UTOPIA
by (ASHENDENE PRESS). MORE, THOMAS
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Chelsea: Ashendene Press, 1906. ONE OF 100 COPIES on paper, of which 80 were for sale (and 20 on vellum, 15 for sale). 287 x 195 mm. (11 1/4 x 7 3/4"). 161, [1] pp.
Publisher's holland-backed blue paper boards with black printed titling on spine. Initials designed by Eric Gill. Printed in red and black in Subiaco type. Front pastedown with bookplate of James Curle. Hornby 22; Tomkinson, p. 6. ◆A couple of corners a little bumped, but A VERY FINE COPY, the text clean, fresh, and bright, with only the most trivial imperfections, and the original binding with few signs of wear.
This is a just-as-it-should-be copy of an especially handsome Ashendene production, with elegant initials that constitute one of Eric Gill's earliest commissions. Calling it "a marvellous book," Franklin includes the "Utopia" in a group of five Ashendene productions of medium proportions (mostly small folio) "which in scope and skill have as much appeal as any Ashendene books." This is the first Ashendene with marginal notes in red, and the Subiaco type used here was the first to be produced especially for the Ashendene Press. Our printer C. H. St John Hornby, in consultation with Sidney Cockerell and Emery Walker, decided to create a typeface based on that employed by Sweynheym and Pannartz, who had printed the first books in Italy at a monastery in Subiaco (which inspired the type's name). Walker and Cockerell took photographs of the British Museum's copy of their Cicero "De Oratore," and used that as a model for the design. The punches were cut by E. P. Prince, and the fount cast in Edinburgh. The fee charged by Walker and Cockerell for creating one of the foremost types of the private press movement was £100--a considerable bargain, as Hornby was the first to acknowledge. It is becoming harder and harder to find Ashendene books in holland-backed boards that are so well preserved as seen here, with no significant wear or fraying to the cloth, and with virtually pristine text..
Publisher's holland-backed blue paper boards with black printed titling on spine. Initials designed by Eric Gill. Printed in red and black in Subiaco type. Front pastedown with bookplate of James Curle. Hornby 22; Tomkinson, p. 6. ◆A couple of corners a little bumped, but A VERY FINE COPY, the text clean, fresh, and bright, with only the most trivial imperfections, and the original binding with few signs of wear.
This is a just-as-it-should-be copy of an especially handsome Ashendene production, with elegant initials that constitute one of Eric Gill's earliest commissions. Calling it "a marvellous book," Franklin includes the "Utopia" in a group of five Ashendene productions of medium proportions (mostly small folio) "which in scope and skill have as much appeal as any Ashendene books." This is the first Ashendene with marginal notes in red, and the Subiaco type used here was the first to be produced especially for the Ashendene Press. Our printer C. H. St John Hornby, in consultation with Sidney Cockerell and Emery Walker, decided to create a typeface based on that employed by Sweynheym and Pannartz, who had printed the first books in Italy at a monastery in Subiaco (which inspired the type's name). Walker and Cockerell took photographs of the British Museum's copy of their Cicero "De Oratore," and used that as a model for the design. The punches were cut by E. P. Prince, and the fount cast in Edinburgh. The fee charged by Walker and Cockerell for creating one of the foremost types of the private press movement was £100--a considerable bargain, as Hornby was the first to acknowledge. It is becoming harder and harder to find Ashendene books in holland-backed boards that are so well preserved as seen here, with no significant wear or fraying to the cloth, and with virtually pristine text..
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- ST19289
- Title
- UTOPIA
- Author
- (ASHENDENE PRESS). MORE, THOMAS
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- ONE OF 100 COPIES on paper, of which 80 were for sale (and 20 on
- Publisher
- Ashendene Press
- Place of Publication
- Chelsea
- Date Published
- 1906
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
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About the Seller
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
Biblio member since 2006
McMinnville, Oregon
About Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books an Manuscripts was established in 1978 on a ping pong table in a basement in Kalamazoo, Michigan. From the beginning, its founder was willing to sell a range of material, but over the years, the business has gravitated toward historical artifacts that are physically attractive in some way--illuminated material, fine bindings, books printed on vellum, fore-edge paintings, beautiful typography and paper, impressive illustration. Today, the company still sells a wide range of things, from (scruffy) ninth century leaves to biblical material from all periods to Wing and STC imprints to modern private press books to artists' bindings. While we are forgiving about condition when something is of considerable rarity, we always try to obtain the most attractive copies possible of whatever we offer for sale.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Vellum
- Vellum is a sheet of specialty prepared skin of lamb, calf, or goat kid used for binding a book or for printing and writing. ...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...