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Application for RIBA Fellowship
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1906)
Archive: RIBA Nomination Papers
Source: RIBA British Architectural Library Drawings & Archives Collection

By 1906, Mackintosh’s career in Glasgow was well established. Clearly the time was right to apply to become a fellow of the London-based RIBA.

Mackintosh’s application is immediately distinguished by its bold handwriting: note the elegant lettering forming Glasgow, for example. Unusually, for Mackintosh, the text does not contain obvious spelling errors.

However, looking beyond appearance, the actual content is intriguing. The application is supported by his old master John Keppie. The two have a long-standing professional relationship, even sharing the same address: Mackintosh is still based in the office where he trained. And in his list of works, Mackintosh’s best known, the Glasgow School of Art, is strangely missing. This most personal of buildings was attributed to his masters’ firm, Honeyman and Keppie.

The form makes us re-think architecture, and Mackintosh. We often say that a building is by an architect. However, even with Mackintosh, buildings were the product of offices, not individuals. Mackintosh was part of a team of draughtsmen, assistants and architects. Then, as now, it took time to train as an architect, and even more to establish an office. Perhaps this explains his desire to become a fellow?