The Only Bookplate Designed By René Lalique

by Stephen J. Gertz

Found in a copy of the Kelmscott Press's The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems by William Morris (1892) from the collection of Emilie B. Grigsby (1879-1964), this is the only bookplate ever designed by René Lalique (1860-1945), the celebrated French art glass and jewelry designer.

Note her given name at lower left, so well integrated into the background foliage that it almost disappears into it.

Grigsby was a wealthy American bibliophile of "colorful reputation," and the young, comely "ward" (i.e., concubine) of the notorious robber baron, Charles Yerkes (1837-1905) who built (and bilked) the Chicago transit system and Northern and Piccadilly lines in London.

Emilie Grigsby was almost forty years younger than Yerkes but held her own,; she was sophisticated charming, and intelligent. The mansion he built at 660 Park Avenue, New York City - just a few blocks from his Fifth Avenue palace where Mrs. Yerkes lived - was a gift to Emilie, the daughter of a slave-holding father from Kentucky and a brothel madam mom from Cincinnati. Her fine library was sold in New York by Anderson and Company in 1912.

Emilie B. Grigsby.

"A most interesting catalogue of books belonging to Miss Emilie Grigsby, the ward of the late Charles T. Yerkes of Chicago, has been issued by the Anderson Auction Company, which will sell them in the week beginning Jan. 29. It is a woman's library of fine books, not subscription books, but really interesting and beautiful books and fine bindings. The sale includes long series of the William Loring Andrews books; publications of the Essex House, Kelmscott, Vale and other private presses..." (Boston Evening News, January 24, 1912).

"She has a charm one feels at once and responds to, a charm, vague, indescribable, that borders on the aesthetic, the kind that some of Chopin's music exerts over the crudest of us.

"Perhaps her appearance fosters this idea of the spiritual. Golden hair, blue eyes, fragile as a piece of Dresden china, she is as many of our famous artists have painted her. Absolute unconsciousness of her beauty, lack of affectation, simplicity of manners are hers. She listens to what is told her, and speaks when she has something to say. There is no boredom, nor yet effusiveness. She strikes easily and naturally the note so many others have attempted and failed, the note of harmony and perfect poise. No restless striving for this, nor craving for that" (Lillian Barrett, Emilie Grigsby - A Reminiscence.. New York Times, July 16, 1911).

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Bookplate image courtesy of David Brass Rare Books, witrh our thanks.

Image of Grigsby courtesy of University of Illinois Archives, with our thanks.
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Some Very Special Bindings From Gwasg Gregynog Press

by Stephen J. Gertz

THOMAS. R.S. Laboratories of the Spirit.
Newtown: Gwasg Gregynog, 1976

Number 5 of 15 copies signed by the author
and specially bound by Sally Lou Smith.

Crushed blue levant morocco (signed "S.L.S."), with morocco
onlays and gilt tooling, t.e.g., publisher's morocco solander box.

Esslemont and Hughes 01.

A rare cache of specially-bound books published by Gregynog Press/Gwasg Gregynog Press is coming to auction at Bonham's, March 27, 2012. 

THOMAS, Dylan. Deaths and Entrances.
Newtown: Gwasg Gregynog, 1984.

Number 14 OF 18 specially bound by James Brockman.  

Morocco with an abstract landscape design of brown morocco with
blue, grey, green, and yellow inlays with gilt blocked decoration, g.e.
Preserved in publisher's velvetine-lined morocco-backed solander box.

Esslemont and Hughes 9.

The  nine lots  include bindings by masters James Brockman, Sally  Lou  Smith, Alan  Wood,  and Desmond  Shaw.

WILLIAMS, Kyffin (illus.), ROBERTS, Kate.
Two Old Men and Other Stories.
Newtown, Gregynog Press, 1981

Number 12 of 15 specially bound copies by Desmond Shaw
with the frontispiece hand-colored by the artist.

Red morocco (signed "D.S."), in a Welsh landscape design
with cottage and stone wall after Williams.
In original velvetine-lined book box.

Esslemont and Hughes 5.

The Gregynog Press was established in 1922, the brainchild of two sisters, Gwendoline and Margaret Davies. Located at their house, Gregynog Hall, in rural mid-Wales, during the next eighteen years the Press gained a reputation for producing limited edition books of the highest order and ranked alongside the leading Private Presses of the day.

WHITMAN, Walt. Wrenching Times.
Newtown: Gwasg Gregynog, 1991

Number 6 of 30 specially bound copies.

Publisher's full calf, with an all design of mountains beneath
a blue sky made up of coloured morocco onlays.
Publisher's fabric-lined solander box.

Re-established in 1978 under the Welsh title Gwasg Gregynog, the Press continues the traditions of its founders, and in January of 2002 was registered as a charity.

REES, Joan Bowen (ed.). The Mountains of Wales.
Newtown: Gwasg Gregynog, 1987.

Number 6 OF 20 copies specially bound by James Brockman.

Transparent vellum boards with abstract design of colored morocco overlays,
preserved in original velvetine-lined quarter morocco solander box.

Esslemont and Hughes 16.

Gwasg Gregynog integrates the traditional crafts of hot-metal typesetting, letterpress printing and hand-binding by the finest craftsmen, into books featuring illustrations by leading contemporary artists, printing on handmade and mould-made papers, and the finest binding materials.

TAYLOR, Armold. Four Great Castles. Caernarfon. Conwy. Harlech. Beaumaris.
Newtown: Gwasg Gregynog, 1983.

Number 11 OF 15 copies specially bound by James Brockman.

Morocco gilt by James Brockman, with all-over design of castle battlements
in gilt and coloured morocco inlays, t.e.g. In original velvetine-lined quarter
morocco book box.

Esslemont and Hughes 7.

The private press books of Gwasg Gregynog are amongst the finest currently produced. While the intricate bindings of the specially-bound copies present a  visual feast, the books themselves display beauty and harmony and are designed not only to be read but to delight the senses, as well.

PARRY, Robert Williams. Cerddi,
Newtown: Gwasg Gregynog, 1980.

Number 14 of 15 copies specially bound by Sydney Cockerell
after a design by Joan Rix Tebbutt.

Green crushed morocco (signed "J.S."), the upper cover with a flower
pattern tooled in blind and gold, t.e.g., publisher's felt-lined book box.

Esslemont and Hughes 4.

The goals of the original Gregynog Press, as declared by the Founders, were:

• To introduce and encourage fine printing in Wales.
• To print certain literature, in both English and Welsh, which relates to Wales and  the Welsh, and which has been hitherto unavailable except in rare volumes.
• To print editions of the English Classics.
• To bind all work at the Press Bindery.

WILLIAMS, Kyffin. Cutting Images.
A Selection of Linocuts by Kyffin Williams.
Newtown, Gwasg Gregynog, 2002.

Number 14 of 20 copies specially bound by Alan Wood
after a design by Williams.

With an additional suite of 9 linocuts all numbered and signed by the artist,
preserved in publisher's solandar box case designed by Williams.

As for  the  Press's  resurrection, "the  moving  force  in  recreating  Gwasg Gregynog  was  Glyn Tegai Hughes…In 1969, with  encouragement  from  the  Welsh  Arts  Council, a  Gregynog  Fellowship was established…Subsequent  Gwasg  Gegynog  books,  produced  under the  direction  of  Eric  Gee,  with assistance of Daivd Vickers, have also included attractive work…" (Cave, R. The Private Press, p. 242, 2d ed.).

ESCHENBACH, Wolffram von.
The Romance of Parzival and the Holy Grail.
Newtown: Gwasg Gregynog, 1990

Number 10 OF 15 copies specially bound by James Brockman.

Limp calf suede with covers interlaced with stained vellum straps
laced through the covers with tablets of wood, bone and enamelled metal
 on spine.

Preserved in publisher's silk-lined solander box.

Esslemont and Hughes 21.

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Images courtesy of Bonham's, with our thanks.

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Journal of the Pilgrim Fathers a Reason to Give Thanks

by Cokie Anderson

Title page and frontispiece of the Golden Cockerel Press Pilgrim Fathers (1939)

In Pertelote, the bibliography of the Golden Cockerel Press from October 1936 - April 1943, the partners of the press express their surprise that this account of the Pilgrims' journey to America and their subsequent travails there, "printed from an exceedingly rare volume [from 1622] in the British Museum, did not attract more attention among our American patrons. We know them to be interested in history: must it only be history other than their own?"

The text here was edited by Theodore Besterman (1904-76), an interesting character described by the Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) as a "psychical researcher and bibliographer," not a combination one sees every day. Born in Poland, he grew up in Britain, and claimed to have educated himself at the British Museum Library. He was interested in psychic phenomena, and from 1927-35 he served as the investigating officer for the Society for Psychical Research, where his sometimes critical writings on the subject of mediums and spiritualism caused the Society's most prominent adherent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to resign in protest. In the 1930s, he devoted himself more wholeheartedly to bibliography, lecturing on the subject at the London School of Librarianship and penning the classic The Beginnings of Systematic Bibliography (1935).


Besterman's interest in American history, familiarity with the collections of the British Library, and participation in the private press movement (he had a short-lived press of his own, the Guyon House Press, which was destroyed in the air raids of 1940) made him a ideal choice to edit this 140th publication by the Golden Cockerel Press. Founded in 1920 with the intention to print fine editions of important well-known books as well as new literary works of merit from young authors, the Golden Cockerel Press was purchased in 1924 by the illustrator and wood-engraver Robert Gibbings. "Under his direction," says press historian Roderick Cave, the press was "transformed into the principal vehicle for the renaissance of wood-engraved book illustration that took place in the years between the wars."

One of Geoffrey Wales' striking illustrations

The wood engravings in Pilgrim Fathers are by Geoffrey Wales, an art teacher pleased to accept a low fee in order to have his illustrations published. Cave describes them as very much in keeping with the subject matter and the typeface (Poliphilus) chosen for the book, being "deliberately 'rough' and chapbook-like." Gibbings and his partners felt that this was "one of the nicest books we have ever made--agreeable in its proportions, tasteful binding, beautiful paper, elegant typography, and exceptionally pleasant and dextrous engravings, all harmonizing with the charming content."

Denise Lubett's cartographic binding for Pilgrim Fathers

In the copy shown here, the original black morocco-backed paper baords have been replaced by a striking binding that at first glance does not seem to be pictorial; however, upon closer inspection, the clever tan-on-gray-green design presents a clear, if stylized, resemblance to the coastline of Massachusetts, at least as it was understood by the Dutch mapmakers of the first half of the 17th century. The area depicted comprises the coastline from Cape Cod northward through Boston into the southern portion of Maine, and the cartographical delineation corresponds to Blaeu's "Nova Belgica et Anglia Nova," which first appeared in 1635. It is the work of Denise Lubett, who studied bookbinding under John Corderoy at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and at the London College of Printing. She set up her own binderies in England and France in 1966. More restrained that Lubett's usual colorful and flamboyant work, this unusual cartographic binding is an excellent match to the design and spirit of the contents.

This book represents some of the things I am most thankful for in this season of gratitude: fine printing, private presses that preserve that art and craft, beautiful bindings and the artisans who create them, people who love books, and last but far from least, the country that emerged from those pilgrims' original quest for freedom.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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Besterman, Theodore. The Pilgrim Fathers. (Golden Cockerel Press, 1939) 254 x 165 mm. (10 x 6 1/2").3 p.l. (including the frontispiece), 7-87, [1] pp., [1] leaf (blank). One of 300 copies. With eight woodcuts by Geoffrey Wales. Pertelote 140; Cave & Manson 140 and pp. 147-49.
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All images courtesy of Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Manuscripts.
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"Men Are Wicked But Their Books Are Good"

By Cokie Anderson

The magnum opus of the Ashendene Press, Dante's Tutte le Opere

The three great English private presses are considered to be the Kelmscott Press of the bohemian and socialist William Morris, the Doves Press of the eccentric and volatile T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, and The Ashendene Press of the astonishingly normal Charles Harry St. John Hornby (1867-1946).

The press was founded by Hornby as a hobby and named after the location of his family home in Hertfordshire. It issued 40 books, plus additional ephemeral pieces, from 1895-1935, pausing production only during the years of the Great War. Originally the work was done by Hornby, his sisters and, upon his marriage, his wife, Cicely Barclay - truly a family affair.

The Ashendene printer's device motto reads "Les hommes sont meschants mais leurs livres sont bons"
(“Men are wicked but their books are good”).

Less elaborate in appearance and design than William Morris' Kelmscott volumes, but more ornamental than the products of Cobden-Sanderson's Doves Press, the Ashendene books have long been considered the most satisfying of English private press books. Hornby’s considerable achievement in design and printing is all the more impressive when one considers that he had a full-time, demanding, and successful career with the bookseller W. H. Smith, then as now one of the largest chains of booksellers in the U. K.

It was Hornby who changed the focus of the Smith’s retail operations from stalls within the railway stations to shops, conveniently located very close to the stations. The railroad companies had demanded an outrageous increase in rent, which Hornby refused to accept. According to the DNB, “Hornby, anticipating the possible loss of the contracts, had set men scouting for possible shop sites, but it was still a considerable challenge to transfer so many of the firm's outlets while keeping the daily business of newspaper distribution running smoothly. Hornby relished a challenge: in ten weeks, 144 new shops were opened on the territory of the two railway companies. This most dramatic episode in the firm's history pointed the way to the future structure of its business, centred on shops rather than stalls, and established Hornby's position as the strategist of the firm.”

The Divine Comedy, in Subiaco type. Woodcut of the Gates of Hell.

In his spare time, as a form of relaxation, Hornby was creating some of the loveliest books of the 20th century. He sought the assistance of his friends Sydney Cockerell and Emery Walker, who created two memorable typefaces for his: Subiaco, based on the first roman typeface, the famous font used by Sweynheym and Pannartz at the press they established in 1465 in Subiaco, about 30 miles north of Rome, and Ptolemy, derived from the font used for the 1482 Ptolemy printed in Ulm.

The Ninth Circle of Hell, from Inferno

The books Hornby chose to print included excerpts from the Bible, essays by Francis Bacon, works by classical authors, and Italian literature, much beloved by Hornby. Two of the highlights of the press were the three-volume edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy and the folio-sized complete works of the Italian poet (“Tutte le Opere), both in Italian. The former was illustrated with delicate woodcuts here were drawn by R. Catterson Smith and cut by Charles Keates (with some assistance from W. H. Hooper) after the Venetian Dante of Petrus de Quarengiis of 1497. Fellow printer Emily Daniel of the Daniel Press wrote to Hornby, "I think it is the most beautiful modern book I have ever seen."

From Tutte le Opere

"Tutte le Opere" is considered not only the most impressive and important of Ashendene publications, but also one of the outstanding works of 20th century printing. In fact, the Ashendene Dante, the Doves Press Bible, and the Kelmscott Press Chaucer have been called the "triple crown of fine press printing." Franklin writes that "this first major folio from the Ashendene Press has always occupied the summit," and Charles M. Gere's illustrations, inspired by works of the early Renaissance, suit the spirit of Dante perfectly.

Typical Ashendene bindings, vellum with silk ties

Most Ashendene books were bound very simply in flexible vellum, with gilt titling on the spine and silk ribbons (usually green) that could be used to keep them tied shut. Occasionally the vellum would be dyed green or orange. A few works, among the the Cervantes and the Thucydides, were issued in white pigskin.

Deluxe Ashendene bindings

St. John (pronounced "Sinjin", in marvelously British fashion) Hornby proved that it is possible to create great art while still working full time in the mundane world of commerce, that it is possible to create great art while having a normal family life, that it is not necessary to be a tortured soul languishing in an attic or one's parents' basement. The soul of the artist does not have to be crushed by the routine of 9 to 5; creativity can soar in spite of that. I like to think of him as the patron saint of every artist, writer, and artisan who does what is necessary to provide for themselves and their families while never losing sight of their vision and remaining true to their art. So if you're sitting at your desk thinking of the novel you'd rather be writing, the painting or scupture you'd like to be working on, or the hand-crafted book you want to print, take heart. You can do that, too. St. John has shown us the way.

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Images courtesy of Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Manuscripts
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The "Other Man" Behind the Private Press Movement

Walker, photographed by George Bernard Shaw.
Photo courtesy of the Emery Walker Trust

Many people have heard of William Morris. Those with an interest in fine printing or fine binding will know the names of St. John Hornby and T. J. Cobden-Sanderson. Few, however, remember the man who had more influence on the design of modern books than any of these great craftsmen: Sir Emery Walker (1851–1933). Walker was the son of a coachbuilder, and left school at 13 to support his family after his father went blind. He did not have the advantage of an Oxford education or of a comfortable middle-class upbringing. He was, however, smart and talented, with a keen sense of aesthetics. In the early 1870s, he found his calling when he went to work for Alfred Dawson, a printed who had perfected a new method of etching called glyptography. Walker worked for Dawson's Typographic Etching Company for 10 years, before leaving in 1883 to start his own firm of "process and general engravers, draughtsmen, map-constructors, and photographers of works of art."

Hammersmith Terrace. Photo courtesy of the Emery Walker Trust

Walker's new office and house were in Hammersmith Terrace, a riverside neighborhood in London that was also home to William Morris. The two men discovered shared interest in socialism and craftsmanship which led to a lifelong friendship. Both were active in the Hammersmith Socialist Society and were founders of the influential Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Walker was especially fond of the rare books known as incunabula, meaning they were printed before 1500.

A Leaf from a Bible printed by Nicolaus Jenson in 1476

According to the Emery Walker Trust, "A lecture given by Walker in 1888 at which he projected magic-lantern slides of photographs he had taken of 15th-century typefaces gave Morris the idea for the last great project of his life, the Kelmscott Press." Walker declined to be a partner in the press, citing "'some sense of proportion' and no capital to risk." (DNB) However, he acted as an unofficial advisor to the press throughout Morris' life.

The English Bible from the Doves Press

In 1900, Walker joined with bookbinder T. J. Cobden-Sanderson to found the Doves Press as a vehicle for the production of the "Book Beautiful." Unlike the productions of the Kelmscott or Ashendene presses, Doves books had no illustrations or decoration other than the occasional very simple hand-painted initial, as seen on the opening page of the Doves Bible, above. As Cave says, the Doves Press books, "completely without ornament or illustration, . . . depended for their beauty almost entirely on the clarity of the type, the excellence of the layout, and the perfection of the presswork."

A closer view of the Doves type

The Doves type, renowned for its beauty and readability, was designed by Walker, based on the typography of the 15th century Venetian printer Nicolas Jenson. The eccentric Cobden-Sanderson was not the easiest person to get along with, and in 1909 a bitter disagreement between the two founders caused Walker to leave the press. Cobden-Sanderson carried on alone until 1916 when, after shutting down the press, he committed one of the greatest crimes in the history of typography: he threw all of Walker's gorgeous Doves type into the Thames, so it could never be used by anyone else (particularly Walker).

The Ashendene Dante, printed in Walker's Subiaco type

Luckily, other examples of Walker's fine typograhics designs live on, notably in two fonts he designed for the Ashendene Press, the Subiaco (based on that of 15th century printers Sweynham and Pannartz, and the Ptolemy, based on 15th German type. However, as the DNB notes, "his great reputation among students of typography rests on a far wider basis, for he was keenly preoccupied with the appearance of the everyday book, and not only with its rich relations. It is scarcely too much to say that his influence, direct or indirect, can be discerned in nearly every well-designed traditional typographical page that now appears, and that to him more than to any other man the twentieth century's great improvement in book production in Britain was due. Walker's exacting taste demanded close, even typesetting, perfect harmony between text and illustration, and excellent materials."

Sir Emery Walker.
Photo courtesy of the Emery Walker Trust

The three ideal examples of modern typography are considered to be the Kelmscott Chaucer, the Doves Bible, and the Ashendene Dante. Walker inspired the first, printed the second, and designed the type for the third. He also went on to print an number of fine books at his own press, including a translation of Homer by Lawrence of Arabia. He was a modest man who did not trumpet his own achievements, and readers today who appreciate a well-designed page are unaware that they owe a debt to this genius of typography.

Down With Industrialism! William Morris and the Private Press Revolt

Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (Kelmscott Press, 1892)

The Industrial Revolution had a profound effect on the world of books: mechanization made it possible to produce thousands of copies of a work quickly and inexpensively. The upside of mass production was the increased availability and affordability of books; the downside was shoddy materials and workmanship. When I first came to work in the rare book business, I was astonished to find that many of the incunables (printed before 1500) in our inventory had brighter, fresher leaves than those in 19th century books. The reason was simple: the early books were printed on a higher quality paper than the mass-produced books.

John Ruskin (Portrait Courtesy of Project Gutenberg)

The Industrial Revolution caused a backlash against mass production in many areas of British society. In the influential essay "The Nature of Gothic," John Ruskin warned, "the great cry that rises from all our manufacturing cities, louder than their furnace blast, is all in very deed for this—that we manufacture everything there except men; we blanch cotton, and strengthen steel, and refine sugar, and shape pottery; but to brighten, to strengthen, to refine, or to form a single living spirit, never enters into our estimate of advantages." Rusking saw the separation of intellectual and manual activity as a reinforcement of class distinctions: "gentlemen" believed manual labor was beneath them, and working men, turned into automatons by the factories, had no ownership of or pride in their work.

William Morris by G. F. Watts (1870). Portrait courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

One of Ruskin's dispciples was William Morris (1834-96),who, among many other accomplishments, was the most important figure in the revival of printing in England at the end of the 19th century. As Feather says, "Morris was a remarkable man in many ways; at Oxford, he had been under the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, and had carried this influence into his subsequent work as an architect and designer." Morris "looked back to the Middle Ages as a period when free craftsmen, untrammeled by capitalism, pursued their avocations and produced objects which were both useful and esthetically worthwhile. He became involved with the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, which sought to promote guild socialism to revive this lost world. The Kelmscott Press was a product of this ethos, the immediate influence being Emery Walker's famous lecture on typography to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in November 1888."

Morris' Love is Enough (Kelmscott Press, 1897)

Seeking to revive what he considered to be the purity of printing's first century, Morris founded the Kelmscott Press in 1891, marking the beginning of the modern private press movement. In his "Note" about the press, which took the form of the final Kelmscott book, Morris explains that he "began printing books with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should be easy to read and should not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect of the reader by eccentricity of form in the letters." This was an understatement of the first order: his press produced 53 titles in 66 volumes, all of them notable in some way, along with three memorable typefaces: Golden, Troy, and Chaucer.

Syr Perecyvelle of Gales (Kelmscott Press, 1895)

Many of the Kelmscott Press books were decorated with woodcut "white vine" borders designed by Morris, and were sometimes illustrated by his dear firend, the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. The type was cut and set by hand, the paper made by hand, and the leaves printed by hand. One of the Kelmscott books, a printing of Morris' Gothic Architecture: A Lecture for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, was printed in public as a "moving exhibit" during the 1893 Arts and Crafts Exhibition held in the New Gallery, becoming one of the exposition's most popular attractions. It was also the Kelmscott book of which the most copies (1,500) were printed. The labor intensive printing process limited the run of most books to between 250 to 500 copies on paper, with perhaps another dozen or so "deluxe" copies printed on vellum.

Syr Ysambrace (Kelmscott Press, 1897)

Kelmscott focused on printing the work of contemporary poets like Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Tennyson, English classics, and medieval literature. The great work of the press was the Kelmscott Chaucer, a reprinting of the works by the author of the Canterbury Tales, lavishly illustrated with 87 engravings by Burne-Jones and borders by Morris.

The Kelmscott Chaucer (1896). Photo courtesy of the Queen's College Library

A pigskin binding in the medieval style was crafted by Douglas Cockerell. Four years in the making, it remains one of the three greatest productions of the modern private press movement. Morris not only left a legacy of some of the most beautiful books ever printed, he sparked a movement that prospered in the first quarter of the 20th century and that lingers on today, as we will discover in upsoming weeks.
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Except where otherwise noted, all images courtesy of Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Manuscripts.
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