Last week's Lawrence Wallis appreciation event at St Bride Library was a wonderful tribute to a really remarkable man.

Catherine Dixon from the Friends of St Bride introduced the evening by explaining that when such an event is being considered, the organisers ask the question: would the person like to have been there themselves?

I think Lawrence, even taking into account his typical self-deprecating style, would have thoroughly enjoyed it. Tributes flowed from a variety of speakers who'd known him in different ways during his lifetime.  

Through Philip Moore of the Cloister Press we learned that journalism's loss was print's gain - at the age of 16 Lawrence had expressed a desire to become a journalist to his careers master, resulting in the response: "Well Wallis I don't think you're bright enough for that - what about printing?"

With hindsight this remark is doubly hilarious, because of course as it turned out Wallis was more than bright enough for both occupations, and his writings provide an enduring legacy of lucidity. Ann Pillar from the University of Reading explained that "the Lawrence Wallis effect is still with us", as students are urged to study his published work as a model of clarity.

While the overwhelming sadness at his untimely loss remains palpable, there was humour too. Michael Twyman of the Printing Historical Society pronounced that Wallis was the epitome of WYSIWYG: "it was more true of Lawrence Wallis than most people"; while print historian and fellow PrintWeek contributor Caroline Archer recounted a typically amusing Wallis exchange involving reader speculation that Archer was some sort of nom de plume for Wallis himself.

Common themes expounded by, among others, Andrew Boag, Alan Stephenson, Ian Rogerson and myself included Lawrence's generosity in sharing his knowledge and expertise, something that will endure through his amazing archive that documents (among other things) the rise of electronic typesetting and is now stored at St Bride's. "He squirreled away the most wonderful things for the future, and invented an incredible hierarchical classification system," noted librarian Nigel Roche.

Congratulations and thanks must go to Andrew Boag of Boag Associates and Ben Weiner of the Friends of St Bride for organising and supporting the event; and to Kim Vousden for the delightful selections she made for the accompanying exhibition, which managed to encompass Lawrence's deep knowledge of the industry and also his exuberant sense of fun.

Perhaps the overall sentiment of the evening was best summed up by Ian Dunsmore, who lived next door to Lawrence and his wife Peggy for many years, when he said: "He was a gentleman and a gentle man."

From PrintWeek's point-of-view it was an honour and a privilege to be able to bring the words of this most exceptional man to such a wide and appreciative audience. He really was unique.