain a copy. Since Toots could neither send money abroad nor buy foreign books in Estonia, he proposed a book exchange. If David would send OCH, Toots would send his own Lettering Art in Estonia 1940–1970. It was the first of two book exchanges and many holiday cards. A draft of a note from the mid-80s reads:
Dear brother calligrapher, Once before you took the initiative to suggest that we should be aware of each other’s work. Since then, each of your mailings has brought stimulation and delight to me and my friends. The book that recently arrived is outstanding in its richness of ideas, textures, and in the way it brings out the personality of the man behind it. The least I can do is to respond by sending you a copy of a book that may convey some of my ideas related to calligraphy and graphic design in the service of the Book.
With my best wishes for many more productive years, sincerely, I.D.
