Recent Acquisitions
EVE ARNOLD
One of only 50 sets of photogravures
ARNOLD, Eve. Seven Photogravures.
7 photogravure prints of photographs by Eve Arnold, each intitalled by her and numbered. This no.25 of only 50 sets. The plates for these seven photogravures were made by Hugh Stoneman and were printed by Michael Ward at his Atlas Print Studio. Each print is loose in its own hand-made paper wrapper printed iwth the title and date of the image, all are housed in an elegant silk covered clamshell portfolio box with a four page gathering for the introduction, title and limitation details. As new. Hugh & Linda Stoneman with Michael Ward. 2002. £3800
A beautiful production, Arnold’s photographs lending themselves remarkably well to the rich, smoky effect of the complicated dust grain photogravure technique. The photographs in the portfolio are:
1. Self-portrait in a distorting mirror, 42nd Street, New York, 1950
2. Charlotte Stribling, a.k.a. Fabulous, fashion show, Harlem, 1952
3. Cuban Bar Girl, Havana, 1954
4. Silvano Mangano, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, 1956
5. Marilyn Monroe playing pool, Reno, Nevada, 1960
6. One of four girls who share an apartment, London, 1963
7. Retired Worker, Guelin, China, 1979
PRIVATE PRESS BOOKS
One of only 25 specially bound copies by George Fisher
GREGYNOG PRESS. FISHER, George. VANSITTART, Robert. The Singing Caravan, a Sufi Tale.
Printed in Gill Perpetua type on English hand-made Barcham Green paper. Decorations and frontispiece by William McCance and printed in black and tyrian red. One of 25 specially bound copies by George Fisher to a design by William McCance, this no. 4 .Newtown, The Gregynog Press. 1932. £9500
One of McCance's most successful books for the Gregynog Press. It is exquisitely printed in Perpetua type and the tyrian red and black ink works well with the sumptuous binding which George Fisher claimed was meant to represent music and light. The Eastern flavour of the book in text and binding is most pleasing.
One of only 48 copies bound in pigskin by the Doves Bindery
KELMSCOTT PRESS. CHAUCER, Geoffrey. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Folio, original full white pigskin with elaborate blind tooling in gothic style after a design by William Morris (itself after a binding by Ulrich Schreier on a Koberger Bible of 1478), with the original clasps, stamped "The Doves Bindery 1899' on the lower turn-in, housed in a morocco backed clamshell box lettered on the spine in Chaucer type. 87 wood engravings designed by Edward Burne-Jones and engraved by W.H. Hooper. Woodcut title page, 14 large woodcut border designs, 18 different woodcut frames and 26 different woodcut initials by William Morris used throughout. A superb, clean and fresh unsophisticated copy. Kelmscott Press, 1896. POA
Morris's 'magnum opus' and, in scale at the very least, the greatest Private Press book ever to be published.
The pigskin bound copies of the Chaucer are the most important way to own an iconic British production, bringing together as it does arguably the greatest poet in English literature, one of Britain's greatest artists and the energy and creativity of Morris, one of Britain's greatest men who excelled in so many fields - as textile designer, artist, writer, philosopher, medievalist and pioneering socialist.
LIVRES D'ARTISTES
BAUDELAIRE. ROUAULT, Georges. Quatorze planches gravées pour Les Fleurs du Mal. Folio. 14 original monochrome etchings by Rouault. Loose as issued in original wrappers, in the original sleeve and slipcase. Edition limited to 450 copies, this no.239. spine of sleeve slightly marked, very mild wear to slipcase, otherwise a superb copy, Paris, Edition L’Etoile Filante. 1966. £5800
Georges Rouault (1871-1958) was an important French artist being mainly known as a great religious artist and printmaker and associated with the Fauvists and expressionists. He exhibited with the Fauves in 1905 but in 1910 began experimenting with printmaking. He achieved remarkable effects through unorthodox methods, mixing techniques and tools and sometimes working by hand a plate onto which an original gouache sketch had been photographed. The 14 plates for Fleur de Mal were executed by Rouault in 1926-7, 40 years before they were finally published here posthumously. They were printed “chez Madame Jacquemin” by Vollard. They remained in hands of Rouault’s family until this edition was put together in 1966. Rouault had planned 30 plates to illustrate the book but was prevented from completing them by the war. In the end he produced some colour illustrations for an edition in 1939.
Edition L’Etoile Filante used the original Jacquemin prints of 1926-7 to produce this remarkable version of Baudelaire’s classic work.The Artist & the Book 1860-1960, 297.
BINDING & CALLIGRAPHY
Bound by Charles McLeish, the elder
KELMSCOTT PRESS. MORRIS, William. The Sundering Flood.
First edition. One of 300 copies on Batchelor handmade paper. Printed in red and black in Chaucer type. 8vo., in a superb binding by Charles McLeish of full dark brown morocco with yapp edges decorated in gilt with 6 gilt borders, and gilt fruit and leaf tools on both covers and stars on both yapp edges, turn ins with gilt borders and fruit tool. Lettered in gilt and signed on the lower turn-in 'C. McL 1919'. £4500
The last romance written by Morris which he ended finishing by dictation to Cockerell at the end of his life. Charles McLeish, the elder ws born in 1859 and after working for Riviere, joined the Doves Bindery when it was first formed as finisher. He had a son, also Charles, who was apprentice to Roger de Coverly. In 1909 the two Charles's went into partnership after the Doves Bindery closed and any Doves Bindings after 1909 were bound in their workshop.
Miniature binding by Claire Skelton
BINDING by Claire SKELTON. WARDE, Beatrice. FLEECE PRESS. Stanley Morison, Man of Letters. One of 240 copies of the Fleece Press printing of Stanley Morison’s obituary by Beatrice Warde which appeared in the Sunday Times in 1967. 10 illustrations of different lettering printed in various colours. 6 3/4 x 5 cms, specially bound by Claire Skelton in full light brown morocco with gilt and red designs and lettering in relief and blind on both covers, signed and dated 1997 by Skelton, housed in the original red cloth box decorated in gilt and with the initials SM in relief, and red cloth chemise, in fine condition. Fleece Press, 1997. £450
PAPER
One of only 50 special copies with full sheets of patterned paper in a portfolio
NASH, Paul, MARX, Enid, POWERS, Alan &c. In Praise of Patterned Papers, A Collection of Essays by Paul Nash, Phyllis Barron, Enid Marx, Alan Powers, Sebastian Carter, Victoria Hall, Graham Moss. With an introduction by Tanya Schmoller. One of 50 special copies with 6 full sheets of patterned paper in a separate portfolio (the total edition was 360 copies). 95 specimens of patterned paper tipped in, illustrations in text. Printed in Goudy Old Style types on Zerkall paper. 4to., original yellow cloth backed, patterned paper covered boards, lettering in blue on spine, housed, together with the card portfolio of full sheets in the original blue cloth edged patterned paper covered slipcase. A very good copy. Oldham, Incline Press. 1997. £580
Paul Nash writes in his essay on woodcut patterns “we should..consider patterns as important as pictures” and this beautiful production certainly promotes that point
ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
ERIC GILL PRINTS & BOOKS
BASKIN, Leonard. HUGHES, Ted. Crow. From the Life and Songs of the Crow. 12 full page drawings by Leonard Baskin. One of 400 copies signed by Baskin & Hughes, this no. 229. Set by hand in Pagasus type and printed by the John Roberts Press, London, on T.H. Saunders mould-made paper. Sm. folio, original blue and black cloth with yapp edges, spine lettered in gilt., ttop edge pink, others uncut, in the original black slipcase with pink printed paper label (slight rubbing and bubbling to case ), A very good copy. London, Faber & Faber. 1973. £650
COOKERY
[ATKYNS, Arabella].
The Family Magazine: in Two Parts.
Part I. Containing Useful Directions in All Branches of Housse-keeping and Cookery. particularly shewing how to buy-in the best of all sorts of provisions:...with several hundred receipts in Cookery, Pastry, Pickling, Confectionary, Distilling, Brewing, Cosmeticks, &c together with the Art of Making English Windes, &c.
Part II. Containing a Compendious Body of Physick...
With a supplement containing a great Variety of Experience Receipts, from Two Excellent Family collections. First edition. Pp. xvi, 126; ii, 324. 6 woodcuts in text. 8vo., contemporary full calf, with gilt rules round the edges of the boards and each spine panel, rather rubbed and marked , joints starting but a good strong copy but very good and clean internally. London, J. Osborn, 1741. £1500 Arabella Atkyns was a pseudonym coined by the author in the preface”Being sitill teized for some Name I will, tho’ not my right one, subscribe That of Arabella Atkyns” Oxford points out that the cookery part is excellent and well arranged but the medical part is “full of horrors”, for instance the treatment for appendicitis is to “apply a live puppy to the naked belly” and then to follow with a cataplasm of rotten apples or of ‘sheeps-dung boil’s with milk’. The famous eighteenth century cookery writer Hannah Glasse borrowed much from this book for her “Compleat Confectioner’ of c.1760.
WINE
A classic wine book
SPEECHLY, William. A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine...exhibiting new and advantageous methods of propagating,
cultivating and training that plant, so as to render it abundantly fruitful. Together with new hints on the formation of vineyardsin
England. First edition (the second and third were published in 1805 and 1821). 4to., recent contemporary style half calf, original
marbled boards. Pp. xvi, [vi (list of subscribers)], 224, bound in before plates I & II are unnumbered leaves with descriptive text on
their versos. 5 engraved plates, 3 folding. Covers rubbed, some soiling, handsome, fresh and entirely uncut copy. York, printed for
the author by G. Peacock. 1790. £1750
Extremely rare
A “practical, well-written and beautifully printed manual” (from Gabler, quoting Edward Hyams in ‘Grapes under Cloches’). The book proved to have long lasting popularity and two further editions appeared in 1805 and 1821.
William Speechly (c1740-1821), was gardener to the third Duke of Portland, at his estate Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. Encouraged by the Duke he started writing down and publishing his knowledge and experience in gardening, and already in 1776 he had contributed to Alexander Hunter's edition of Evelyn's "Silva". In the present work Speechly describes 50 species of grapes, and thoroughly examines hothouse culture, the construction and management of vineyards, pruning, irrigation, grafting, insect and blight control, etc. Speechly also wrote an important treatise on the pineapple.
In the present copy the usual four-page list of Subscribers is supplemented by a tipped-in leaf headed on the recto, “The following Subscribers’ Names were received since the Alphabetical List was printed”, followed by a list of some 35 names. This additional leaf is not mentioned in the detailed collation in Henrey. Gabler G37890; Henrey 1376; Simon, Bibliotheca Gastronomica, p.132; Bib. Vinaria p.50
