SANDFORD, Lettice. GOLDEN COCKEREL PRESS. ~ The Song of Songs.
No. 109 of 204 copies. 13 line engravings by Lettice Sandford, 12 full-page. Printed in red and black in Gill’s Perpetua type. Folio, original white buckram with an engraving by Sandford stamped in gilt on the upper cover. Booklabel on front pastedown. Few marks to the cloth, top corners bumped, generally a very good clean copy, very slightly cocked.
One of Golden Cockerel’s most successful books with its gently erotic engravings by Sandford, the wife of the owner of the Press.
Lettice Sandford (1902-1993) was an artist, engraver and corn dolly revivalist. She lived at Eye Manor with her husband Christopher Sandford with whom she began the Boar’s Head Press. Her husband bought the Golden Cockerel Press in 1933 from Robert Gibbings and Lettice Sandford cut engravings for some of his books. Between 1935 and 1937 she created the wood engravings for The Golden Bed of Kydno, zinc engravings for Greek Anthology and the copper engravings which were used in this Song of Songs. She shows some influence from Matisse with her deceptively simple cut lines.