MARTIN, Frank. BISHOP, Hal. PREVIOUS PARROT PRESS. ~ The Wood Engravings of Frank Martin. A Selection of the wood-engravings, small woodcuts, linocuts & vinyl engravings and a Catalogue of all the Relief Prints. With a foreword by Victor Arwas and an afterword by The Artist.
One of 36 special copies with an incomplete set of 4 (of 8) additional engravings printed from the block by David Esslemont, signed, numbered, and titled by the artist. 314 illustrations by Frank Martin. Printed in Joanna type on Mohawk paper. Folio, original black morocco backed boards, housed with the portfolio of prints in the original patterned paper covered slipcase. With occasional very light spotting, otherwise very good. Prospectus inserted loose.
The book was produced to celebrate 50 years of Martin’s career as a wood engraver, and ‘jobbing artist’. He learned wood engraving with Gertrude Hermes at St. Martin’s and is well known for the eleven books he illustrated for the Folio Society with wood engravings. He was also a remarkable graphic artist using large woodcuts and etchings, being particularly fascinated by silent screen and 1920s show business, as can be seen in Arwas and Kobal’s book on this work ‘Hollywood-Continental’. He was also a superb engraver of Ex-Libris and individual prints.