In their broadest sense, the book arts are at the core of our inventory. To be sure, the category encompasses the specialties that you see on our homepage, such as Fine Printing, Fine Binding, and Illustrated Books. However, it also includes such things as writing books and calligraphy, fore-edge paintings, books on papermaking, and leaf books.
Read more about one of the book arts, Fore-edge Painting
Worcester: Stanbrook Abbey Press, 1983. Oblong 16mo. (10)ff. From an edition of 55, this is one of thirty copies bound in full leather and signed by all concerned in its production: Margaret Adams, the illustrator; George Percival, the binder; Jenny Hancox, the calligrapher; Dame Hildelith Cumming, the manager of the..... More
Tokyo: John Weatherhill, Inc., 1972. Folio. 123pp. One of 183 copies, printed on handmade Japanese paper and signed and sealed by the author and the artist. A collection of Japanese tales of the supernatural "mono no ke" illustrated by Sumiyoshi with paintings composed of the title or theme of each..... More
(London): Theatre Royal, 1829. Broadside playbill for Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1829 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, advertising "a musical piece called The Sublime & Beautiful," followed by "The Farce of the Invincibles," and a "New Comic Pantomime" called "Harlequin and Little Red Riding Hood; or the Wizard and the..... More
St. Louis: Castle Square Opera Co., 1900. Lace-trimmed handkerchief printed on one side only. Issued to commemorate the twenty-seventh week of opera in English by the Castle Square Company, this program was printed for "Souvenir Week," which ran from December 10th to the 15th. A key piece of text from..... More
NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987. Small quarto. (80)pp., + 8pp introductory pamphlet housed inside front cover. One of 2,400 copies. A collection of facsimile reproductions of Thiebaud's sketches, including those for his paintings such as "Cold Cereal" and "California Cakes". Selected and edited by Constance and Jack Glenn, with..... More
Santa Cruz: Good Book Press, 1988. (33)pp. One of 150 copies. A nonsense rhyme, illustrated with photographs of the printer, Peter Thomas, at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Printed by letterpress on Peter's handmade paper, with five samples of his handmade papers tipped-in. Fine in lilac colored boards. (2 15/16 by..... More
(Cranberry Isles, Maine: Tidal Press, c. 1975). Broadside. Signed by the author. A poem and an illustration of a chickadee, both by Charles Wadsworth, who along with his wife, Jean Howard, was proprietor of Tidal Press. Fine. More
Cumberland, MD: Hobby House Press, (1986). Oblong quarto. 236pp. This is an out-of-print, invaluable reference for any collector of children’s material. Illustrated throughout with color and black & white photographs, Whitton’s informative text is both thorough and accurate, with a superb index. Although primarily a reference for paper toys and..... More
(N.p. Biscuiterie de Luxe Plouvier & Truffaut-Croix, c. 1930). Oblong quarto. (7)ff., + four additional smaller samples laid in. A trade catalogue containing salesman's samples of nine different decorative lids for cookie tins, with designs printed in bright color on metal. The designs are captioned "J. J. Carnaud & F...... More
Brooklyn: Traders Press, 1969. 29pp. One of 500 copies. An essay on the history of miniature books and small types, together with a short biography of DeVinne by Jack Levien. With samples of small types and whimsical illustrations by Levien. A reprint of an important essay by the designer of..... More
Bangor, ME: Eastern Corporation, 1946-1948. Quarto. Twenty-two folded broadside specimens, each with exemplar card bearing historical and stylistic notes on the typeface. Broadsides and cards are printed in red and black. The typefaces include Garamond, Baskerville, Perpetua, Futura, Cloister Black and the "Lost" Goudy Types. Among the designers of the..... More
NY: Typophiles, 1938. Small octavo. 64 pp. One of 190 copies designed by Thomas Perry Stricker. This copy bears a presentation inscription from Strickler on front endpaper, dated "March 11, 1938." Essays by Paul Bennet and others, including a bibliography illustrated by photographs. In publisher's buff cloth with leather spine..... More
Paris: Monrocq, (n.d.). Oblong octavo. 24ff. A clever collection of Art Deco types, printed in brown, green, blue, purple, and red. The alphabets bridge traditional and avant garde styles, employing gradients, drop shadows, and ordering the letters in creative arrangements in an impressive drive toward modernity. Draim's other design work..... More
London: Lanston Monotype Corp, 1929. Quarto. 14, (4)pp. One of 130 copies bound in gilt-decorated cloth designed by Rogers. This copy bears a presentation inscription from Bruce Rogers to noted printer William Edwin Rudge, under whose imprint Rogers designed eighty publications. Pollard's paper marks the first appearance in print of..... More
NY: Kurt H. Volk, Inc., (1941). Octavo. 27, (2)ff. folders. One of 1000 copies. Each folder is cut-out in a square shape on the first page to reveal the innovative "gem" on the lower page. The gems are created by printing a letter in different colors and in different configurations..... More
NY: Typophiles, 1965. 16mo. One of 150 copies. Fifty-one leaflets written and produced by various printers as a keepsake for Alftred A. Knopf in celebration of his fiftieth year as a book publisher. Contributors include Ward Ritchie, Plantin Press, Rampant Lions Press, Anvil Press, Peter Pauper Press, Spiral Press, Grimalkin..... More
NY: Paul A. Bennett for The Typophiles, 1937. 12mo. xxvi, 327pp. One of 190 copies designed by John S. Fass and printed by 22 printers. This extraordinary little book is a collection of 156 proposed Typophile devices contributed to by 113 artists, designers, and printers of the day. Various ink..... More
(NY): Typophiles, 1937 (but 1938). 12mo. xxvi, 327pp. One of 190 copies, designed by John S. Fass with contributions by 22 printers. With "A Salute to Typophiles Desipient" by Christopher Morley, an Introduction by Harry Miller Lydenberg, and a Note on the Building of This Book by Paul A. Bennett..... More
(Wakefield, Yorkshire): Fleece Press, (1986). Large quarto. (10)pp., + (19)ff. One of 200 copies printed from the original blocks on handmade paper. Illustrated with twenty wood engravings by Underwood that were cut in the 1920s and 1930s. Underwood's Brook Green School produced a great many accomplished wood engravers, among them..... More
Lewiston, ME: Bates College Museum of Art, 1999. Oblong octavo. 77pp. Replete with reproductions of Van Vliet's lithographs, drawings, etchings, and other works. Interview transcript with Van Vliet at the back, along with a catalogue of her works and associated bibliography. Some rubbing to edges, else fine in printed wrappers..... More
Sierra Madre, CA: Bernhardt Wall, 1946. 34pp. Number one of 200 copies, signed by Wall, who etched the entirety of this book, including the text and illustrations, and printed and bound the edition. The book is printed in several colors of ink on a variety of papers and includes numerous..... More
1988. Single sheet, matted, on German Ingres paper. A marbled flower in six colors, spread from the middle of the page outward. One of Weimann's final productions, completed in the summer of 1988 before his passing that November. Mounted on backing board. Very fine. (12 1/4 by 9 1/2 in.;..... More
1988. Marbled flower in green, red, and blue, traveling up the left margin and arching away and downward at the top. One of Weimann's final productions, completed in the summer of 1988 before his passing that November. Mounted on backing board. Very fine. (9 by 6 in.; 228 x 158..... More
Tubingen, Germany: Jackle-Sonmez, 1991. Quarto. 108pp. One of 400 copies. With over 90 illustrations, thirty-eight in color, and eight original samples of Christopher Weimann's marbled papers. Weimann's contribution to marbling techniques was enormous, in terms of research and technical inventions, as well as the beauty of his own creations. Fine..... More
Risbury, Herefordshire: Whittington Press, 1999. Large quarto. 85pp., + 38 paper specimens tipped in. One of 300 copies. In 1986, the Oxford University Press moved its paper warehouse, selling to Whittington Press many of its remaining paper specimens from books printed at OUP from the turn of the twentieth century..... More
