New Acquisitions 2024

Happy New Year! Let me start.

Just ordered what seems to be the last book designed by Bruce Rogers - The Life of Saint George Printed from the Golden Legend of William Caxton (New Fairfield, Conn: Bruce Rogers, 1957). Edition limited to 300 copies. Printed at the Thistle Press, in New York City, on Ingres d'Arches paper. Bound by Frank Fortney in navy cloth, with a gilt-stamped title to spine, and the shield of St. George printed on sides. Illustrated with a large roundel of Saint George by Valenti Angelo in red and gold.

>1 Lukas1990: Good man! Nothing like starting the year’s purchasing as soon as possible!! Happy New Year!

>2 ChestnutPress: Greetings from Vilnius, Lithuania. I have some more books that I'm bidding on, so stay tuned. And wait for photos of my laaarge Bruce Rogers Bible! It's almost 24 lbs!!!

>3 Lukas1990: Attaboy, Lukas! Keep up the goodness!!

My first book of the year arrived — the Petrarch Press Gospel According to Phillip. As one would expect, it's lovely.

>5 gmacaree: Yes, it is!

It appears the post-holiday package logjam has cleared, as several new books arrived today.

• What a Word Dreamt (Sutton Hoo Press)
  
• Eight chapbooks from Bonnefant Press
  
• Five chapbooks from Limberlost Press
  
• Psycho AE (Suntup Editions)
  

And as a nice surprise, both Bonnefant and Limberlost included extra books in the orders. First time acquisitions from both presses, I intend to return for more.

Feels like a nice start to 2024.

I’ve started off the new year by receiving my copies of The Crocodile (CP), Speaking of Accidents (SHP), and Arden of Feversham (TBP).

Speaking of Arden of Feversham, what author do others use when cataloging this work? Anonymous, Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, or Shakespeare?

First purchases of the new year (from the second-hand market) have arrived: David Butcher. British Private Press Prospectuses. 1891-2001. The Whittington Press, 2001. One of 260 copies out of a total edition of 350 copies. (I also picked up the Folio Society's The Lady of Shalott, as I wanted the Howard Phipps wood engravings).

>9 TheTotalLibrarian: British Private Press Prospectuses is a superb read!

>9 TheTotalLibrarian: (I also picked up the Folio Society's The Lady of Shalott, as I wanted the Howard Phipps wood engravings).

Part of the 7-book Folio Miniature Series and reviewed on the FSD forum here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/266299

>11 mr.philistine: Thank you!

>10 ChestnutPress: I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Wow, Splisticks & Multiples (FP) is really large and heavy!

>14 kdweber: I've put mine on a bottom shelf so as to avoid a biblioclastic collapse!

Ordered from Switzerland:

Die Passion Christi: Zwolf Kupferstiche (Berlin: Amsler & Ruthardt, 1921). This book contains the twelve leaves of Martin Schongauer's copperplate Passion in hand-printed prints that are true to the original.

Rumour has it that the book has already landed on Lithuanian soil. Should get it in a couple of days or so. Sorry, I am hyped up.

I have added a few very nice little bits to my shelves so far:

Gary Young ‘No Harm Done’ (Sutton Hoo Press)

Delmira Agustini ‘A Flock of Scarlet Doves’ (Sutton Hoo Press)

The four latest ‘Quire’ pieces, plus a special bound copy of ‘Quire 13’ (The Last Press)

Emily Dickinson ‘Death’ (No Reply Press)

E. Ethelbert Miller ‘Buddha Weeping in Winter’ (Red Dragon Press)

Jeffrey Turner ‘The Angled Boat’ signed special (Mandeville Press)

Jeffrey Turner ‘Smock Mill’ signed special (Mandeville Press)

Martin Trowell ‘For Those in Peril’ (Libanus Press)

I have been after that last one (the first publication from Michael Mitchell’s superb Libanus Press) for years!!!

>18 ChestnutPress: Good stuff, just got the latest Quires myself. Put in an order today as well, including what will be my first Tern Press book.

>19 Shadekeep: can’t really go wrong with Chad’s work. It’s marvellous!

What’s your first Tern Press purchase?

>20 ChestnutPress: I've ordered a copy of The Hountyng of the Chivyat. Appeals to my archaic interests. 🏰

And you really should grab What a Word Dreamt soon, it's beauteous.

>21 Shadekeep: ‘What a Word Dreamt’ is next up on my wanted list from Chad

My first fine press books have started to trickle in and I read my first yesterday. No Reply's The Last Question by Isaac Asimov. I loved it. A good story, letterpress, excellent illustrations by Rockwell Kent, a beautifully bound and presented book with smart slipcase to boot. The only quibble is no matter how much I paused to appreciate it the 30 odd pages flew by. Fortunately it's a book I will enjoy re-reading.

If The One Who Walks Away from Omelas is as good this man may well return for the last of the trilogy.

>23 Pendrainllwyn: I really like Griffin’s edition of The Last Question too!

Just placed a long overdue second order to Old Stile Press:

The Journey of Thomas the Rhymer
Faithful John
The Last Poems of Alice Meynell
The Mare’s Tale

Still a couple more they have in stock that I'd like, but holding off on those until I feel really spendy.

New acquisition 😈

The Beginning of the World: Twenty-Five Pictures by Edward Burne-Jones (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1902). 1st Edition, 4to (9¾ - 12" tall). Printed on hand-made paper at Chiswick Press.

The Beginning of the World is a series of designs to illustrate the first chapters of Genesis, and were intended to have been part of Kelmscott Press Biblia Innocentium. Burne-Jones was originally to have designed 200 or so wood-engravings for this edition, however only 25 were ever completed and none appeared until 1902 when his widow Georgiana and assistant Stephen Catterson-Smith prepared them for publishing.

I was looking for a copy in acceptable condition for quite some time. I have never seen a copy in better than Very Good condition. Mine is probably no better than VG but it is the best copy I've seen and the price was good. As a bonus there's a beautiful and probably early bookplate by Eric Gill. Will post photos when I receive the book.

Received my deluxe edition of Factotum Pers' latest, Het twistgesprek tussen de vlieg en de mier. In spite of only having a smattering of Dutch in my vocabulary, the book is so splendid that I'm sorely tempted to try reading it with a translation dictionary at hand. Once again Geert proves to be a printer par excellence.

Also received Tern Press' The Hountyng of the Chivyat. The cover is in subpar condition, with sunning and light cracking, but the interior is beautifully made. I can see why Tern Press gets such acclaim.

I just received Donner Miscellany (The Book Club of California), printed by Allen Press. Nicely designed item, looking forward to reading it.

>28 Shadekeep: If you like that, you might try The Diary of Patrick Breen, also a BCC book printed by the LD Allen Press and a nice complement to the Donner Miscellany volume.

>29 Chemren: Thank you for the recommendation, it does look like a good addition. I also like that it's introduced by George R. Stewart.

>30 Shadekeep: Neither Donner volume really tells the full story. Stewart's Ordeal by Hunger (1936) provides helpful context. I picked that up on Kindle when I bought the other two volumes.

On the way and should be here in a few days as it hit Billings today:

Sutton Hoo Press: What a Word Dreamt.

Anticipation is keeping me ... antsy.

Though it does not find much favour here on account of the translation, I am pleased to await what looks like a fine copy of the Nonesuch Press Florio’s Montaigne, my first Nonesuch purchase and reasonably priced. I look forward to examining the binding.

>33 GusLogan: I have this book and it's true what they say the translation is…challenging. But I hold on to them because not only do the bindings look attractive on the shelf, but also I find the typographic design to be most pleasing indeed. That alone is reason enough to make me take them down and peruse them every now and then. I hope you enjoy!

>1 Lukas1990: Cute little book has arrived today.

>35 Lukas1990: Very cool. I'd love to see more pages from this one.

>36 SuttonHooPress: The book consists of only 14 pages with text and some blank pages. Any specific requests? More photos of the text?

>37 Lukas1990: Yes please. And a title page? I love small books.

The Old Stile Press books from >25 Shadekeep: arrived, quite pleased with them. Was immediately taken with The Journey of Thomas the Rhymer, though all four are worthwhile. I think The Mare’s Tale has the potential to be the most curious and interesting of the volumes in its way.

I received my copy of All Around the Block today from the Fleece press and am delighted with what I have read of it so far.

The Fleece press is a rabbit hole I have went down (and along with No Reply) is the publisher that has impressed me the most. However whilst No Reply has published works that are of interest to me, Simon Lawrence published works that I didn’t have a clue about, but I ended enjoyed up enjoying all of them. I have a near complete collection of the Fleece press (the caveat is I don’t collect the miniatures) and I have also been acquiring pieces of ephemera, so it is possible that this bibliography appeals to me more than it would to someone who is new to the press, however I believe that anyone would be impressed with this.

This is a wonderful way to finish the Fleece press on a high note.

>40 DMulvee: Simon Lawrence published works that I didn’t have a clue about, but I ended enjoyed up enjoying all of them.

A pretty perfect one-line summation of the Fleece Press experience. Simon's work isn't stuff I'm automatically drawn to in my fine press searches, yet every one of his books is a delight. I confess to somewhat compulsively collecting them as well. And there is both artistic and technical beauty to his books, of a kind only a few other presses I collect display in equal measure.

>40 DMulvee: "Simon Lawrence published works that I didn’t have a clue about, but I ended enjoyed up enjoying all of them".

This completely matches my experience too. I've only been collecting fine press books for about 18 months or so but I have been lucky enough to pick up about half the books and a couple of hundred pieces of ephemera from the Fleece Press. It's all given me a great deal of pleasure and I'm learning something new all the time. My copy of All Around the Block is coming on Friday and I can't wait to see it.

>38 SuttonHooPress: Here's some more:

>43 Lukas1990: Yes!. Thank you. Really beautiful.

My copy of Black Tudor Press's Arden of Feversham arrived today, standard edition. It's my first book from that publisher and I am super impressed - overall fantastic execution and a very reasonable price relative to other offerings out there. The Fleur de Lis marbled paper boards with quarter bound leather is an extraordinary combination. They are definitely on my radar for future publications.

What great acquisitions above!

Just received Windhover Press' _Forked Branches_ by Ezra Pound. (Translations of Medieval Poems)

and

Abattoir Editions' _A Thousand Little Things and Other Poems_ by Norman Dubie (with drawing by Keith Achepohl)

I have been enjoying my recent dips into Windhover Press and Abattoir Editions for some (financially) accessible letterpress poetry editions from the '60s, '70s, and '80s.

Looking forward to hearing more from others.

>46 abgreens: "Looking forward to hearing more from others."

I can recommend Tess Gallagher's books from Graywolf Press. Specifically, Instructions to the Double (h/c, 1976) and Under Stars (h/c, 1978). Both were issued in wrappers as well, but you don't want those, do you? Both of these h/c books are well worth owning. Scott Walker (founder/proprietor) took his printing seriously. And Gallagher's verse is pretty darn good as well.

Also from Graywolf, Richard Hugo's Rain Five Days and I Love It. This was issued in hardcover which is virtually impossible to find and very pricey when found and also in wrappers (512 copies). The latter came in two flavors: a small number (I don't remember how many precisely) were signed and the remainder were unsigned.

The focus of Graywolf (as well as their neighbor, Copper Canyon) was on the poetry and not on the printing. While well-printed letterpress books (Graywolf being the better of the two IMHO), I consider these two presses as primarily literary presses.

Be aware that Graywolf switched to offset ca. 1982 and Copper Canyon did as well about the same time. Both are still active, but are non-profit literary trade publishers now.

>46 abgreens: Both Windhover Press and Abattoir Editions (along with Kim Merker’s other imprint, Stone Wall Press, and Harry Duncan’s other imprint, Cummington Press) are excellent choices when you want to pick up great fine press. Both printers were exceptional typographers and pressmen of rare printing skill. Plus, the texts they chose to print are generally great too. And, as you say, they are (for the most part) affordable, and as such are proof that you don’t need to spend a fortune to own beautiful fine press. I hope you delve much further into their back catalogues!

>45 LBShoreBook: Glad to hear it! Hugh does such stunning medieval-style work. You may wish to check out his Lohengrin - A Tale of the Swan Knight, a few standard editions still remain in stock.

>46 abgreens: I concur with Glacierman and ChestnutPress, Merker and Duncan are both excellent printers to get into. Their chapbooks especially make for affordable acquisitions. From Windhover I personally recommend Countrée/Country, Thrymskvitha, and Völuspá: The Song Of The Sybil, though none of their works disappoint. A particularly choice volume from them is Robert the Devil, but it can be difficult and costly to find. I was fortunate to be able to purchase it from one of Merker's daughters.

>47 Glacierman: Glacierman: Thanks for the referral to Gray Wolf, which I hadn't realized had a time as a fine press!

>48 ChestnutPress: Chestnut Press: Thanks for the affirmation and addition of the other two presses.

>49 Shadekeep: Shadekeep: Thanks for the specific Windhover suggestions

>All Thanks for all the welcoming info and the other conversational threads I have been reading through...

Just wondering if there's a secret forest of money-growing trees to harvest so I can buy all the books I am seeing on all the threads. (Just Kidding).

Looking forward to CODEX in Oakland (which is very close to where I live).

Andrew

Bruce Roger's Bible is here! Limited Editions Club Hamlet for comparison. I will write a review and post lots of pics on weekend.

>51 Lukas1990: Niiiiiiiiiiice!

Had a friend run by the PO for me today and pick up a week's worth of mail. Among the pile of bills, etc., was a package from Chad Oness. It contained a copy of

What a Word Dreamt by Peter Everwine under Chad's Sutton Hoo Press imprint. It is a large, beautiful volume of Aztec poetry translated from the Nahuatl. It is 13.5 in high and 7.5 in wide. 136 copies, signed. Iyo Glazed handmade paper. Yummmm.

I cannot praise this book highly enough.

>51 Lukas1990: seems a little small

>51 Lukas1990: this was my idea of a book sofa: https://www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Display-Products/Display-Support...

I see you have a more literal interpretation!

>55 ubiquitousuk: Haha, true! I'm in the market for a lectern now.

>53 Glacierman: It’s one I rather fancy getting too. Need to pay for a couple of other volumes and the build back my coffers a little first!

>51 Lukas1990: What a beaut! I'm a sucker for ornaments, I can only expect the rest of the book uses them as well as these pages.

>53 Glacierman: Kudos, mate, it's such a handsome tome. The other Everwine book of Aztec poetry, In the House of Light, was published by Stone Wall Press, one of the imprints from Kim Merker. It's a good companion volume, but in the case of What a Word Dreamt, I would say the student has surpassed the master.

>58 Shadekeep: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357801#n8383987

My copy of All Around the Block from the Fleece Press arrived. I was lucky to get one of the editions with the album of ephemera. It's a superb work and a real celebration of Simon Lawrence's work.

My special edition of Arden of Feversham arrived over the weekend, Roman numeral II. It really is superlative, from the contents to the binding to the case. At the moment I'd say it's Hugh's finest work yet.

>60 TheTotalLibrarian: The book looks magnificent on the website but it's hard to get a feeling of the interior content. Is it just a list of Fleece Press publications with example tip-ins? Are there essays? Is it illustrated apart from the tip-ins? Printed letterpress? Photos would be appreciated if anyone can provide any? Thanks!

>61 Shadekeep: I second that. Really like that handmade Fabriano paper too.

>62 Levin40: I'm not the world's greatest photographer so hopefully a few words can do it justice!

It isn't just a list of Fleece Press publications. There is a Foreword by Sebastian Carter; there is then a section: Publishing and Printing at the Fleece Press by Simon Lawrence. Then comes the bibliography. It's split into two parts - the books and then the printed ephemera. Following that there is a section on 'Tentative Plans & Unfinished Projects'. I've only read about half the book so far but pretty much each entry has all the bibliographic information followed by a commentary about the production of each of the books.

The book is illustrated with tip-ins and other illustrations (photographs, etc).

From the bibliography: "Text computer-set in Miller Display, printed by offset lithography at J.W. Northend. (On Munken Pure paper) Title page cartouches for albums in the B and C editions drawn in 1932 by Claudia Guercio for Shell, inkjet printed at Ian Wright Creative with type computer-set in Miller Display. 310 copies bound at Ludlow Bookbinders".

I think it is brilliant, and looks even better in hand. Dangerous though, it's already acting as a bit of a shopping list! I hope this helps but let me know if you need more information. Hopefully someone will be able to post pictures.

>64 TheTotalLibrarian: Thanks very much! I'm seriously considering this. Shame it's not letterpress (I had thought that all Fleece Press productions were) but I suppose that if it contains many illustrations and photos then litho printing was the correct way to go. The concept sounds a little like Nomad's Pages from Presses.

Phisicke Against Fortune (Foolscap Press, 1993). One of 40 specially bound copies 😈

And an early Bargain of the Year candidate - Caelica (Gregynog Press, 1936). One of 225 copies, hand-set type, printed on unbleached Arnold hand-made paper, dark green oasis morocco over patterned boards, matching dark green oasis corner tips. The book is ex-library but the only sign of this is a little stamp on the frontpage. Apparently, not many library visitors were interested in reading Fulke Greville's poems. I would rate the condition as VG+. Price? 10 US dollars! The lowest asking price for this book that I can find at the moment is 280$ and that particular copy is in much worse condition than mine.

Also waiting for Works of Epicurus (Limited Editions Club, 1947).

Received The Hyphen is a Dagger; Guillaume XI from Nomad Letterpress, Roman numeral III of the special editions. That is one big footprint. Probably should have guessed, given it's printed in a variety of wooden typefaces. It's as tall and wide as Openbaring van Johannes from Factotum Pers, though thinner. I like it, and it's certainly more than I expected for the price. I'm wondering if Pat sent the wrong edition, since I only paid £66 with shipping.

>67 Shadekeep: Sounds like it. The roman numeral copies (which also have a hard cover rather than paper wraps) are listed at £150. That's how much I paid for my copy.

Anyway, thanks for your post. You reminded me that I have been meaning to order it for some time and finally got round to it, thankfully before the specials went out of print.

Not fine press per se, but still of interest to me, I ordered a copy of A History of the Gregynog Press by Dorothy Harrop (Private Libraries Association, 1980). This was published in a total edition of 2500 copies, only 750 of which were for sale, with 100 copies signed by the author. This copy is unsigned.

Of course, like most press histories, it includes a bibliography of books produced and a checklist of ephemera.

From the introduction: "The two most outstanding features of the Gregynog Press are the lack of knowledge or skill on the part of the owners and the fact that all aspects of the books' design and making were carried out under one roof."

Margaret and Gwendoline Davies owned the press, but had nothing to do with the production beyond giving the OK to what the staff came up with. Of course, they also financed the operation. This alone makes it worth studying, because Gregynog operated in complete contrast to its contemporaries which were all the product of and bore the stamp of their owners.

I am always interested in learning about the presses that turn out the books we love.

>68 ubiquitousuk: Ah, I definitely lucked out then, as this most certainly is a hardcover. I had provisionally listed it as a chapbook when I ordered it, hence my surprise when it arrived.

Glad the post helped you order your own copy!

>69 Glacierman: Found this while researching Gregynog Press:

https://www.princeton.edu/~graphicarts/2012/01/george_fisher_bindings.html

>71 Lukas1990: Those superb bindings is one thing that the original Gregynog was known for.

Do a search for "Gregynog Press" on Vialibri and see what happens.....

By the way, years after the Gregynog Press shut down, it was "resurrected" as Gwasg Gregynog, which, of course, is Welsh for 'Gregynog Press.'

>71 Lukas1990: Shaw gives himself away is one of the rare occasions where I prefer the standard to the special edition

>73 DMulvee: I love Paul Nash! Considered buying this book just for the binding.

A bunch of Gregynog titles recently showed up on eBay UK at, I think, reasonable prices. There are a couple I would like to have, but need to moderate my spending a bit.

>72 Fumble Fingers: "Crank out" is hardly a verb I would use in the context of Gwasg Gregynog as, apart from their 2023 ephemera collection (Miscellanea III - Centenary Edition), the press has been dormant for nearly a decade now. Their most recent book release is Llys Glyndŵr from 2015.

>72 Glacierman: I keep meaning to add a Gwasg Gregynog book to the collection. I can't really budget the one I'd most want, Of A Feather, but I should be able to swing Princes and Castles when the coffers refill. Always a joy to add more Hilary Paynter to the library.

>76 supercell: Thanks for the epithet. Not. Nobody's perfect and that note was done in haste just prior to going to bed. I became aware that the organization had been moribund for some time, but by that time, I was too tired to GAF, so I edited it just now to make you happy. :-D

I just received War and Peace by Kalashnikov. This was printed by the Libanus press for the Society of Wood Engravers in 1991.

I like it, though am unsure what the difference between this and the Primrose Academy 1994 Dostoevsky Suite by Kalashnikov is.

>78 Fumble Fingers: You're welcome, although I merely did as requested (took a while to figure out how to code that, though).

>80 supercell: OK, OK. I get it. You have a very twisted sense of humor. I like it. :-D

Breaking my self-imposed moratorium on buying new books (I'm saving up for something big!), I just received a copy of "Six Prose Pieces" by Robert Duncan (Perishable Press, 1966). It was listed for around $200, no pictures, and there was some information missing from the listing: most notably for me, the publisher. But I took what I felt like was a pretty safe gamble and got rewarded. Not only is it one of an edition of only seventy, but also Duncan signed it (although his signature is not called for). It's in better condition than just "fair," which was how the seller described it.

This is only Walter Hamady's sixth book, printed on his own handmade paper, which in 1967 he started calling "Shadwell." Uncharacteristic of the next 44 years of Hamady's work, this one is printed on a Washington in Goudy Old Style. Hamady's teacher of the iron press, Robert Runser, allowed him to print on his Washington before Hamady bought his non-electric Vandercook SP-15. I suspect the type was also Runser's, who at some point gave Hamady a bunch of Palatino (claiming it was too modern for Runser), which would be the typeface that Hamady printed almost all his books in for ~10 years.

Just arrived.

Ben Franklin. Two Parables on Brotherly Love and on Tolerance. Moylan, PA: Rose Valley Press, 1971. 4.5 x 6 in.; 18 pp. One of 90 copies, more or less, printed by Mildred and Walter Kahoe in two colors. Rust-brown cloth spine over printed paper bds; printed spine label; Illus. by Janilee Middlebrooks.

Delightful little book from this private press. The paper is not specified, but is a pleasing smooth-textured laid paper. If this book is indicative of the quality of the Kahoe's efforts, then Rose Valley Press needs to be in any collection devoted to private presses. I will be adding a few more titles as I can.

>83 Glacierman: Good addition! I will look at getting something from them on my shelves at some point

>84 ChestnutPress: My only complaint is the way in which the book was cased in. They pasted the end papers to the boards, then pasted the sewn single section into that mess. Would have made better sense to wrap the end papers around the single section before sewing. Makes casing in easier with the added benefit of having all leaves open freely. But, that is a minor quibble.

Thanks to the recommendation from Glacierman, I plumped for the "instant Kahoe collection" on offer from Riverrun. I now have the following hardcovers:

The Faun's Christmas (Rose Valley Press)
The Juggler of Our Lady (Rose Valley Press)
The Legend of Saint Christopher (Rose Valley Press)
The Shoemaker's Christmas (Rose Valley Press)
Two Parables on Tolerance & on Brotherly Love by Benjamin Franklin (Rose Valley Press)
A Thousand Years In Thy Sight (Whimsie Press)

Plus chapbooks of Two Quaker Botanists, The Shoemaker's Christmas, and The Juggler of Our Lady.

The books are delightful, and the hardbounds of The Juggler of Our Lady and The Legend of Saint Christopher have especially fine covers. There's a bit of the binding eccentricity mentioned in >85 Glacierman:, as well as some cockling in a few books, but overall I am very pleased with the set. The chapbooks are still in the original envelopes and as crisp as the day they were printed.

I also took advantage of Riverrun's sale to acquire these titles:

Letters from a Portuguese Nun (Whittington Press)
Two Geese (Pentagram Press)
About Popular Culture (Palaemon Press)

The Whittington is wonderful and I'm very pleased with this fine edition. This is the first I've gotten from Palaemon Press, and I don't know how much fine press they actually did. But the marbled wraps are riveting and I plan to look for more from them.

A trip to the Post Office today yielded two more additions to my research collection, one a reference work and the other an example from a new press. I list first the reference.

Harrop, Dorothy A. A History of the Gregynog Press. (Pinner, Middlesex): Private Libraries Assoc., 1980. 2500 copies, of which 750 were for sale with 100 copies signed by the author. Mine is unsigned. Very thorough history of the Press and the people behind it. Includes a detailed bibliography of the 45 books it published and a handlist of ephemera. This is about the original Gregynog Press, not the much later re-incarnation, Gwasg Gregynog (Welsh for...Gregynog Press).

A most useful and interesting volume for anyone interested in this press and/or the history of the private press movement.

Sprague, Kurth. And Therefore With Angels. Dulverton, Somerset: The Ark Press, 1971. 9.625" x 5.5", 64 pages. "500 copies ... have been printed in Bembo type by Wordens of Cornwall Ltd., Penzance, Cornwall on paper from Grosvenor Chater & Company Ltd., London. Engravings by Abbey Process Ltd., Bath, Somerset. Binding by The Pitman Press, Bath, Somerset. Design by Kim Taylor. 1971" Bound in blue linen, gilt spine & device on front. A printed d/w was issued with the book, but my copy lacks that, which I don't really mind.

While overall, I am pleased with the book, it does suffer from what I consider an annoying fault: the binding was not done by hand, but by machine, and thus the endpapers are glued to the exterior leaves at the spine edge and the sections are also glued together along the spine edge. The spine is lined with what appears to be a thin linen to strengthen the hinge, but the end sheets in my copy, both front and rear, have separated from the text block. Were it not for that linen strip, the cover would have separated from the text block. This is poorly done and detracts severely from the quality of the final product, as the design and printing are both of high quality. If only the binding was at the same level.

The author was a poet, author and a professor at the University of Austin, Texas. He died in 2007. Among his works listed in his obit is this book, which is described as a volume of poetry, but that does not begin to describe this unusual work. I don't quite know how to describe it. It contains what purport to be excerpts from a couple of letters, including one from the author to a friend. The whole project has as its subject Gilles de Rais, Joan of Arc's comrade-in-arms, Marshal of France and confessed child murderer. The story is told in verse with sections considering the "slaughter of the innocents" and "the marshal and the maid," and much else including his arrest and trial. It is a complex work. I have yet to read it, let alone digest it, but I shall, in time.

The book is pleasingly designed and replete with "illustrations derived and adapted from reproductions of old documents and portraits." (from the colophon page). It is printed letterpress.

The printer was a commercial printer and publisher and printed books for The Ark Press from the beginning of its existence. The Ark Press was the subject of two articles in the periodical The Private Library, both titled The Ark Press. The earliest (vol. 1, no. 3, July 1957, pp 34-39) was by John Mason who quotes the proprietor Kim Taylor extensively and includes several illustrations from early Press books. The later article (vol. 4, no. 5, January 1963, pp 90-94) is by the proprietor himself and readily compliments the earlier. Both issues can be found and downloaded here.

A note about the press name. Booksellers give the name of the press variously as 'The Ark Press' and 'Out of the Ark Press.' This stems from the fact that the title pages often bear the phrase "Out of The Ark Press." Mr. Taylor used this phrase to indicate that the book had come from the Press, as in it came "out of The Ark Press." This phrase is used on p. 34 of the 1957 article (quoting Mr. Taylor): I was soon . . . planning the first books out of The Ark, but it is clear from Mr. Taylor's consistent use of The Ark Press when referring to his press in both articles that he regarded that as the actual name of the press.

>87 Glacierman: Interesting, thanks for the information on The Ark Press. I have some interest in material relating to Jeanne d'Arc and Gilles de Rais, so I've added this to the search list. A shame about the book construction, but the material contained within sounds worthwhile, and the prices I've found in listing are quite reasonable.

Just received >66 Lukas1990:. Sadly, there was a sticker with a barcode attached to the lower part of the spine. It wasn't the strongest one but still some paint from the spine peeled off while I took the sticker off... A sacrifice to the book gods, I guess. Still a nice find for 10$! The book has an interesting history - there's a dedicatory page from the Davies sisters.

>89 Lukas1990: At ten skins, there's little to quibble about!!!! What a steal!

Phisicke is finally here!!! Here's a review for those unfamiliar with the book: https://booksandvines.com/2011/09/16/phisicke-against-fortune-by-francesco-petra...

What makes my copy special is that it includes 5 hand-colored woodcuts by Hans Weiditz from the original 1532 German edition!!!

Received two more from Fine Press Poetry - the last standard of A Short Story of Falling and one of the few remaining Metamorphoses. Both are up to Andrew's usual standards, with crisp printing and wonderful illustrations. I've not been disappointed by a book from him yet (nor do I really ever expect to be).

>91 Lukas1990: Glad to see someone here ended up with that copy! I’ve had my eye on it for years, but just couldn’t justify ordering a second of this book.

>93 NathanOv: I had my eye on it for years too but not for that asking price (although those old leaves alone might be worth a couple hundred). The seller had a very good offer last year but then suddenly Pennyroyal's Frankenstein came along and I had to politely refuse until now.

>89 Lukas1990: Amazing find at that price, congratulations.

In a shrewd and calculated move to stop myself spending north of 1 000 bucks on the complete Nonesuch Press Shakespeare I have restrainédly bought two volumes of a broken set, covering, by my estimation, ”a lot of the good stuff”. eBay shipping remains a good deal across the pond.

I imagine like many others on this forum, I desire a copy of Pericles by the Barbarian press, but have been unable to procure a copy. Instead I decided to contact Simon Brett to ask if he still had a copy of the engravings he did for the book, which had been made available as a portfolio.

http://barbarianpress.com/archives/pericles-simonbrett.html

There were 21 portfolios made, and at least 1 is in a public institution as the British Museum has a copy. They consist of 60 sheets, with every sheet signed and numbered, and 98 images which were engraved on over 140 blocks, contained within a solander box:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_2012-7068-1-1-60

Whilst this would normally be artwork rather than a book, the number of illustrations and their titles really means that you get a very good grasp of the synopsis of the play without the need of words. Judging by my number, there may still be a few copies remaining, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who is considering it. The cost is £1500.

Well, thanks to a generous friend, I received the following goodies just in time for my birthday:

Rose Valley Press
The Shoemaker's Christmas
The Juggler of Our Lady

Incline Press
Life and Times of Red, Print Shop Dog

Foolscap Press
Letters from Wittenberg
Report from the Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit....
New Foolszit Roman : finally, a typeface for the rest of us

A nice gift from a good friend. Made my day!

>92 Shadekeep: many thanks for your kind comments and support of my efforts both of which are very much appreciated.

>99 AJMoorhouse: My pleasure, Andrew. I truly feel that you produce some of the most beautiful books among the active fine presses these days.

>100 Shadekeep: Beautiful and affordable, with deep and meaningful content. I'm grateful to have been introduced to Fine Press Poetry and Mr. Moorhouse.

Just received Andrew Moorehouse's _Grimoire_ and _A Clorkwork Diorama_, two of my favorites from him so far. I appreciate his choices of illustrators who match the content; the clean, handsome look of his bindings; the choice of dimensions of his books to match content and art; and the accessibility of his work. (Thanks, Andrew)

Received The role of line in art from Strawberry Press (see also https://www.librarything.com/topic/302510#8435399). Something of a hidden treasure, since I knew nothing of the press beforehand and was delighted to find some fine press Wyndham Lewis. Below are some photos from my copy (#11).






Also picked up two from The Reading Room Press. One is Ha'nacker Mill, a chapbook that ChestnutPress posted about elsewhere. The other was the last copy of A Selection of Sonnets. Quite pleased with both of those as well.

A fine volume!

>103 Shadekeep: I also have Ha’nacker Mill, I am a big fan of Miles and the Reading Room press. I have looked at The Role of Line in Art before but haven’t pulled the trigger (though I have other works from the Strawberry press), does it read well?

>105 DMulvee: Do you mean content-wise or presentationally? It certainly is lovely printing, so no worries there. I'll read it tonight and let you know what I think of the content, but I expect it to be good.

>106 Shadekeep: The contents please! I like what I have seen from the presentation

>107 DMulvee: It was a nice brisk read. The preface by Paul is as interesting as the text itself, as the book has had a difficult genesis (the original being almost completely lost in a bombing raid). As for the essay and its postscript, it is essentially the argument that the abandonment of form and representation ("line") by the French Impressionists and later movements was the moment in which art moved from excellence to banality. Hardly a novel argument, even at the time, and one has heard similar death-knells sounded at every great change. But Wyndham's typical acerbic wit makes it enjoyable to read, and I had quite a few genuine chuckles at his deft turns of phrase.

Unless some other press has gathered and printed the material since this issuance, this volume is the only truly complete edition of the book as intended, with the essay, artwork, and postscript all together. That, combined with the fine craft of the book itself, makes it a pretty unmissable buy. That Paul is also a motivated seller means that one is getting a true bargain here, provided one finds the subject matter of interest. I do, and am very happy with the purchase.

Two Allen Press titles: Temptation of St. Anthony and Essays of Montaigne.

Arion Press, Melville Selected Poems. A fine copy in very slightly worn slipcase, one of the 26 lettered copies not numbered for sale, at less than half of original issue price.

Oddly, it also joined a fine (non-sunned!) copy of the Arion Press Rilke.

The first two Arion Press editions to join the only other single Arion Press book in my collection (Paradise Lost) that I've had for a while.

A sign that I'll come across a tremendous deal on the Don Quixote soon?

>110 abysswalker: Aim for Moby Dick!

>96 GusLogan:

For someone who hangs around on this forum, I do not often feel this way, but having handled two volumes of the Nonesuch Shakespeare I do not think I can live the rest of my life without the complete set. Hoist by my own petard!

Purchased one that I've been after for a couple years, Hunkering, the Last Gabberjabb (Perishable Press, 2006). Here's a description of it from the printer and publisher, Walter Hamady:

"Here is the fade-out volume of an unforeseen series begun in 1973. It was printed on our single-owner Vandercook SP-15 in more than 285 press-runs, utilizing a numerosity of colors, typefaces and papers — hand, mould and machine made. In addition to the usual lay-ons of languid letterpressing there is an affluence of unorthodox applications. This volume has been collaged, perforated, notched, rubberstamped, drilled, ticket-punched numbered, signed, grommeted, scribed, ear-tattooed, ponce-wheeled, time-clocked, dog-eared, embossed, shorthanded, corner-rounded, elliptically trimmed and three genuine studs. In addition, there are 79 illustrations."

"Hunkering" is the eighth in the Gabberjabb series, so there are a lot of elements that appear in eights. For instance, there are eight titles, eight signatures, eight title pages, etc. There is a photo essay of Hamady's childhood family photos; a reprinting of The Quartz Crystal History of Perry Township (Perishable Press, 1979), a book set in 6-pt Sabon; an inventory of all of Hamady's type; inter alia.

When I got to the dedication page at the end of the first signature, my stomach dropped and I realized that the wait had indeed been worth it. "Hunkering" is a completely personal, awe-inspiring work of art by Walter Hamady, who I think probably has a good claim to be the greatest book artist ever.

I was talking to Chad at Sutton Hoo about some of his other works, specifically Selections from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, and he offered me a chance to pick up one of his remaining copies of Who's Afraid of the Tasmanian Wolf? by Kenzaburo Oe. This was made for Rainmaker Editions. I've only found one copy in the wild on Abe, at significant markup from its original price, so the chance to buy it brand new from the printer himself was too good to pass up. It's a beautifully made book in a handsome clamshell, below are some of my usual sub-par photos.





Chad still has 3 copies on hand, so reach out to him if you desire a copy as well.

>114 Shadekeep:
How much?

>115 wcarter: yeah, would be great to know the price

>115 wcarter: >116 filox: Chad cut me a special deal since I was buying a lot of his titles, including some very early work under the Soundpost imprint. The Oe originally retailed for $450, which I think is low nowadays for a work of this quality. (Obviously the lister on Abe believes the same.) Drop him a line and see what he'll let them go for (https://www.thelastpress.com/contact).

As a side note, he and I were also talking about his Maple House Fellowships program, and it turns out he is still in regular contact with Allison Quam, who founded Zumbro River Press. I was able to buy some of her work through him as well, and he picked up more to hopefully list on his site. Ask him about those if you are interested, they are very nice pieces.

>116 filox: Original price works for me, $450

A Speech Introducing Albert Einstein, Two Ponds Press, 2015. Quarter leather over paper boards, hand-made paper from Velke Losiny, housed in a (red silk?) clamshell cover. Most of their books appear geared more to art than literature, the focus of this one interested me. https://www.twopondspress.com/george-bernard-shaw

Mallette Dean + Allen Press + A typeface other than uncial (Garamond)!

The Essays of Montaigne is a real gem!

>114 Shadekeep: Thank you, thank you for posting about this. I wasn't aware that any of Kenzaburo Oe's works had been done in a fine press format. After reading your post, I immediately emailed Chad and could get one of the remaining three. As books about Japan are one of my main collecting focuses, I am very glad to be an owner of this beauty.

>121 mnmcdwl: Fab, happy to help! And I hope you enjoy the book, it's a beaut in person.

Picked up a fine press immram that I didn't know was out there until I stumbled across it in another search. It's The Sea-Crossing of Saint Brendan from Birch Brook Press. I'm familiar with the tale, just didn't know it had gotten the fine press treatment. Was actually able to get a new copy from, of all places, Amazon. And it's genuinely new, not a shady bookjacker listing. The downside is that it had three stickers on the back bottom, all of which peeled off but one which left tacky residue. Still, happy to have the book.

And if anyone has suggestions on how to safely remove sticky residue from a paper-cover book, that would be appreciated.

>123 Shadekeep: have you tried gently rubbing with a rubber eraser like Staedler?

>124 ChampagneSVP: Not yet, but a good idea, thanks!

Snagged a copy of the Grabhorn Press edition of Joan the Maid of Orleans in fine condition. It took the USPS a month to deliver it from New York to New Jersey (after having given it up for lost), but all's well that ends well....

Just won the LEC Wind in the Willows in the PBA Galleries auction. I think I got an amazing deal. I always thought this was one of the most desirable LEC books and I always see it listed in worse condition for WAY higher than I paid, so I thought I’d have competition. Maybe I’m overestimating its desirability but regardless I’m super psyched. Rackham’s illustrations and book design by Bruce Rogers…can’t get much better!

Two recent acquisitions:

1. Mark Twain's The Jumping Frog: The Private Printing of the "Jumping Frog" Story (Cheloniidae Press, 1985). Quarter green crushed morocco over gray birch-veneer boards. Fifteen wood engravings by Alan James Robinson. Of 325 copies printed on T. H. Saunders mouldmade paper by Wild Carrot Letterpress, with the wood engravings printed by Harold McGrath, this out of series copy conforms to the Deluxe edition of 50 copies.

2. Physiologus Theobaldi Episcopi De Naturis Duodecim Animalium (Indiana University Press, 1964). An elephant folio (the size is 510 x 350 mm (20 x 13 3/4") in loose sheets, held in publisher's cloth solander box. This book contains twelve lithographs and ten woodcuts by Rudy Pozzatti. The lithographs, pulled at Il Torcoliere in Rome, are printed on Cartiere Enrico Magnani Pescia. The book was designed by George Sadek. The text was hand set in Emerson type and has been printed with the woodcuts from the original blocks on Rives paper in an edition of three hundred twenty-five numbered copies by Joseph Blumenthal at The Spiral Press, New York. All copies have been signed by the artist. The book is based on a popular bestiary text attributed to Bishop Theobald of Monte Cassino (who lived in 11th century), reproduced many times in manuscript form and first printed in 1492. The English translation is by a well known scholar Willis Barnstone.

Books printed by US fine printers begin to dominate my modest collection.

>127 Nightcrawl: I saw that auction, you did very, very well! I have a copy lacking the slipcase and am looking to upgrade, but wasn't prepared to bid on anything. It's a wonderful book, my favorite of the three Rackham did for the LEC.

>129 PBB: Thank you! The slipcase included with my copy is definitely a bit worse for wear, but I find that LEC slipcases in general are very difficult to find in good clean condition.

>130 Nightcrawl: Many slipcases from the first 10 years or so are hard to find in acceptable condition. I don't know if John Henry Nash/his workers made the slipcases for his LEC books, but nice copies seem rare. Some Mardersteig ones are the same way too. But it makes finding a nice copy so much sweeter!

>128 Lukas1990: I love Emerson type. I wish I had some.

Following on from my purchase of The Sea-Crossing of Saint Brendan from Birch Brook Press, I've gone down a bit of a rabbit hole with the press now. They seem to have published a number of interesting titles, including some "books on books". Anyway, I just acquired their quirky edition of Beowulf, translated and illustrated by Bertha Rogers. It's the hardbound version of their letterpress edition, a copy that happens to be an out-of-series press copy but otherwise fine. Both the art and the translation have a kind of "cottage DIY" ethos about them, departing from the usual scholarly or famous-poet approaches.

As a side note, thanks to Rollin from Heavenly Monkey, whose suggestion for removing the adhesive from the earlier book worked a treat. He suggested gently applying lighter fluid to the adhesive with a q-tip, and sure enough it neutralised the glue and I was able to rub it off in a series of passes. No discoloration to the paper from the fluid, either. I highly recommend this approach to anyone else looking to remove sticker residue as well.

>133 Shadekeep: You used that technique on the cover or pages in the text block?

>134 ultrarightist: The back cover, where a sticker had been applied to the paper wraps. The paper is textured, not sure if that had an impact on the cleaning process.

>135 Shadekeep: Another method I have used successfully many times is to use a bit of masking tape on the affected area, give it a light rub-down, then remove it, taking the remanent adhesive with it. It sometimes takes several tries before getting it all, but that it does work. The masking tape, being designed to remove easily, does not itself leave anything on the affected surface.

>136 Glacierman: Thanks, that sounds like it should work as well, perhaps I'll give it a go next time. Lighter fluid is not something I keep on hand as often as tape.

>128 Lukas1990: It's huuuge!

>138 Lukas1990: Ha, ha. That was my reaction when receiving the Bruce Rogers World Bible. If we ever have a tsunami, I'll be safe.

Just got my first Aralia Press book ‚Planting a Sequoia’ today. Beautiful printing! Thanks for the recommendation on this forum.

I also managed to upgrade my copy of Enūma Eliš to the quarter-vellum with bugra boards. I could not decide yet whether I like it more than the copy in Hahnemühle wrappers though.

Other acquisitions this trimester:
A fine copy of Bruce Rogers‘ Odyssey. Most tissue guards are in place, with only very minor offsetting where they are missing. Binding is very good. Couldn’t be happier.

Allochronologies by Sarah Hulmsey. Clever book design but little bang for the buck.

>138 Lukas1990: Looks fab! I'd love to see some more pics :)

LEC WitW arrived today and I couldn’t be happier! The book is NF as described and it’s a gorgeous production. The illustrations are arguably the best that have ever been produced for this novel IMO, and the printing is flawless (not surprising as it was supervised by Bruce Rogers, who also designed the book and signed the colophon.)

The monthly letter was not included, so I’m wondering if anyone can tell me what kind of paper was used? It also appears that the illustrations were tipped onto a different paper than that used for the printed text, or maybe just a heavier stock of the same paper? I can’t find a watermark, but it feels handmade to me.

I would appreciate any additional info that any of the knowledgeable folks here can provide.

>142 Nightcrawl:
More information and a link to the monthly letter can be found at-
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Groups:LIMITED_EDITIONS_CLUB

>143 wcarter: This is extremely helpful. Thank you!

>141 astropi: I will create a separate thread with lots of photos. This book is worth it.

Meanwhile, my latest acquisition is one of my holy grails - The Revelation of Saint John the Divine (Gregynog Press, 1932). Just won it at PBA Galleries auction. The binding is unevenly sunned and there's some spots of residue. Probably not attractive to serious collectors but I am OK with that. The price reflects this and wasn't THAT high.

Some crazy bidding was going on tonight. Calvino's Invisible Cities (Arion Press) comes to mind first at $5,625 (buyer's premium included). It was a war between two bidders, I believe. Cheloniidae Press' Jumping Frog at $562.50 (buyer's premium included) also made me shake my head.

>145 Lukas1990: I bid on GCP Chaucer and Cranach Press’s Canticum Canticorum but both went beyond my range.

>145 Lukas1990: Congrats! Was an early bidder on that one, but dropped out early.

>142 Nightcrawl: As far as I know this did not come with a monthly letter. Instead there was a booklet describing all three out of series books: Decameron, The Grapes of Wrath, WITW. All three were said to have rag paper. Assuming machine made. Otherwise they would have not missed the opportunity to specify if it was hand made. WITW is the one I don’t have but the other two are beautiful.

>146 Chemren: Those are beyond my range too, I didn't even bother bidding on them. Eric Gill is one of my favorite book illustrators though. I should get facsimiles of both works, they are available on the market. Folio Society's facsimile of The Four Gospels is a very nice volume that I am glad to own. Golden Cockerel Press' Song of Songs with a limitation of 750 copies is very high on my wish-list too and there's a great chance to win it on auction.

>147 dpbbooks: Thank you! That was one of the books which was reasonably priced (a starting bid of 600$). PBA Galleries estimate of 1200$-1800$ was waaaay to high. It's becoming a trend. Lots of unsold lots (haha) too.

>140 SebRinelli: I'm very intrigued by Sarah Hulsey's books and art, her pairing linguistics and book arts. I haven't taken the plunge on any of them, but Allchronologies is one I had considered. I'd love to hear your impressions of the book, see pictures, etc.

>150 DenimDan: I‘ll post some when I am back home next week!

>140 SebRinelli: "A fine copy of Bruce Rogers‘ Odyssey".

Wow! Congratulations! Can you smell the aroma of the ink? This is one of my many holy grails.

Received Singing Aloud from Incline Press, a charming little volume of broadsheet ballads. Got #50 out of the special run of 100, so this makes a nice "middle" book to go along with my one "first" and one "last" of limitation books.

Also received Song for the small hours, an interesting chapbook in that it's essentially a concrete construction of a concrete poem.

>123 Shadekeep: thanks for bringing this (Birch Brook Press edition of The Sea-Crossing of Saint Brendan) to my attention. I also picked up a copy, also from Amazon.

This book truly is a strange little beast, and though I'm glad I have a copy, I would hesitate to consider this "fine" press, as above all it gives a sense of being made by an amateur, though in a charming way. Like a hobby zine.

It is most definitely printed letterpress (the impression is palpable), and on reasonably decent paper too. But the layout is quite awkward, with cramped margins and line breaks that make following the text somewhat unpleasant. It almost gives the sense of something like a text file with line breaks being pasted into a docx file, but when examined it is clear that the design is intentional. Further, this decision on how to flow the text gives the impression of two columns (on a digest-sized/a5 page) without actually providing the benefit of a narrower column (which in any case is not needed on a page this size). Based on the introduction (the author is a professor of literature), I suspect this is intended to emphasize the "strong pause" that's supposed to break up each line, but for me it also makes it quite hard to track the lines with my eyes as I read.

Additionally, the binding feels to the touch like a cheap perfect binding (like one would get with an inexpensive print on demand booklet). I don't think there are sewn signatures, but I suppose it's possible they are concealed by the glue. I'm curious, what is your impression of the binding?

This might sound like I'm being extremely critical, but it's actually a pleasant little booklet, albeit with some quite odd design choices, and in any case I think it was around $30, certainly not fine press prices.

(My copy also had a stock sticker on the back cover.)

(Edit to note title.)

Here's a few images to illustrate what I was talking about:

>155 abysswalker: If I'm not mistaken, that is the sort of layout one would expect with Anglo-Saxon poetry, although I'm not used to having the second hemistich dropped down a line. That does make it a bit awkward. I'd rather they stay on the same line.

>154 abysswalker: It does have a quirky design aesthetic to it. I agree that the binding is probably the main factor keeping one from considering it "proper" fine press title. It does remind me however of the some of the 70s-80s output of presses like Toothpaste Press or Kit-Cat Press, though in this case I don't believe Birch Brook has used sewn signatures here. Still, it's a bargain price for a letterpress immram, especially one not available in many forms to begin with. As Glacierman points out, the layout is deliberate imitation of the period style, but I do concur it scans a little harshly to the modern eye. I tend to prefer a classical Grecian indentation format for the alternating lines, but can understand their desire to ape the original style.

>156 Glacierman: the Heritage Press Beowulf layout (probably the same as the LEC, though I haven't seen that interior) does the split approach beautifully without breaking the line:

>123 Shadekeep:
>154 abysswalker:

The Voyage of Saint Brendan: Journey to the Promised Land translated by John O'Meara, Dolmen Editions XXIII, 1976. One of 50 special copies (40 for sale), total edition of 750 copies.

>157 Shadekeep: Even books from small presses were printed letterpress for the trade. I'm looking at a first book by the poet Christopher Buckley, _Last Rites_ from Ithica House. They are not always well done, but fine printing wasn't always the goal. Nevertheless, it was the printed poetry books of the 80's that piqued my interest in fine press in the first place and got me interested in learning to print and starting my own press.

>159 dlphcoracl: That's just lovely all around!

>160 SuttonHooPress: Aye, there are a good number of poetry press from the time which are letterpress but more interested in the contents than in presenting an artistic book as the primary product (not that they are bad books by any measure). The Elizabeth Press of poet James L. Weil is a good case of this, with their series of solid cloth-bound and paper-bound volumes with competent letterpress work. They also produced some more "expressive" volumes with Japanese paper and stab binding.

>159 dlphcoracl: That's what I collect! Alas, probably impossible to acquire because of the very low limitation. The regular copies aren't THAT good.

>158 abysswalker: I own the LEC version and the coloring is just sublime

>159 dlphcoracl: That's a beautiful book with really nice use of Hammer's American Unical for the initials (and shoulder numbers). The colored woodcuts are delightful, very medieval. I remember Dolmen having some other very well done books, but the titles escape me.

Three new books landed through the post all at once. Two are new releases, the other is an older book bought new from the printer's own stock.

Birds & Flowers (Fine Press Poetry)
Ecclesiastes (Sutton Hoo Press)
Last Hour’s Light (Zumbro River Press)

This was on my wish-list for quite some time. Finally got it for a good price and in nice condition.

Euclid. Elements of Geometry Book One (Random House, 1944). One of 500 copies.

"In 1930, Bennett Cerf (1898-1971), the President of Random House, asked Bruce Rogers if he would be interested in designing an edition of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry, Book I. Rogers was of course interested, as he greatly admired the Byrne Euclid of 1847, but replied that he was then too occupied with the Bible and the Odyssey, and the matter was dropped for a dozen years. He then approached Cerf, who commissioned him to design and produce a limited edition which he had set in Goudy’s Deepdene Italic with fifty line-engravings of diagrams printed in a dozen different colours. It was printed by the Press of A. Colish on an English hand-made paper, the title-page decoration in silver and blue based on a woodcut by Gordon Craig (1872-1966), and the blue cloth stamped in silver. It was an elegant octavo and he said that it was produced to atone for his having failed geometry in college".

>166 Lukas1990: Thanks for the entertaining backstory for the ‘44 Euclid. I’ve been picking up BR books too recently, including this one just last month.

Are you aware of a good late career Rogers bibliography? I just made a list based on Blumenthal’s biography, but I don’t think it’s complete.

>167 Chemren: I have a BR bibliography, but unfortunately, it is from 1925, so not what you're looking for.

Just added a copy of Ecclesiastes from Sutton Hoo Press. Another excellent piece of work from Chad Oness. Highly recommended.

>168 Glacierman: I have BR bibliographies that go up to the early ‘40’s. Nothing for the last 15 years of his career though.

>166 Lukas1990: Congratulations! It’s been on my list as well, waiting for a good price. One thing that bothers me about the edition, though, is the introduction. I seem to recall reading part of it and thing “what the…?”

>167 Chemren: I'm not into bibliographies... Here's a link to some more info on Rogers' books (late period books included; when you enter the website, click on the links on the left).

https://fisherdigitus.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/show/brucerogers

>172 Lukas1990: Thanks. I appreciate the link. That Beatrice Ward volume looks interesting and hadn't been on my radar.

The Flower and the Leaf (Essex House Press, 1902). One of 165 copies printed on vellum!!! My first and probably last book on vellum, these are expensive... I got a good deal from a bookseller, though. I think this book is the most beautiful from the Essex House Press' 14-volume 'Great Poet Series' of small slim editions printed on vellum pages with hand-colored frontispieces and illumination. Change my mind!

Icones Veteris Testamenti
(published by William Pickering, London, 1830). This is a collection of 90 Hans Holbein's illustrations of the Old Testament engraved on wood.

This is probably not fine press. But I just wanted to turn your attention to an ultra-rare copy of the same book on vellum:

https://www.pirages.com/pages/books/ST16368/vellum-printing-hans-holbein/holbein...

Received my first two titles from Muttons & Nuts, Tamlane and Compensate.

Also cleaned out Vamp & Tramp of their remaining Aliquando stock by picking up Laudes Musicae and The Nuns and the Gardener.

Fun reading times ahead, methinks.

Snagged a copy of the Halcyon Press Lyrical Poems by Lord Byron, in really nice condition for a good price. Not nearly as elaborate a production as Halcyon's The Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales, but it has a frontispiece portrait of Lord Byron by J. Buckland Wright, so I'm happy to add this second volume from the press to my collection.

My partner and I both collect fine press printing. She buys the books she likes and I buy the books I like, and the system works pretty well. Or at least it did until a few weeks ago when we happened across a copy of the Minor Poems of Edmund Spenser from The Ashendene Press. As soon as we opened it we both knew that we wanted it. It was pretty pricey so we decided to split the cost. It was our first joint fine press purchase and buying that book together now means that we are stuck with each other. Forever!

A mad shopping in 2024:

- Barbarian : Pastoral Elegy, Marriage ot True minds
- Suntup : Mice and Men (preorder) and Dante (preorder, 5' ago!), the commentary volume seems promising, let's compare it with the FS !
- Conversation Tree Press : Peter Pan, House on the Borderland (preorder), Flowers for Algernon and Treasure's Island
- Lyra : Oz (winner of the lottery)
- Fleece Press : Spitsticks, All around the block
- Old School Press : Colours of the Cyclades, Palladio's Homes, Washi memories
- Nawakum Press: Maelstrom, Bonzai (preorder)
- Nomad : Moving and les oiseaux de France (preorders)
- Amaranthine : Catch 22, 2001

+ Few others in French won at auctions!

Now, I guess that the VISA company is mine!!

>179 Maretzo: Have you received Pastoral Elegies?

>180 DMulvee:
Ordered last week, and it will take more few days to cross the Atlantic! I you are interested, I can post some pictures.

I've reoriented my collection by letting go of most of my Arion Press and expanding to other publishers. 2024 so far:

Ascensius Press: Aeropagitica (preorder)
Nawakum Press: Bonzai Deluxe (preorder)
Suntup Press: Yellow Wallpaper Numbered (Ascensius Press did the printing)
Two Ponds Press: A Speech Introducing Albert Einstein
Allen Press: All for Love
LEC: Dubliners
Old School Press: Washi Memories (en route)
Tudor Black Press: Arden of Feversham
Indulgence Press: Bartleby
Nonesuch Press: Benito Cereno

>182 Maretzo: I’m a subscriber and paid at the start of March, I haven’t heard anything since then though! I’ll give it another few weeks but might then send an email and try to get an update

>179 Maretzo:
>183 LBShoreBook:

Two extraordinary sets of acquisitions. If either of you do not purchase another private press book in 2024, you will still have had an exceptional collecting year.

>184 DMulvee: I am in the same boat as you, DM. March subscriber payment, no word since. I'm not concerned, it's always takes longer than you think and I know Jan and Crispin are cranking away on "Bordering of the Sublime" as well as spending time with a grand-baby. They have their priorities in the right place!

I'm also waiting for my Thomas Paine title from Foolscap. If anyone has received theirs, please let me know.

>184 DMulvee:
>186 Sport1963:

I just received shipping notice for my subscriber copy last week. Estimated to arrive Tuesday. I suspect you'll hear from them soon.

>186 Sport1963: I got mine a while back (and I think some others on the forum did as well). It's good work, but a step back from the heights Peggy and Larry reached with Mandeville and Makine.

>187 zachp:
>188 gmacaree: Thanks!

My Gwasg Gregynog ordered arrived, a pleasing range of titles. Here's the photo, details in this post.

Picked up two more Eragny Press volumes and the Ashendene Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle at auction recently, along with the Einhorne Presse Die Vier Bucher von der Nachfolge Christi (1922). The latter is an amazing Folio volume that must be under the radar for most people, as I was the only bidder.

>191 Chemren: Jealous of the Ashendene; I love that book! Still get massive pangs of regret from not buying a copy on vellum several years ago!

>192 ChestnutPress: Not many vellum copies out there, 25 I think.

>193 Chemren: Indeed. Coincidentally, I was discussing the same copy with a friend last night. He is the one who bought it in the end, and he is now thinking of selling it. Sadly, its value has now sky-rocketed to way out of my reach.

>193 Chemren: As you likely know, that’s actually quite a lot of vellum copies for an edition, so still ‘reasonably’ feasible to track down for sale, just nowhere near affordable for me anymore. Vellum copies of anything tend to be in the very low numbers per edition, with an example discussed last night of being one of only two printed! Ashendene printing on vellum is something truly stunning though, and I can think of only one other press that printed better on it.

>195 ChestnutPress: I’m curious what in your opinion is the other press you allude to as having printed better on vellum? I have seen most of the Ashendenes printed on vellum, and they’re of course marvellous, it’s easily my favourite of the British private press output, but I think I preferred the doves press printing when it came to vellum.

>195 ChestnutPress: The only book printed on vellum I have in my collection is an Essex House Press book. They did entire runs of some of their books in vellum, so still relatively affordable.

>196 sanvito: The answer to who is better may surprise you. It’s the Caradoc Press! While generally regarded as a a very decent hobby printer output, it has to be said that a couple of the vellum editions I have seen are shockingly well printed. One edition featured, if memory serves me correctly, a spread with two colour printing, plus an engraving AND an etching; all flawlessly printed. Whatever my thoughts of typography or literary content might be on Caradoc, I just can’t fault his presswork on vellum!

And, yes, Doves printing on vellum is very fine, but Ashendene still pips it for me.

>197 Chemren: I used to have the Essex House Press ‘Deserted Village’ but sold it on as it just wasn’t aesthetically my thing, despite being vellum. I only have a handful of items on vellum, with the two main items being Colin Franklin’s ‘Printing and the Mind of Morris’ and ‘Poets of the Daniel Press’, both printed by Rampant Lions Press. I also have a small booklet from Bonnefant Press and a small number of mostly single-poem booklets.

>198 ChestnutPress: Thank you for surprising me, The caradoc press is one I’m only aware of by reading. It would be interesting to see a specimen of their vellum printing one day.

This made me think, since the topic has turned to vellum, and this is the new acquisitions post, that I’d show an acquisition that surprised me recently.

I bought a facsimile of an early medical treatise a few weeks ago, undated, but likely produced in the mid 20th century. The volume is folio, bound in limp vellum, & the seller claimed it was also printed entirely on vellum skin. Since the price was under 100 euros I was skeptical, and knowing how far the term “vellum” is stretched in the paper trade, I was expecting some kind of simulated parchment. But I was still intrigued by the photos of the listing, and so took a chance.

Anyway, the book arrived and to my surprise it is indeed a folio printed entirely on vellum. The more likely from the mid 20th century at least because the quality of vellum is (although beautiful) very natural, full of the variations inherent to the skin, and quite thick, unlike the supply of consistent pearly skins which morris & Hornby could rely on, never mind the very fine & thin vellum used in some of the oldest books of hours.

Goes to show that these things do turn up unexpectedly for sale, although I still know nothing certain about when it was printed or how many were printed on vellum, (I have come across a couple copies on handmade paper, also lovely, but similarly without colophons etc.)

It’s a beautiful production, and full of reproduced woodcuts from the 1500s.

Here are a couple pictures:

>200 sanvito: That’s a ridiculously good find!!! It defies belief that such items are out there for peanuts. And it looks stunning. Congratulations on an exceptional purchase

>201 ChestnutPress: Was definitely a bargain. It starts to make up for all the missed bids on other auctions that also went for next to nothing.

I imagine there could be a whole topic here dedicated to unexpected finds.

Pleasures of Princes, Together with The Experienced Angler (Cresset Press, 1927). One of 50 deluxe copies in full limp vellum, printed on Arnold's hand-made paper. For just 40$ that's a steal!

>203 Lukas1990: That's actually better than a steal. You can't get a decent set of lockpicking tools for $40.

Received the truly wonderful Frozen Hell from Areté Editions. It deserves all the praise it's getting elsewhere here.

Also had books from three different presses arrive all at once yesterday. Here's a snapshot of the lot.



The top row starts with the newest title from Factotum Pers, Dickninge, a book of poems about the months. The middle title is my first acquisition from Albion Books, abalone, a curious dos-à-dos printing in which the two poems are bound not upside down to each other, but rather with their back covers being a common element. The last item in the top row is one of the new chapbooks from Incline Press, My Orcha'd in Linden Lea.

The bottom row is all Incline Press, starting with another new chapbook, The Owl & the Pussy-cat. Next is Traveller's Hope, an older chapbook in a folded map envelope. And finally their new book, Punch & Judy, strikingly illustrated by Helen Moss. It's a delight.

>205 Shadekeep: Thanks for the tip to explore Albion books!

Also, I echo the praise for _Punch & Judy_. I would not consider myself a 17th/18th century comedy fan, but am finding it fascinating. I enjoy books with multiple genres--for this book: an historically focused introduction, the actual text, and then a secondary source of reportage. It's rich to see something from multiple perspectives in the same volume. And the illustrations are a perfectly combo of saturated colors--almost childlike--mixed with a touch of menace. (All my subjective experience)

I bought a numbered copy from Suntups Iam Legend for way below publication price and its magnificent.
Normally iam not a fan of Vellum, but here it is just superb together with one of the most beautiful spanish marbles boards I have saw for year's.
The Teton paper, with those deckled edges looks and feels very unique.

The Slipcase is nice and sturdy, but gets one point deduction for its not lined with suede or something similar. (Ludlow does this with theire Cases)

Pay day has finally ticked around again so we've ordered Moving by Hilary Painter and the Nepenthé edition of The Fall of the House of Usher. With my earlier order of Treasure Island from Conversation Tree Press, we're going to have quite the haul of Nomad-printed books coming this year. (The Moving Mountains poster has already arrived!)

I have acquired the three volume edition of 'Cupid and Psyche' from Clover Hill editions, and also 'A Clockwork Diorama' (presentation edition) from Fine Press poetry. I hadn't bought anything previously by the Fine Press poetry, but this looks fantastic, and I would recommend to others who are on the fence but haven't sampled a work, to take the plunge

>209 DMulvee: Very good! I just ordered that Fine Press Poetry title myself, along with ​Takk, to fill in the collection. The books are indeed superb, as they are made by John Grice from Evergreen Press.

>209 DMulvee: Congrats on the "Cupid & Psyche", one of the 1970's Fine Press highlights. Did you get the full navy morocco binding with the portfolio of 44 plates?

>211 Sport1963: Yes. I bought it at auction however the leather isn’t that clean! From a distance it looks ok, but up close not 100%. I was able to clean it a little, but as I don’t want to cause any damage so I have arranged for a bookbinder to do a professional job, before I spend too much time with it

Picked up some more from recent auctions - Grabhorn Press Leaves of Grass, Gregynog Esope, and John Henry Nash’s Dante. They should arrive next week.

>213 Chemren: All amazing acquisitions. What auction was this?

Bonham’s in New York recently.

>213 Chemren: Congratulations! Beautiful books.

>213 Chemren: That's a haul that would make any Fine Press aficionado's year! Congratulations, and if you are able, please post some pics of the Dante.

Received deluxe editions of Takk and A Clockwork Diorama from Fine Press Poetry, both continue the tradition of style and quality admirably. The artwork in the two could scarcely be more different from each other, yet each works pleasingly and appositely with the contents.

Items from Nick Gill at Effra Press, four of which I ordered and two of which were kindly included as extra items. Here's a pic of the lot, there was also some nice ephemera as well which are not shown. As usual, apology for the dreadful image quality, they looked better on the camera.



Top row: Two Sisters, The Moon Under Water, An Obscene Sonnet
Bottom row: Monologue for voices, A hundred words for snow, Jabberwocky (illustrated by the 7-year-old Aphra Gill)

A number of the titles are illustrated by hand in each edition. All editions of Monologue for voices have original ink illustrations, while Two Sisters features 13 original alcohol ink tip-ins. Both are quite beautiful in person. Here are a couple pics from Monologue for voices, an interior spread and the colophon. Due to a paper-quality issue on the numbered edition, this book only exists in the limited lettered state of 16 copies, and as the first person to request one I got my letter of choice.

>219 Shadekeep: if you ever do another order, I’d recommend picking up “A first week of paper making” from him also. It’s about 1,900 words on his attempts at making paper. There’s some variance in thickness and properties between different pages, leading to the whole thing feeling very organic. Some photos of the process tipped in.

Thanks also for the recommendation for the press in the first place, I was going to wait for photos but I couldn’t help myself. Monologue for voices also surpassed my expectations in person.

>220 ensuen: Very good, glad you're enjoying it too! And thanks in kind for your recommendation. Nick is currently over in Japan on another paper-making mission, so there may be further fruits in that space as well.

I’ll probably make a thread w/ photos for this once I can make the time, but in the meantime I’d like to share: A Long Hill Homeward by Tideline Press. URL: https://www.tidelinepress.org/a-long-hill-homeward . A substantial bit of text for something closer to an artist book, but the real feature is the absolutely delightful print layout. Variations of line length, location, layout, alignment, inside designs made from woodblock type, etc. I’m not really aware of another book like it, absolutely sensational read. (If there is another book like it, please do let me know.)

A couple of his other recent books are also currently available.

A chaos of particulars. Text excerpts positioned around woodblock letters. I’m afraid I don’t really have the vocabulary for describing it, but everything comes together really nicely in person. Again look at the pictures, in the hand it has a real sense of warmth to it.

The invisible fly: Printed version of a poem by Ronald Batz. I would recommend looking at the photos on his site for this, really fantastic decoration on each of the pages. Notably there’s an extra piece of I think either paper or Mylar sandwiched between each page. That extra “middle” page adds a fantastic amount of depth to the whole production. Truly stunning, I can’t imagine the time it took to put this together.

I’d really recommend checking them out, they have quickly become some of my most cherished books. I would also like to thank ChestnutPress for mentioning them in this: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359305#8473880 thread. Truly grateful.

I’ll also sneak a mention in of Angel Bomb’s Miskatonic Papers. https://www.angelbomb.com/publications/the-miskatonic-papers-5kd4r Essentially the written equivalent of a found footage movie. Well printed and designed. Very much a labor of passion by the artist for the amount of different pieces involved. I don’t really want to spoil any of the flourishes added, but if you have the money and enjoy horror/lovecraft you may (almost certainly to be honest, but how much can you really know an internet stranger) like it.

>222 ensuen: My pleasure!

>222 ensuen: A Long Hill Homeward looks spectacular, thanks for sharing this! Can I ask what the going price for it is?

It's a sterling example of the sort of collagist/concrete poetry school I love. I have seen other books of this sort, though obvious none is much like the others. It's more of a mode of creation than it is a fixed style, very much of the "you'll know it when you see it" type.

A good source for livres d'artistes of this kind is Vamp & Tramp Booksellers. I also recommend checking out the work of Mindy Belloff at Intima Press and the work of David Armes at Red Plate Press, particularly his Typographic Landscapes series. I'm working on acquiring a slate of his output myself.

>224 Shadekeep: thanks for the recs! I appreciate the extra vocabulary, I’ll look a bit more into that. The Red Plate press is very new to me, I’ll have to sit down and browse through some of it.

I’m planning on going to next year’s “ Manhattan Rare Books and Fine Press Fair” or perhaps another fair this year and hope to look at some of the Intima Press output at one of those. (open to ideas if there is a better event to go to)

I’m not really sure how to describe it, but I have the sense I would either leave their table with nothing or as much as I could afford. I’ve paged through some of the listings they have and have a hard time really feeling the energy of the work.

Some of it may be the current state of my book budget at the minute, perhaps in a quarter or two I will be more willing to spend money.

Pricing - Leonard is pretty fast with responding to questions that hit the Tideline press email listed on the site. I don’t think he has posted them publicly.

I just became the owner of this little treasure:

Runian. Poems by Chad Oness from Bergamot Press (1999). He expresses his inner flyfisherman. ~126 copies printed on dampened Johannot in Lutetia, sewn into wraps. Interesting images by Brad Naragon. Chad is also the proprietor of Sutton Hoo Press & The Last Press.

>226 Glacierman: Nifty! And one day someone will explain to me the curious juncture of fine press and fly-fishing...

I recently received a copy of the Nawakum Press A Descent into the Maelström.

A very lovely book. I'm so impressed by the inventiveness with all the unusual papers and, well, just the overall calibre and precision of the production in every department. Really, it's faultless. I can't think how else to put it.

Up to now, I've had a sort of rule in my fine press collecting that I would avoid spending big bucks on just a single short story, but I'm happy to have made an exception here (thanks to the praise the book has received on this forum!).

>228 GardenOfForkingPaths: I recommend "A Bonsai-Shaped Mind & Postures of the Heart", Nawakum's newest release.

>229 Sport1963: A Bonsai Shaped Mind looks absolutely gorgeous; colours, textures, layout - all supremely tasteful.

I'm excited to see how the Hermann Hesse edition turns out next year as well. The little picture shown on the website is lovely.

>228 GardenOfForkingPaths: I agree that it is a lovely and well made book, and deserve an exception! I have made and still make many exceptions over the time!!
I appreciate the choice of paper made by Navakum, and that probably explains the high cost per printed page!

>231 Maretzo: Indeed!

I think when I started collecting, my sense of value was definitely more based on page count than it is now. I guess that's understandable because with a novel length work you will usually spend more time with it during any given reading, and that seems like more time to appreciate the nice qualities of the production.

However, a shorter work in the same price range is more likely to use nicer papers, manual printing, and sometimes have more scope for unusual and inventive fine press elements, which is all very pleasing in a different way.

The Plays of Euripides (Gregynog Press, 1931). Two huge volumes (378 x 250 mm) printed on Batchelor special making of GG watermarked hand-made paper. Each volume has 16 engravings designed by R. A. Maynard and H. W. Bray and cut on wood by H. W. Bray, the subjects chosen from 5th century Greek vase paintings. This was the most expensive book published by the famous Gregynog Press. I'm very excited!

>233 Lukas1990:

The Plays of Euripides (2 vols.) is the largest book printed by the Gregynog Press, both in physical size and in number of printed pages, but it is not the most expensive. In fact, it is one of the least expensive Gregynogs and as such, it is an exceptional value. The most expensive Gregynog Press books are The Fables of Esope, The Life of Saint David and the Revelation of Saint John the Divine.

A batch of specials from Larkspur Press plus one of the new chapbooks. Also ordered the Planting Trees broadside, which is lovely and quite large. I've removed the paper covers in this photo to show off the marbled wraps.



Top row: The Stackpole Legend, A Rainbow
Bottom row: The Melancholy Teacher, Heresy - A Rime
Also shown: Home-Place chapbook

>234 dlphcoracl: I meant it was the most expensive Gregynog book ever produced (via Harrop). Over the years it declined in value and it is very good for us collectors :)

>236 Lukas1990: Indeed! The limitation of 500 was far too large for the market conditions. Many copies were (for which read ‘had to be’) given away to Welsh institutions both major and minor and even some of the specials were still being bound up into the 1950s. It’s been unloved by the market ever since. As Harrop opines, ‘a sad fate’.

Today, it rates with the Cresset Press Bacon ‘Essayes or Counsels Civill and Morall’ as having one of the most outstanding quality/price ratios in the classic private press field. Even better, the tough and fade-resistant ‘Sundour’ cloth helps maintain average condition significantly above that of the average 1930s press book (unlike the Cresset).

I recently received To Be Sorted 2 by Andy English. This is a small book which contains 10 wood engravings. It is an absolute bargain at just £48, with the proceeds going to charity. There are just 26, so they won't hang around long but can be purchased via his Etsy shop

>233 Lukas1990: As others have stated - the Gregynog Euripides is a bargain relative to comparable Private Press titles. The specially bound version (there were 25 specials) of both volumes bound as one folio is one of my favorites. My copy is one of 16 that were bound in 1952 by John Ewart Bowen at the National Library of Wales. It is polished russet brown Levant morocco, gilt-blocked figures of Apollo on upper board and Achilles on lower board, each within triple gilt-ruled borders, spine with raised bands, lettered in gilt, teg; custom felt-lined wood slipcase.

Photo below:

>239 Sport1963: Wow, that is a gorgeous binding!

>239 Sport1963: I wasn't aware of the specials. Excellent cover. Probably very rare for it to pop up on the secondary market.

>238 DMulvee: Nice, thanks for posting! I had checked out his work before but haven't acquired any yet. By any chance you also have Nocturnal? The special of that is tempting too.

>241 ultrarightist: 😈

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31694398768&cm_sp=snippet-...

>238 DMulvee: I'm pleased that you liked it and thank you again for supporting this project. If anyone else is interested, I have a dozen left and postage is free worldwide (as it is with all my available books on islehandpress.com)

Creation Matters by Helen Moss (née Morley)

>245 Shadekeep: Great stuff!!

The Mirrour of the World (Allen Press).

Whitman Sampler by Richard Wiley, illus. by Jim Lee (Perishable Press, 1999). Edition of 121 on kurotani takogami paper. Text set in Gill Sans, with the titling in Gill Sans Shadow. Four five-color woodcuts in the style of ukiyo-e.

>248 DenimDan: Had to search that one up, looks beautiful!

>249 Shadekeep: It is a beauty. I bought this one second-hand. I thought the seller had forgotten a zero at the end of the price, but it was the same price that they wrote on the ffep.

Just received a nice big package of chapbooks and ephemera from Quarto Press (UK). Most of this is older stuff printed in the 70s, but fine work all the same. Certainly a bargain for folks looking to get into fine press on the lower cost end, and a great chance to get some classic letterpress new instead of aftermarket. PM me if you'd like title recommendations.

I just got the Grabhorn Press editions of Figure Prints of Old Japan and Landscape Prints of Old Japan, to move me closer to completing my set of the Grabhorn press woodblock print books

>253 jsg1976: This sounds lovely!

Two works arrived in the past 24 hours, the lettered version of Conversation Tree Press' Flower for Algernon, as well as the deluxe version of Endgrain Edition's 4 Simon Brett by the Barbarian press

Slowly but my collection of Cheloniidae Press books is growing. Some of the finest books from US, highly recommended. The printing by Harold McGrath is perfect, Gray Parrot bindings are always fine and Alan James Robinson is a top artist.

My latest purchase is An Odd Bestiary (Cheloniidae Press, 1982). One of 50 deluxe copies bound in 1/4 morocco by Gray Parrot, printed by Harold McGrath at Hampshire Typothetae. This folio-sized book is illustrated with 26 initial linecuts and 26 wood engravings by Alan James Robinson. Each animal description has a different author, a decorated initial (linecut), and a wood engraving (4" x 6" or larger). There is also a suite of 26 engravings, with the initial letters (A-Z) hand-calligraphed by Betsy Curtis; the suite and book are contained in a quarter morocco drop back box. The colophon features an entire alphabet calligraphed in red by Betsy Curtis and signed in pencil by Robinson.

Barry Moser: "It is an exemplary marriage of text, type, calligraphy and images".

Might be my bargain of the year: Alphabetum Romanum, by Felice Feliciano Veronese, Officina Bodoni (1960). Paid 50$ for the rare version bound in full morocco. Description says there's some wear and dampstaining to the boards but inside is clean.

Review here (quarter leather version):
https://booksandvines.com/2012/06/15/alphabetum-romanum-by-felice-feliciano-vero...

50!!! Wow!!!

>257 Lukas1990: That's a crazy good deal, even if you have to do a complete rebind. Congrats Lukas, and post some pics when the artifact is in your hands.

>257 Lukas1990: Great catch! At that price I would have worried I misread things and was actually buying the prospectus, not the book. ^_^

Was able to add to my reference collection at a very good price a copy of Peter Koch Printer: A Descriptive Bibliography (1975-2016). 3 12" x 9" volumes, weighing in at slightly over 6 pounds. Not what you might call light reading.

>261 Glacierman: If I'm not mistaken, a couple hundred pages of that are complete facsimiles of out-of-print works that are incredibly hard to find on the secondary market.

So, certainly not "light-reading," but also not the slog through three volumes of bibliography that the title makes it sound like.

>262 NathanOv: Yes. Vol. 2, titled Hard Words includes facsimiles of Liber Ignis and The Lost Journals of Sacajawea. Two exhibition portfolios, Hard Words and Nature Morte, are presented in their entirety as well.

Some time ago I bought the second volume of Crusader Castles (Golden Cockerel Press). Now I've found and bought the first volume to complete the two volume set. I usually avoid buying separate volumes but this time it worked great. I've saved a lot of money.

>263 Glacierman: Man, that's great it has all that content! Quite a plum catch indeed.

I recently acquired the English version of the Cranach Press Hamlet (1930); the many synergistic elements make for a complex production. Appreciation of the work deepens with a panoramic view, i.e., verso and recto presented together.

Given the Cranach Hamlet's macro beauty, would there be interest in a full high-quality scan of the book?

>266 PatsChoice: Possibly!

Back in 1972, Benjamin Blom, Inc., a publisher of facsimiles of primarily early books, published a full facsimile of this marvelous production with vellum spine & corner tips, paper sides. It was printed on a nice laid paper and came in a slipcase and had an accompanying 8 pg booklet on the printing of the original slipped into a pocket on the rear pastedown. The retail was, if my memory serves me well, $75.00. Current value is around ten times that. I sold my copy years ago during a time of financial duress, an action I have regretted ever since.

>267 Glacierman: That facsimile does look great! Do you know if it is letterpress-printed and generally done by hand? The Basilisk Press's attempt at creating a worthy imitation of the Kelmscott Chaucer went to such heroic lengths.

>268 PatsChoice: It was not a hand crafted production. Like the other facsimiles Blom did, it was printed offset. It was not intended to exactly replicate the original, but nonetheless, it was a lovely piece of work that served to bring some of the beauty of the Cranach edition to a larger audience. It made me wonder what it would be like to fondle an original!

>269 Glacierman: I'm sure it is wonderful. The UC Press's facsimile production of the Arion Press Moby-Dick is also printed offset, yet gives a strong impression of what the genuine article is like. It's a great boon that reproductions of some of the peaks of private press are done so well.

>266 PatsChoice: How nice, and yes, some photos would be lovely. I've heard nothing but high praise of this edition, with some folks placing it in their short lists of the best letterpress works ever.

>266 PatsChoice: Were you the lucky winner of the recent PBA auction copy?

Finally ordered the Tallone Editore Emily Dickinson, which should arrive in a couple of days. I have wanted a fine press Dickinson collection for a while but couldn't decide between Tallone and Arion. They both look lovely but very different.

I have the Tallone Neruda collection (Summary) and love it, so I'm pretty confident I'll enjoy this one too.

Maybe the Arion edition too... sometime in the future!

>273 GardenOfForkingPaths: Oh, nice! Would like to hear more about it when you get it. I keep meaning to acquire some Tallone and have heard good things about the Dickinson. Pretty sure the Neruda will be one I get myself when I finally commit.

>274 Shadekeep: Dickinson and Neruda are the same two Tallone editions that I own, and they are both top notch examples of hand-set typography and printing. Highly recommended, especially for the price.

>273 GardenOfForkingPaths: >274 Shadekeep: >275 Nightcrawl:
There’s a copy of the Tallone edition (1988) of Shakespeare’s Sonnets on Abebooks. Reasonably priced, and well worth it, IMO.

>274 Shadekeep: Will do! I agree with >275 Nightcrawl: on the Neruda Summary. The copy I have is one of the 200 printed on the 'Sicars' white laid cotton paper, rather than the tinted 'Sant'Ilario' paper edition that is currently available from Tallone. Both are nice, IMO, but if you don't fancy the tinted paper you could keep an eye out on Abe for the Sicars paper. One word of caution: there's a copy of Summary in the Sicars paper currently on Abe - I bought it last year and returned it due to foxing. It was an honest mistake by the seller. I later found a Fine copy.

I really like the Tallone Italic font for poetry and it felt like a good fit for Dickinson (from the pictures I saw online).

>276 kermaier: It looks lovely. If I didn't already have the Arion Sonnets and wasn't fighting for shelf space, I would be very tempted!

>275 Nightcrawl: >276 kermaier: >277 GardenOfForkingPaths:

Thank you all! Looks like my next "bulk buy" will be from Tallone once my Fleece order clears.

>277 GardenOfForkingPaths: You can never have too many editions of the Sonnets!
I have Tallone, New Albion, Folio Society (letterpress Shakespeare and 1972) and Thornwillow.
Hmmm — maybe that is too many….

>279 kermaier: Sounds reasonable, really. Plus there's the nice subset volume A Selection of Sonnets from Reading Room Press.

>280 Shadekeep:

A little gem from Dr. Miles Wigfield that was an inspired idea, beautifully designed and printed. Only 50 copies were made and it very quickly sold out.

>281 dlphcoracl: Oh, that does look lovely! Unlikely I’ll see one on the secondary market, alas.

As for my own modest recent acquisitions, I picked up my first Heavy Duty Press title, For Dust I Am, and a slew of titles from Red Plate Press. The latter falls more into the experimental typography subcategory of letterpress and is quite pleasing.

>271 Shadekeep: Thank you. I'll try to make a post this weekend.

>272 Nightcrawl: I was. It is deflating in a sense because I now inevitably compare it to other productions that haunt my want list; for the most part, they no longer scintillate so keenly. I feel like I'll be chasing the dragon going forward. On the other hand, it is very much a good thing because I've acutely become a more discerning collector (in my own way—de gustibus non est disputandum) and will prioritize great triumphs and rare opportunities over volume.

I am aware this is an absurd first-world problem and apologize if I sound self-indulgent. There is certainly still plenty to marvel over (such as the Saint Dunstan Editions).

>276 kermaier: I knew about the availability of that copy of William Shakespeare's Sonnets printed by Tallone. It is usually unavailable and here it has been offered by a respectable Italian seller.
By mentioning it here you pushed me to acquire it (through eBay).
Thanks!

>283 Shadekeep: Very fond of David's experimental book works and keenly await the new set when they're completed. His extremely competent, creative letterpress work should be supported and collected. For those not familiar, see here: http://www.redplatepress.com/books.html

>286 Jamie_Murphy: Agreed, and now that I have the works in hand, they are even more impressive. I especially like the titles from the Typographic Landscapes series, compact "text paintings" that are rich with symbol and meaning.

>285 Transfixed: it’s a bit surprising how hard it is to find these for sale, yet how inexpensive they often are, once found. Enjoy!

>288 kermaier: Before, I succeeded to find Tallone's Hamlet on Amatruda handmade paper with one of 80 signed lithographs by Fabrizio Clerici for €280. And nobody was buying that!

>289 Transfixed: Incredible find, congrats!

This was my first order directly from Tallone. An all round very pleasing experience. Firstly, the packaging was a work of art with at least 6 thick layers of cardboard and numerous corner supports and inserts - all the things that warm the heart of any international collector. The book was stylishly gift-wrapped in red as, somehow, I imagine only an Italian fine press would do.

I'm relatively young in my fine press collecting and don't have the experience or collections of many members here, but I do have a smattering of Barbarian Press, Chiswick Press, Rampant Lions, Allen Press etc, and the absolute crispness and consistency of the printing in the Tallone has to be right up there. I don't have a macro lens to really capture it, unfortunately. A lovely way to experience these wonderful poems. Highest recommendation.

One of the great things about fine press books is the sheer variety of styles out there, but I would also be very happy to own an entire shelf of these. I wish I spoke Italian! If any forum members have experience of their A Discussion About Printing, one of their bilingual editions, I would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

>290 GardenOfForkingPaths: Beautiful photography as always!

>290 GardenOfForkingPaths: Beauteous, thanks for sharing! Very enabling.

>259 Sport1963: The book has arrived today with... mould on some of the pages! Arrrgh! Never happened to me before.

>293 Lukas1990: You got the mold discount, apparently

>294 ultrarightist: The description said "pages clean" :( I still need to open another package that I received today with Cheloniidae Press' Odd Bestiary in it. Should make me feel better.

>295 Lukas1990: Mold merits automatic return/refund, imo.

>293 Lukas1990: I agree with ultrarightist - that's a refund situation.

>270 PatsChoice: Thanks for posting about the facsimile of the Arion Press Moby-Dick. It looks great, and I've just ordered one. I've been meaning to revisit the book, which I haven't read since I was an undergraduate (thirty years ago!). I think this will be a nice edition with which to reacquaint myself with the story.

>298 TheTotalLibrarian: did you get the trade edition or the deluxe UC edition? I suspect >270 PatsChoice: was referring to the deluxe, which is itself rather scarce and expensive on the secondary market. The deluxe has no dust jacket and is in a slipcase.

>299 abysswalker: Thank you. I appreciate the clarification as I didn't realise that! I got the standard hardback edition which I'm hoping will be a pleasurable reading experience. I think the Deluxe edition might be a bit much money-wise for me at the moment as I've got outstanding commitments with The Fleece Press, and there is a new Incline Press book out too. There's always something nice to buy, isn't there!

Got a full refund for the mold. It makes me sad to see such a wonderful book basically destroyed, so disrespectful... I see no use of it. Maybe I will wait for winter and try to kill the mold.

Meanwhile, today I opened another package which made me happy:

>301 Lukas1990: Well done. As for the Mardersteig, nothing ventured, nothing gained - and glad you were able to get a refund. I do know that disappointed feeling when a book turns out to be "uncollectible".

The Allen Press "Mirrour of the World" is a fine substitute. Congrats

An Odd Bestiary is amazing! One of the best books I've seen.

>303 Lukas1990: very nice! harold mcgrath never misses

>303 Lukas1990: utterly magnificent!!

>301 Lukas1990:

It's reasonable. Mold is always an auto return for me.

>303 Lukas1990: How splendid!

Received the latest Incline Press release, The Book, The Whole Book, and Nothing But, and happily with the marbling I was most hoping to get amongst the styles shown on the website. Also picked up an earlier title, The Long Journey, which is quite pleasing as well.

On the same day received the two poetry chapbooks printed by John Grice of Evergreen Press for Sue Leigh, Simmer Dim and CHALK. Lovely editions both.

>308 Shadekeep: Out of interest, what was your preferred marbling? (I also received mine a few days ago, and was equally delighted)

>308 Shadekeep:
Enabled for the Incline Press "The Book ........"
Thanks.

>309 sanvito: It's the "pale lemon yellow with orange blots" style seen on the top of the book pile in the photo here: https://www.inclinepress.com/shop/the-book-the-whole-book

Which style did you receive? They all look nice from what I've seen of them.

>310 wcarter: A pleasure, I hope you enjoy as well!

A Selection of Aesop's Fables (Chamberlain press, 1984).

Here's some photos:

https://www.etsy.com/dk-en/listing/1125269775/a-selection-of-aesops-fables-trans...

>312 Lukas1990: That’s a lovely little edition, Lukas!

John's Apples (Perishable Press, 1995). Twelve poems by Reeve Lindbergh, thirteen paintings by John Wilde. Handset in Syntax. Handbound by Walter Hamady, with a circular die cut on the uncovered front board revealing one of the Wilde paintings. Ostensibly, it's an illustrated children's book of poems about apples. But it also takes as its subject how books come to be made, so there are some musings on typography, uncut proofs of the paintings (reproduced on a Heidelberg CPC), and some immaculate printings of the poems on very thin Japanese paper.

The Song of Songs Which is Solomon's (Printed at the Riccardi Press for Philip Lee Warner, Publisher to the Medici Society, 1909)
and
The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Printed at the Riccardi Press for Philip Lee Warner, Publisher to the Medici Society, 1909).

Both books are bound in limp vellum. These are my first books from this publisher.

Next week might bring some interesting auction results :)))

>315 Lukas1990: which auction may I ask?

>316 Nightcrawl: That's a secret 😈

My latest random purchase -
An Essay on Typography by Eric Gill (London: Sheed & Ward, 1931). This is the first edition which is included in A Century for Century list of the hundred greatest printed books of the twentieth century.

Received Type Bountiful, the last fine press title from Gaspereau Press in their current form. A splendid final volume, in a clever envelope case.

Youth (Allen Press, 1959). Can't believe I got it!

Also added The History of Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Nonesuch Press, 1935) to my collection. It's a good day!

>320 Lukas1990: An impressive edition of the work, arguably the finest (at least in English).

>318 Shadekeep: It’s a great volume. Steeves’s essays, as well as the design and presswork, are typically excellent.

>320 Lukas1990: One of the finest of all Nonesuch editions. A superB addition to any fine press collection

>321 ultrarightist: and >323 ChestnutPress: This book was on my radar for a very long time. I already own the Limited Editions Club version which is also nice. My only problem is that I've already read Herodotus. I hope I will want to read it again in the future. If not, I hope my son will. He's three years old :D

I am much more excited about Youth (Allen Press). Richard de Bas handmade paper, handpress printing, Blair Hughes-Stanton artwork (each linocut required 9 inkings). One of the best books from one of the best fine presses. The only other book from the Allen Press I need is Poeticon Astronomicon. I would also be happy with the first edition by Erhard Ratdolt haha.

Here's a review of Youth by Chris Adamson:
https://booksandvines.com/2014/01/30/youth-by-joseph-conrad-allen-press-1959/?no...

>324 Lukas1990: Nice! What other Allen Press books do you have in your collection, and which are your favourites?

>319 Lukas1990: Wow, that’s near the top of my wish list! Congrats!
Where’d you find it?

>324 Lukas1990: Congrats on both wins! I was able to finally find the last missing piece of my Cresset Press collection at that same auction…the Nonesuch Herodotus looks like it’s unusually stellar condition!

>325 GardenOfForkingPaths: I own these books by Allen Press:

1. Essays of Montaigne (1948);
2. The Mirrour of the World (1965);
3. Dialogues of Creatures Moralized (1967)
4. The Temptation of St. Anthony (1974);
5. The Oresteian Trilogy (1982-1983).

Actually, I can't decide which one I like the most. All of them are beautiful in different ways. Handpress on dampened paper is the best way of printing, in my opinion.

>326 kermaier:
Thanks. I found the book on Invaluable.com. The auction house is called Jeschke Jadi Auctions Berlin gmbh. I'll save a lot of money on taxes. It is very rare to find such books outside of US and UK. I thought I'll have a lot of competition for Youth but I one with a starting bid!

>327 newdigate: Thanks! I didn't even notice there was a lot with a book by the Cresset Press. Which one may I ask? The only book by this publisher I still need is Paradise Lost. Probably their magnum opus and pricey! I also considered getting that Shakespeare Head Press Malory but decided to save money for some more easily readable texts.

>328 Lukas1990: Ah, I see that auction now — some nice stuff, though it would have been difficult for me to participate in German, and shipping to USA probably would be expensive.

Interesting: I have six Allen Press titles, but none in common with your collection…. :-)

>328 Lukas1990: Sure, it was Gogol’s Diary of a Madman—one of thirty copies on HMP with an extra suite, rebound by Gray Parrot.

Paradise Lost is definitely worth the chase. I’ve got a set in the buckram bindings but have seen it in a deluxe binding variously described as pigskin, vellum or ostrich! It looks like “hairy” vellum to me in this listing: https://www.lyonandturnbull.com/auctions/rare-books-maps-and-manuscripts-391/lot...

Allen Press books are so lovely. Printing with a Handpress (1969) is my personal favorite but I like almost all of them.

>328 Lukas1990: Well, a chance is coming up for Paradise Lost! Both the regular and special bindings are up in the next Bonhams Skinner auction in Boston. Good luck!

>331 newdigate: Thanks, I might participate in that auction. The condition of the books is not very desirable though...

This is a long one, as I always feel some description is warranted!

Some of the fine additions to my shelves recently:

TWO TALES OF THE SUPERNORMAL AND THE INEXPLICABLE by Ulric Daubeny
(The Last Press, 2024)
This impeccable new publication from Chad Oness is the typically top-tier quality I have come to expect from his work. Designed and printed by him in Perpetua and Open Kapitalen. Out of an edition of 65 copies, mine is one of 27 copies on Magnani Velata Wove mould-made paper in University of Iowa Center for the Book pc4 flax handmade paper wrappers.

A superb selection of items from Griffin Gonzales’s No Reply Press, which continues to deliver ever-improving excellence to my shelves:

A HUNGER ARTIST by Franz Kafka, illustrated by Iri Smich (2024)
Printed in Baskerville and Victoria Titling on Hahnemühle Biblio mould-made paper. Of the edition of 335 copies, mine is one of the deluxe copies hardbound in dark grey paste papers over boards, with a cream paper spine.

THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH by Leo Tolstoy, illustrated with monoprints by Clive Knights (2024)
Printed in Joanna with Gordian Kapitalen on Hahnemühle Biblio mould-made paper. Of the edition of 75 copies, mine is one of the 15 ‘publisher’ copies hardbound in dark blue-green paste paper over boards.

THE TELL-TALE HEART by E. A. Poe, illustrated by Rūta Kuzmickas (2024)
Printed in Perpetua on Hahemühle Biblio mould-made paper. Hardbound in muted dull pink Saint-Armand machine-made paper over boards, with a pale cream ‘elephant hide’ paper spine, in an edition of 250 copies.

SAGOYEWATHA’S ADDRESS TO JACOB CRAM, illustrated with a sketch by Claire (that’s all the info given!) rendered as a woodcut by Griffin Gonzales (2024)
Printed in Jenson on Schutpapier Simili Japon paper and softbound in covers of dark grey Saint-Armand handmade paper in an edition of 200 copies.

CINDERELLA by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Lena Gonzales (2024)
Printed in Weiss on Cotton Flurry machine-made paper, softbound in pink hand-painted paper wrappers in an edition of 110 copies. There is something of the charming nature of Vance Gerry’s books about this edition.

TYPE BOUNTIFUL by Andrew Steeves, illustrated with wood engravings by George Walker.
(Gaspereau Press, 2024)
This excellent series of essays is sadly the last book from Andrew Steeves under the Gaspereau Press imprint, but thankfully not the last book of his as he plans to continue fine press publishing under a new private imprint. The edition of 70 copies has been designed and printed in Palatino on Arches Johannot mould-made paper, with the engravings printed on Gampi Itaboshi handmade paper. Hardbound by Andrew in full grey cloth, with a black wraparound envelope printed with a wide range of typefaces.

Also from Gaspereau Press, the latest in Andrew’s ‘Henry’ series;
WHERE THE PRESSED EARTH SHINES MOST by Henry David Thoreau.
(Gaspereau Press, 2024)
Designed and printed by Andrew in Juliana and Samson Uncial on Zerkall irregular-laid mould-made paper, softbound in orange Zerkall Ingres mould-made paper wrappers in an edition of 115 copies.

NIGHT PIECE by Carol Moldaw, illustrated by Lana Lambert.
(St Brigid Press, 2024)
I love Emily Hancock’s St Brigid Press editions and her latest miniature jewel is no exception. Designed and printed by Emily in Goudy Old Style on French Parchtone paper, softbound in covers of black paper marbled in gold and silver, in an edition of 110 copies.

LYFE OF SAYNT MARGARETE, illustrated with woodcuts by Jorge Lar, recut after medieval originals.
(Prelo, 2024)
Anything from Jorge Lar’s Prelo imprint is a must-have on my shelves. This latest booklet, printed in Nürnberger Schwabacher type on gorgeous pale stone Ruscombe Mill handmade paper on a replica 15th century wooden handpress, is his latest offering, published as part of his ‘Here be dragons’ series in an edition of booklets.

SIMMER DIM by Sue Leigh, illustrated with a wood engraving by Paul L. Kershaw.
(Privately published by the author, 2024)
This is such a fine example of John Grice’s work at Evergreen Press (who the author commissioned for this booklet). It is a great example of exceptional results that simply rely on restrained typography and beautiful materials. Designed and printed in Centaur and Arrighi on Paper Foundation Old Cleeve handmade paper. Softbound in French-folded covers of sage Barcham Green Turner Grey handmade paper in an edition of 100 copies. Impeccable!

Older books that I’ve gotten my mitts on:

I finally got a copy of the superb SEWANEE POEMS by Richard Tillinghast, illustrated by Joseph Winkelman.
Designed and printed by John Grice Evergreen Press for The University of the South, 2009.
Out of 1,000 copies this is one of the standards full-bound in purple cloth. Printed in black and purple, in Caslon, Gresham and 15th Century Initials, on Somerset Book mould-made paper.

Also from John Grice, an early commission from Philip Sharpe and Andrew Judd’s MKB Editions,
TREES: AN ALPHABET by Philip Sharpe, illustrated with linocuts by Andrew Judd.
(MKB Editions, 2006)
This magnificent edition is a huge clamshell portfolio containing a set of loose sheets printed with tree-themed poems and illustrations for each letter of the alphabet. Printed in Baskerville on Zerkall mould-made paper in an edition of 37 copies, of which 26 were for sale.

>333 ChestnutPress: Ah, splendid! Nearly all of those I've acquired as well, and they are delightful.

I returned from vacation to discover that a series of orders placed over quite a range of time had all arrived together. Here are the typically awful photos to accompany the lists.

Fleece Press titles offered by Simon in his big backstock clearance.



· The Death of Charles Stothard
· Land, sea & sky
· A Pretty Mysterious Art
· A Lakeland Diary
· Of Gardens

Taller Gráfica de Comala titles and ephemera (including a little branded tote for the books)



· A cuarenta años de la fundación del Taller Gráfica de Comala
· La Calavera Tapatía
· La Historia del Gato del Padre Tembleque y de su Acueducto
· Monarca, el milagro de la mariposa viajera
· Consultación de los Gatos

Reading Room Press new release Parliament of Owls with prospectus



And a surprise gift from my friend Glacierman !



It was a good book October.

>328 Lukas1990: I would encourage you to take a look at "Four Poems of the Occult". It is worthy for consideration as Lewis and Dorothy Allen's magnum opus.

>332 Lukas1990: Yes, I did get the invoice, including a shipping quote which I had asked for. FYI, they do accept Visa for non-EU clients, but tack on a service fee to cover their costs. Still, it was cheaper than sending a wire!

>334 Shadekeep: A very fine haul yourself! October was great for us both. I particularly love ‘Land, Sea and Sky’ from your Fleece Press selection, but then I have always loved Peter Reddick’s landscape engravings.

>337 ChestnutPress: Thanks, it was a bumper month for fine press releases. And kudos to you on securing a copy of TREES, that one sounds amazing!

>338 Shadekeep: I never thought I would get a copy of that Trees: it’s marvellous. I think that Andrew also revisited it by doing a second fine press version of it in a much smaller format a couple of years back, but I never got a copy and have yet to see one on the secondary market.

>339 ChestnutPress: Is this it? https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30240169227
Seems a poor second if so.

>340 Shadekeep: Nope. That’s a trade edition — digitally printed, I believe.

>339 ChestnutPress: huge congratulations—I saw Trees once at the Oxford Fair and haven’t seen it since! Andrew does such lovely work under his own imprint (Belmont Hall) and MKB…

>342 newdigate: Andrew’s work is indeed lovely, and I have a nice little selection. Sadly, it’s Andrew DID do lovely work, though, as he passed away a few weeks back. I shall miss him.

October has been busy for me too.
I added to my Fleece Press collection with three from Simon:

The Death of Charles Stothard
John Nash. Twenty-one Wood Engravings
Ploughshare and Hayrick (Special edition)

And three from the second-hand market:

45 Wood Engravers (Special Edition)
The Harewood Alabasters
Surreal Times (Special Edition)

I also added:

Conversation Tree Press. Treasure Island (Deluxe)

And I'm waiting on a delivery of:

Nomad Letterpress. Moving.

A busy (and expensive) month. Time to hibernate!

>344 TheTotalLibrarian: A great haul!

>333 ChestnutPress: I'd love to see some pictures of Trees: An Alphabet. According to paranthesis there were 37 copies (26 for sale) at £300. And it could be bound to order.

>346 EdmundRodriguez: Ah, cheers for the info! I shall post pics on my Instagram in a week or two.

>344 TheTotalLibrarian: Excellent acquisitions! I'm curious as to your opinion of The Harewood Alabasters, I very nearly went for that one myself. And I'm looking forward to my copy of Moving as well!

>335 Sport1963: Nice suggestion!

>336 newdigate: I'm in EU so I just made a bank payment. Hope they pack the books well...

>328 Lukas1990: I totally forgot Cresset's Guliver's Travels! That's their Magnum Opus!

>350 Lukas1990:

https://booksandvines.com/2015/10/26/the-great-illustrated-private-press-books-p...

>348 Shadekeep: I like it. It's a slim book (18 pages). The illustrations are attractive and I like the Baskerville type. It also had a couple of bits of ephemera tucked inside. All in all I'm really happy to have it in my collection. When time allows, I'll get around to reading it!

>352 TheTotalLibrarian: Nice, thank you!

>346 EdmundRodriguez: I have posted half a dozen pics on my Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCG48k3CgsB/?igsh=dHo4dDRhMW1tdGJ5

>354 ChestnutPress: Very nice, thank you.

>355 EdmundRodriguez: My pleasure!

My grail book arrived today: A Descriptive Bibliography of the Books Printed at The Ashendene Press MDCCCXCV - MCMXXXV. Shelley House, Chelsea, 1935. Save for a bump to the bottom corner, the book is in remarkably nice condition. Internally, it looks as fresh as the day it was issued. Remarkable really. I've always found those opening illustrations of St. John Hornby at his press and the little garden house very attractive, but I never thought that I would ever own a copy of the book. I don't think it has properly sunk in yet.

>357 TheTotalLibrarian: Congratulations! It sounds like a wonderful find indeed.

>357 TheTotalLibrarian: Very choice purchase! I rather wish I still had my old copy (which was originally Goudy’s) Was it the copy on eBay by any chance?

>357 TheTotalLibrarian: I think I was probably the underbidder on your copy of the Ashendene. My congratulations to you; if I am correct you got a great deal.

>359 ChestnutPress: It was the copy on eBay. It all went very smoothly.

>360 ubiquitousuk: Thank you!

>361 TheTotalLibrarian: Hope you got it for just the starting bid price!

>363 ChestnutPress: It wasn't too far above the opening price. I am not displeased!

>364 TheTotalLibrarian: superb!!

My book of the year has arrived!

>366 Lukas1990: Congratulations! A beautiful book and hard to find.

>366 Lukas1990: Outstanding! To quote a friend, "When you're hot, you're hot..."

Don't forget to take a look at "Four Poems of the Occult"

>366 Lukas1990:
Very nice!

>366 Lukas1990: Congratulations! Youth was the one Allen Press/Hughes-Stanton collaboration that I never acquired owing to its scarcity. It looks stunning! Youth was the first title in a marked shift in the press' output, as some of their best titles came out in the years following, with a few more works illustrated by BH-S, and a constant use of one of their hand presses. Sure, they had some very good (and occasionally great) editions before 1959, but they were at the top of their game for the next 20 years.

For those who don't know, there's a wonderful story about the printing of this book in The Allen Press Bibliography: they had something like a week to print the illustrations and text, so to make that possible, the illustrations were inked with three colors at a time, using tiny brayers! There's also an anecdote about how the hot, damp conditions almost ruined the edition.

This year I have bought very few books, partly because childcare is eating up my book budget, but also because I wanted to focus on getting some early private press titles.

I acquired

Vita di Santa Chiara Virgine (Ashendene Press)
Poems Written in the Year MCMXIII by Robert Bridges, Poet Laureate (Ashendene Press)
I Fioretti del Glorioso Poverello di Cristo S. Francesco di Assisi (Ashendene Press)
Sartor Resartus (Doves Press)

The total cost for all four came in under £2000.

The Assisi, although internally fine, has some serious tearing to the vellum (I'm happy because I bought it at a very deep discount reflecting the condition). This begs the question, though: should I leave it as is, organise a repair to the vellum, or organise a complete rebind. Opinions welcome!

Looks like rodent nibbling....I'd have the binding reproduced, i. e., rebind it replicating the original. Although a good restoration might be possible.

I vote repair--what a wonderful book to be able to have and to hold! Looks like the mice only slightly enhanced the deckle edge. I bet a matching piece of vellum could be found and a dutchman could be fitted much like one would repair a laminated hardwood surface.

>371 ubiquitousuk: Repair or rebind - either is a good investment for this beautiful book. Congrats on your Ashendene haul!

>371 ubiquitousuk: Can't believe they left the silk ties untouched - that's the tastiest part! Repair would probably be cheaper and you will safe the original binding with the gilt title.

BTW, I would like to make a short review of Robinson Crusoe (Basilisk Press) but can't take proper photos because it is always dark here in Lithuania. My photos of Allen Press Youth were done in the middle of the day and I had to turn the lights on. Still not satisfactory.

Brother from another mother.

>376 Lukas1990: Lovely - congratulations! The spine looks in great shape. Another one for my never-ending wishlist!

>376 Lukas1990: Both of your wins are in such spectacular condition—congratulations!!

Does anyone know about The Vine Books? I came across this small book 1925/1926 with four stories by Leonard Merrick, but am unable to discover more about this publishing venture. The book checks many of the right boxes:
1. Author signed
2. Limited to 200 copies, of which 180 for sale
3. Vellum (I think) binding
4. Kelmscott hand-made paper
5. Anvil and hammer watermark

>379 BuzzBuzzard: Don’t know this imprint at all, but the Baynard Press did good work, and I love the illustrator, Norman Janes. Plus, Batchelor Kelmscott ‘Hammer and Anvil’ handmade and vellum binding are always a good thing.

>380 ChestnutPress:

http://www.evergreenpress.co.uk/norman-janes.html

>381 dlphcoracl: The specials aren’t available, I enquired a long time ago!

>379 BuzzBuzzard: Nice find. It seems to be a bonus put together by Wilfred Partington (editor of The Bookman’s Journal) for his subscribers. Perhaps akin to keepsakes from the BCOC today, though much more fine. It looks like the fourth title (1923) was Conrad’s Laughing Anne.

>381 dlphcoracl: a beautiful volume that I did a lot of work on!

>379 BuzzBuzzard: Beautiful! And it's even listed in Hubin.

>379 BuzzBuzzard: Your post got me searching for this series and in addition to >383 ChampagneSVP: here are some photos of the limitation and colophon. I couldn't find the first of the series, perhaps a better hunter would oblige. Happy hunting!

Preludes: 1921-1922, by John Drinkwater, AUG 1922 (blue/ aquamarine vellum)





Lispet, Lispett and Vaine, by Walter de la Mare, MAR 1923





Laughing Anne, by Joseph Conrad, SEP 1923





The Bright Island, by Arnold Bennett, AUG 1924





Four Stories, by Leonard Merrick, 1926

Four superb editions from Scott Vile’s Ascensius Press arrived this week.

First up are three wonderful booklets on bookish themes:

‘Unpacking my Library’ by Walter Benjamin (2024, edition of 70 copies)

‘The Introduction from The Invention of Printing’ by Theodore Low de Vinne (2024, edition of 80 copies)

‘De Motu Librorum: On the Movement of Books’ by G. Scott Clemons (Printed at Ascensius Press for publication by the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School, 2024, edition of 250 copies)

Lastly, comes the absolute cherry on top of the package, which is a stunning example of Scott’s work at its absolute finest, and that is a copy of his edition of Milton’s ‘Areopagitica’ (2024, edition of 26 copies, split half and half between quarter leather with paper sides and full leather copies).

Scott is easily one of the finest printers in the world and a shining example of top tier fine press in North America.

I shall post some pics of the ‘Areopagitica’ later today or tomorrow.

>387 ChestnutPress: Nice! I also received an Ascensius Press shipment this week. Frost's North of Boston (one of 15 copies in full cloth), and Unpacking my Library.

My first experience of The Ascensius Press, and from what I have seen, I completely agree with your assessment. Very finely printed and immaculately arranged on the page. The leather North of Boston was a little out of reach at the moment (and sold out), but the full cloth edition is a very elegant book in its own right. Gray Parrot's bindings always feel a cut above to me, as solid and weighty as other fine press books that are twice the size! The tall, slim format works incredibly well for this poetry.

Looking forward to seeing your pics of Areopagitica.

>388 GardenOfForkingPaths: Superb purchases! One of my earliest acquisitions was an Ascensius Press piece and it immediately put Scott’s work right up at the top for me. You’re certainly right about Grey Parrot bindings, as they do some of the highest quality work out there. Their attention to detail is easily on par with several of the ’designer’ binders out there.

>387 ChestnutPress: Great haul! Also would like to see pics of Areopagitica. Will move that to the Released list in the annual thread, too.

>390 Shadekeep: Quick pic of the Ascensius Press "Areopagitica". I'll post additional pics of the inside when I get some time (unless someone posts before that).

Some pics of Areopagitica:

>391 Sport1963: >392 ChestnutPress: Thank you both, they did a beautiful job!

>392 ChestnutPress: Nothing is more beautiful than a block of justified prose with hanging punctuation! Love that double-line ruling/border too.

>391 Sport1963:
>392 ChestnutPress:

Very beautiful!

Received Moving from Nomad Letterpress today. It's a very impressive book. I like the little detail of the wasp(?) on the tail of the spine of the slipcase.

Also in the post today, two new pamphlets from Incline Press: Jenny Kiss'd Me, and Eric Ravilious and the Griffin passant.

>393 Shadekeep: Scott’s design and presswork, and Grey Parrot’s binding are the perfect combo for ‘a beautiful job’!

>394 DenimDan: It’s all so ridiculously gorgeous. I keep nipping upstairs to look at it!

>396 TheTotalLibrarian: Excellent additions! I need to get the Ravilious booklet myself (if for no other reason than that gorgeous blue Wookey Hole paper!)

>396 TheTotalLibrarian: Looking forward to my copy as well soon, and have the two new Inclines on the wishlist until I can bundle something else in to cushion the shipping shock. ^_^

>397 ChestnutPress: I must concur, the results speak for themselves!

>399 ChestnutPress: The paper is very nice!

>401 TheTotalLibrarian: It really is. I have it in a couple of other Incline booklets. I might have to ask Graham if he’d allow me a couple of sheets for a future project!

>402 ChestnutPress: Aye, it works a treat in their A Bonnie New Garland book, very pleasing with both the text and the artwork. I think it's also the paper in Minerva, Mantone and Circes, but would have to pull my copy off the shelf to confirm.

>403 Shadekeep: That is the paper in Minerva too!

Bromer has discounted their books even more! Still some nice books by Barry Moser, Officina Bodoni etc. left.

I couldn't resist getting A Letter of Columbus (Logan Elm Press, 1990). One of 130 copies, printed on handmade paper and signed by the poet, David Citino, the artist, Anthony Rice, and the designer of the book, Robert Tauber. Bound in handmade raw flax paper covers with visible sewing structure through brown goatskin spine. A stunning production crafted in advance of the quincentennial celebration of Columbus's voyage. Illustrated throughout in brilliant colors with monoprints printed directly off hand-painted zinc plates, making each copy of the edition unique. The title-page spread is hand-lettered and colored completely in red, giving the appearance of paste paper, and each stanza of the poem begins with a hand-colored initial letter.

A "tour de force .. On every page of this richly textured paper, handmade appropriately from Spanish flax, there is at least one colored picture: only the half-title and colophon leaf are not illustrated. Dolphins, sharks, turtles, hares, dogs and doves, torsos and trees, and mitred bishops in brilliant profusion fill margins, corners, and half-pages. Crimson and magenta, emerald green and cerulean, lemon yellow and blazing orange, tints of blues and greens and earth colors dazzle the viewer" (review in Fine Print, summer, 1990).

>405 Lukas1990: Thanks for the heads up. I ended up purchasing an interesting-looking book of essays published by the Arif Press and Pacific Editions (1986, edition of 165) that has watercolor etchings by Joseph Goldyne, who also did the etchings in a Two Ponds Press book I acquired earlier this year.

Picked up a copy of "Scighte" by Joe Napora (Poote Press, 1987), with illustrations by the enigmatic Timothy Ely. Poote Press was the imprint of Ruth Lingen, who worked at Pace editions, printing for blue-chip artists Chuck Close and Jim Dine, among others. Lingen and Katherine Kuehn (who published under the Salient Seedling Press handle) handmade the paper for this book, which is quite thick and colorful, at times resembling pulp-painting. The poem is fairly typical for Napora, i.e., angry, anti-imperialist. Ely's etchings are beautiful, sometimes-bizarre diagrams that pair nicely with the various hues in the paper. The variation on the Coptic binding was Ely's as well, and one of his illustrations is deeply embossed into the front cover. Based on the low price, I assumed my copy would be in less-than-stellar shape, but it looks quite fine to me!

The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart (Golden Cockerel Press, 1950). One of 70 copies of the deluxe binding of full white pigskin, gilt red morocco inlaid on front board, spine tooled and lettered in gilt.

>408 Lukas1990: I love the binding on this one; very envious of your purchase

Bringing up to your attention another small book. More Stately Mansions by John Updike. Printed at Coffee House Press (1987), in Caslon type on Arches paper. Signed by author and a very nice read.

>410 BuzzBuzzard: That’s a fine-looking edition. I love those Roma endsheets!

>406 LBShoreBook: I only received a confirmation of my order and still nothing else. How about you?

>412 Lukas1990: Same here, yet to receive a shipping quote

>412 Lukas1990: If you’re in a rush you can email or call with your order number. I didn’t for one and it took a week or two for them to go through it, I did for another and it took a day or so.

>414 ensuen: It is OK for me to wait. They sure have a lot of work to do.

>412 Lukas1990: I received a UPS shipping notice yesterday afternoon. When I purchased the book I chose no preference on shipping and UPS ground appears to be the method they chose.

A few great value acquisitions from across the pond. Firstly, the Stamperia Valdonega Divine Comedy. Thanks to everyone who recommended and encouraged - it's an excellent set of books. I think the Oak Knoll pictures and the dust-jackets threaten to make it look like a trade edition, which significantly undersells it. Quality is high and is probably in that region above a Folio Society book and just below a 'true' fine press book. The illustrations feel like a modern take that is also grounded in the medieval tradition.

Also (with pics below):

1) Rip Van Winkle, Elfriede Abbe, 1951. 275 copies. My first acquisition of this illustrator's work. It's a very pleasing book and a great expression of one artist's vision — Abbe designed, hand-set, illustrated with woodcuts, and printed the edition herself. The book I received has an interesting provenance: copy no.1 given as a gift by the artist to her mother for Christmas.

2) Vanity Fair, Limited Editions Club, 1931. 1500 copies. Quarter bound in cloth with paper sides and paper dust-jackets. This is one of several large 2 volume editions that the LEC printed at the Oxford University Press. It was designed by Dr. John Johnson of the OUP, really well printed on mould-made Arches, and illustrated with twenty hand-coloured illustrations by John Austen (plus another 10 black and white). The LEC used Austen for a number of their editions, and while he would not be among my favourite illustrators, I think he's an appropriate choice for Vanity Fair. This is one of those excellent value early LECs that I imagine would be very expensive to produce to this standard today.

3) The Splendid Idle Forties, Allen Press, 1960. 150 copies. Bound in Fortuny fabric, printed damp on Rives, and decorated with a hand-coloured title page and capitals by Mallette Dean. I'm completely unfamiliar with Gertrude Atherton, but can't resist an Allen Press book.

>417 GardenOfForkingPaths: A superb haul! Always good to see Allen Press purchases.

>417 GardenOfForkingPaths: Those are all beautifully illustrated in their own way, each style pleasingly distinct as well as appropriate. The Allen Press title looks intriguing, hopefully it's as enjoyable to read as it is to look at.

>418 ChestnutPress:
>419 Shadekeep:

Thanks! I'm pleased with all of them. Christmas reading sorted!

>416 LBShoreBook: Thanks for the update. My package is already in an international distribution centre in Jamaica NY.

>417 GardenOfForkingPaths: Very nice. Elfriede Abbe's The City of Carcassonne is on my radar for quite some time. Must be a good read! Something like Lawrence's Crusader Castles (Golden Cockerel Press) which I own.

The LEC set also looks better than I excpected. John Johnson is a master printer for sure.

The Divine Comedy was on my radar too. But I own the Nonesuch Press version and given the lenght of the work it might be enough.

>422 Lukas1990:
Elfriede Abbe's The City of Carcassonne On Ebay for US$400 at present.

>423 wcarter: Honestly, I paid a similar price for Allen Press Youth on auction.

I wanted to share a couple buys from The Last Press (formerly Sutton Hoo Press). I grabbed a couple of the so called “hurt” copies from the thread posted a little bit ago and came back for more. Some notes on each below. They are really quite nice productions, so please don’t take any negative interface from my somewhat laconic descriptions.

What a world dreamt: Translations of Aztec poetry. I can’t speak to the translation quality but I like the poems. Nice size, has the original language running almond the bottom which creates a cool effect as it becomes the colophon in the last couple pages. Lays flat, which seems a bit tricky to get hardcovers to do.

Two tales: Two short stories, pretty good read. Printing is excellent a couple ornaments throughout. This copy was noted as having an experimental vellum binding which I’m very happy with. There’s a wrap around type affect with waxed string and a button as a closure. I don’t usually go for the upgraded versions of books, so I think this is the first vellum anything I have.

Ecclesiastes: The same as the one in bibles. Printed with larger paper and fairly generous margins. Softcover binding helps it lay flat, which is great for reading/study.

A flock of scarlet doves: Poetry. Includes a bio written by the printer about the poet which helps frame some of the poems. Some dual color and single linocuts for illustration.

Rhumb Lines (bonus inclusion): Poetry, very cool binding, has exposed signatures which I enjoy.

The Decorations (bonus) Short story. Christmas themed horror, very seasonal right now. Paste paper covering on front board only, rest is black cloth. Some nice illustrations and typesetting.

Naming (Deluxe): Poetry, each poem has aspect of narrative or premise associated with it. Ornaments done in two very nice shades of blue. Nice bite with printing. Spine and the edge of the cover are leather, center is paper. Cloth solander included. The standard was also included as a bonus, same content, but a nice blue cloth for the binding.

A Brief history of punctuation (Deluxe) : Poetry/calligraphy. A collection of poems themed around different elements of English punctuation, each accompanied by a piece of calligraphy. The middle contains a four page spread with just a unique piece of calligraphy on each page, a nice effect. Some patterned impressions at the start and end. Binding is full leather, with a cloth solander box.

This is probably one of my favorite books in my collection, not sure on the exact numbers, but for sure in the top 5. It seems like the rest of the copies are only available in sets at certain intervals, but I would recommend keeping an eye out.

>425 ensuen: You have some superb books there, mi amigo!

Some details on some of them:
Ecclesiastes

A Flock of Scarlet Doves and Naming

Two Tales

The Velveteen Rabbit from Mutton and Nuts has just arrived. A beautiful, high quality, little book, obviously made with great thought and care.

A small limitation (50), I'm amazed it's not sold out yet!

I have just received ‘From California’ the magnificent new publication from the Book Club of California. This is a stunning joint project between Dana Gioia and Richard Wagener with California-themed poems and wood engravings. The book design—and the printing of the engravings—is by Wagener, and the impeccable printing of the text is by Norman Clayton of Classic Letterpress in Ojai, California. It really is a lovely thing!!!

Two from the Bromer sale: Numerology: Calyban's Wood Type Whimsy, Vol. 1 (Caliban Press, 2020). Wonderfully eccentric wood type specimen printed on the most eclectic mix of papers I've seen outside of the Gabberjabbs. Not sure whether Mark McMurray still intends to print volumes 2 and 3 of the Wood Type Whimsy, but I'd be glad to order those! One of the coolest books I've seen from this decade.

The Brown Wasps (Perishable Press, 1969), a collection of three essays by Loren Eiseley. This one is still in tissue, so my wife can give it to me for Christmas. Hamady remarked in the first PP bibliography that he used all the Palatino he had on-hand for this book, so much so that he had to order even more to finish it. The end result was that he had an embarrassment of leftover sorts!

After mulling over fairly convincing arguments from some members on other threads here, I decided to push past my general aversion to Uncial typefaces and picked up a very clean copy of the Allen Press Antigone that I spotted on sale for a good price. Glad I did -- it's a really beautiful example of the Allens' work, and may turn out to be readable after all.

>430 kermaier: Twins! I just acquired a copy myself from Kelmostt Bookshop. Wonderfully executed book in great condition. The watercolor work is so simple, yet adds so much. Something for other private presses to copy, hmm.

>431 grifgon: Yes, that would nice -- the recent trend toward ever-more-vivid reproductions of elaborate, literal illustrations is not to my taste.

Congratulations to all the happy purchasers! Some fine books here.

>428 ChestnutPress: Also worth mentioning - the fantastic cover papers by Rebecca Chamlee. This is easily my favorite acquisition this year and as a Californian it resonates particularly strongly. The deluxe includes a handwritten poem by Dana Gioia.

>434 ChampagneSVP: How is the poetry? I missed the announcement for this one.

>435 LBShoreBook: Excellent. Dana Gioia looked through 45 years of poems from his whole career and selected poems about California and that originate in the California experience. Meanwhile, Richard Wagener’s engravings embody the aura of California. Together, they’re staggering.

I also picked up two books from the Bromer sale; my first Essex House Press and second all vellum book Alexander’s Feast at half off (not a fan of Dryden but still a beautiful little treasure) and Pan from the Pennyroyal Press at 65% off.

>380 ChestnutPress: Hammer & anvil Batchelor’s paper is as close as I will get to William Morris’es Chaucer.

>438 BuzzBuzzard: I rather think you’re better off with that example of Kelmscott paper in your book. Having leafed through a copy of the Kelmscott Chaucer, I have to say it’s not a book I’d particularly want on my shelves. It’s way too overdone! I admire the amount of work gone into it and I admire what William Morris did in starting the fine press movement, but I have to admit that I only like the simpler Kelmscott Press books.

>436 ChampagneSVP: Do you have the ‘prequel’ book to this ‘On Being a California Poet’? It’s very similar, albeit a slighter item with just an essay and a couple of poems, but it’s exquisite. I highly recommend tracking a copy down.

>440 ChestnutPress: I do not! It looks lovely. Thanks for the heads up. Dana Gioia is such a gift. I was pleased to see that the last three poems in From California are the three in Norman Clayton’s Providence Press’s Psalms and Lament for Los Angeles, which is a nice little piece, certainly not as exquisite as these other fine editions we’re discussing, but beautifully printed and a pleasure to read nonetheless, and one that I’ve often pulled from the shelf. The same goes for The Ballad of Jesus Ortiz. Perhaps you have them already but if not, they’re worth a look.

>441 ChampagneSVP: I wholeheartedly agree that Dana Gioia is a gift!

Clayton’s other printings of Gioia's work are very fine indeed (both booklets you mention, plus a couple of ephemeral pieces of single poems), and I do have them. Actually, there is very little of Gioia’s work that I don’t have, as his output is one of the core collecting spheres in my library. I absolutely love his work!

I hope you manage to find yourself a copy of ‘On Being a California Poet’. Indeed, I hope you find yourself getting hold of any work of Gioia’s that you don’t yet have, fine press or otherwise.

>441 ChampagneSVP:
>442 ChestnutPress:

The limited edition of Dana Gioia that is a "must have" - and ChestnutPress already knows this and has collected it - is 'Journeys In Sunlight' from the Ex-Ophidia Press (1986). It was printed on a 19th century hand press by Richard-Gabriel Rummonds and illustrated with three luminous sketches by Fulvio Testa.

>443 dlphcoracl: I wholeheartedly agree, my good fellow, although they’re not sketches, but etchings. It is in the top ten of my library and shall always remain so. It’s a shockingly beautiful production of Dana at his poetic finest.

>443 dlphcoracl: Indeed. There has been a copy at Oak Knoll that has been sitting in my basket for quite some time. It seems the Library Thing effect is in full force, however, as it just sold this morning!

Probably the last one this year - GILL, Eric. Engravings 1928-1933, London: Faber & Faber, 1934.

102 engravings by Eric Gill, each printed from the original block under the supervision of the artist. This might be the reason why this book is so expensive on the market. The majority of currently available collectible copies start at 2000+ USD. Found a beautiful copy for a really good price.

Just hit the jackpot this morning in a sale with a rather obscure auction house as far as fine & private press books are concerned. It is the venerable Capes Dunn Auctions in Heaton Mersey (Manchester) founded in 1826. Within a large Two-Day Christmas Sale they had a collection of 12 artists books from Susan Allix in pristine condition. Imho, Susan Allix is the Rolls Royce of artists books and her work is especially notable for fascinating ideas, innovative book design and gorgeous bindings in full morocco or morocco and mixed media. Normally, I avoid artists books like I try to avoid COVID or ebola virus but a handful of Allix artists books have significant textual content and these are of extreme interest to me. I acquired:

1. Myths of the Greeks (2011).

2. A South Italian Journey (1985). The text is taken from a collection of letters of Arthur John Strutt, who walked from Rome to Sicily in 1841, recording his experiences.

>447 dlphcoracl: A fine purchase, as Susan does superb work!

>447 dlphcoracl: PS. Good to see you back on here!

>445 ChampagneSVP: William Reese appear to have a copy for sale, though, and at less than the Oak Knoll copy

A really fun find arrived today – Allen Press' Rappaccini’s Daughter. I found it on Amazon, mis-listed as a trade copy of the story... It arrived today in an unpadded USPS priority envelope, thankfully unharmed. Better than unharmed – it was in the Allens' own original wrapping with a ribbon, invoice, and note to the original recipient. Not only had the book never been opened, it had never even seen sunlight. I thought about leaving it this way but... I'm sure the Allens would have wanted it opened. So, I had the real pleasure of opening the original wrapping, untying a bow which they had tied, and (here in 2024) seeing one of their books brand new. Maybe it's the last time such a thing will happen, who knows.

Added: One thing that's striking is how BRIGHT the colors on the boards are. I have another ten Allen books, and none of them come close. Maybe this is just a facet of this particular title, but I suspect being under wraps for 35 years has preserved its color.

>451 grifgon: A magnificent buy!

>451 grifgon: Amazingly, I had the same experience several years ago, with the same book! (Minus the trade edition pricing…. Grrr) I also hesitated a long moment before untying the orange ribbon and removing the tissue paper. And, yes, the flower-print cloth covers are almost poisonously bright. ;-)
Another notable aspect of this particular edition is the liberal sprinkling of really odd typos and other errors throughout the book.

Books, like fine hand made cigars and fine wine, are meant to be used, and not to be put behind glass and admired.

What good is a book if it is not read? What a cigar if not smoked or a bottle of wine if not consumed?

>454 Glacierman: Amen!

>454 Glacierman: Absolutely!!

>451 grifgon: That's great! What a very fortunate find, and it's lovely that it ended up with someone who could appreciate what they got.

Vita De Sancto Hieronymo (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cygnet Press, 1928). A hand-set (!) facsimile of a 1497 edition on St. Jerome with beautiful woodcut reproductions. For a ridiculous price of 25 USD.

>458 Lukas1990: That’s a lovely little book!

It's still 2024, right?

Valenti Angelo: Author, Illustrator, Printer (The Book Club of California, 1976).

A pair of Whittington Press books arrived today, the deluxe version of Posthumous Poems by Day Lewis, and the deluxe copy of Letters to Frank Harris by Bagnold

ETA: Now the numbered version of Benjamin Button by Arête just turned up! Today might end up more exciting than tomorrow!

The Velveteen Rabbit (Muttons & Nuts) and The Woods Were Never Quiet (Book Club of California) arrived, probably my last in-hand acquisitions this year unless packages appear from No Reply or Incline.

>462 Shadekeep: Do let me know your thoughts on the BCoC book, please. It sounds interesting and I expect it is finely printed (the couple of Artichoke Press items I have are really nicely designed and printed)

>463 ChestnutPress: Happy to do so. In the meantime, packages arrived from both No Reply and Incline today, so that'll teach me to get ahead of myself! T'is a merry holiday indeed.