A DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE BOOKS PRINTED AT THE ASHENDENE PRESS MDCCCXCV - MCMXXXV

Shelley House, Chelsea: The Ashendene Press, 1935.. Folio. Full dark brown cowhide, stamped in gilt. Illustrated with facsimiles, specimen leaves, photogravures and collotypes. Trace of offsetting from binding to endsheets, a few minor foxmarks to endsheets, minor rubs to spine, otherwise a fine copy in slipcase. First edition of Hornby's lavish record of his press's achievement, itself one of the most desirable productions of his talents. One of three hundred and ninety numbered copies, printed by hand on handmade paper, chiefly in Ptolemy type, and signed by Hornby. It is profusely illustrated with woodcuts, devices, and specimen leaves representative of the format of the earlier books, specimens of the initial letters and devices designed for the press by Gill, Hewitt and others, illustrations of bindings (standard and other), type specimens, etc. Accompanied by two autograph letters, signed, from Hornby to a "Mr. Bain," Shelley House, 1 Sept 1934, one page octavo, thanking the recipient for his check and positive comments about the vellum Daphnis et Chloe, and noting "I am not doing any copies on vellum of my 'Bibliography'. It seemed to me hardly a suitable book for vellum copies ...." The second letter, Shelley House, 10 Sept 1935, runs to 4pp., in part noting " ...thank you for the kind things you say about my press - I shall miss it very much - it has been a constant interest to me for so many years - but all good things come to an end sometimes and it is something to be able to look back upon a completed work." In response to a query about what he thinks of the "present outlook," Hornby notes that "It seems to me that the great problem of our time is the rapidly increasing productivity of machines ... I am inclined to agree with H. G. Wells that we shall not get either peace or prosperity until we have a World State, and that is still a very long way off ... if we could only get rid of unemployment we should not have much to complain of. I am afraid that it could only be got rid of by socialistic methods which would leave everyone worse off than the unemployed are now. Human nature is not yet good enough for the perfect Socialistic State ...."