The Principles of Printing Machinery

SOUTHWARD (John) The Principles and Progress of Printing Machinery...with an account of Modern Printing Machines by F.J.F. Wilson. 2nd ed. London: Menken, n.d. [c.1895]. 8vo. Pp. 156 + 4pp adverts. 63 illusts incl. 3 folding plates. Orig. cloth. Some age-embrowning. Discolouration to small part of lower board, but still v.g. Wyman's Technical Series. The first edition appeared in 1888. Uncommon. £60

Ornamented types

Special set D, with an additional proof on vellum

POUCHÉE (Louis John)  Ornamented Types. Twenty-three alphabets from the foundry of Louis John Pouchée. Specimens, with an introduction by James Mosley. London: I.M.Imprimit in association with St Bride Printing Library, 1992-3.

   Ltd. to 210 sets, 200 for sale, printed on a special making of 175gsm acid-free white Zerkall mould-made paper. 2 vols. Folio (21 x 15"; 530 x 380mm). 25 alphabets displayed in 46 sheets of specimens with 6 additional sheets of prelims and endmatter, in a Solander box, together with a uniform, cloth-bound introductory volume, pp. viii, 37 + colophon, with 51 full-size illustrations, in a slipcase. This is Special Set D with an additional proof of 12 Lines Pica Ornamented printed in black on vellum (uniform in size with the paper proofs).

   At the time of printing trial proofs of ten of the alphabets were made on forty leaves of vellum, using black and specially prepared coloured inks. These proofs have never been advertised and sets B-D of four special sets made up from them have not hitherto been available for sale. Each of the special sets contains a printed index of the vellum proofs, numbered and signed by the printer. 

   Winner of the Premio Felice Feliciano 1995. Special sets A, B & C, sold. Set D, £2950. 
   New copies of the standard edition are available at £2250. 

ZAPF von HESSE (Gudrun) Bindings. Handwritten Books. Typefaces. Examples of Lettering and Drawings. West New York, NJ: Mark Batty, 2002. One of 80 special copies containing six letterpress specimens of the artist's typefaces. Signed by Gudrun Zapf von Hesse. 4to. 30cm. Pp.222. Profusely illustrated in colour. Orig. cloth gilt. Slipcase with card portfolio (contents illustrated below). Near mint. £225

Octavo

Octavo. An international journal of typography. Nos. 1-8 [all published]. Ed. by Simon Johnston, Michael Burke and Hamish Muir. Eight Five Zero Publishing, 1986-92. Seven 16pp. paper issues and a CD rom. Loose folding poster. A nice set. SOLD

'Octavo had a high-mindedness and a purity that set it apart intellectually and aesthetically from both the commercial and 'style' wings of contemporary British graphics. Octavo was sternly opposed to typographic mediocrity, nostalgia, fashion, decoration, symmetry, centred type and the hated serif. It was for a semantically determined use of structure and the infinite possibilities of typographic experimentation. "We take an internationalist, modernist stance," the first edition concluded. "This is necessary in England."'
Rick Poynor, Eye 9:3, 1993

Fine Print

Fine Print. A review for the arts of the book. Ed. by Sandra Kirshenbaum. Vol. 1, No. 1 - Vol. 16, no. 3 [all published], 1975-90. 4to. 63 vols. 7 issues of Fine Print 2, the supplementary calendar and classified advertisements section commenced at 5:1, not present. Wire-stitched, with or without wrappers, as issued. A few corners bruised, but generally excellent. A notable leader in the revival and renewal of the fine press movement in the last quarter of the twentieth century. SOLD

Croydon, Printer & Bookseller, Umbrella Maker, &c.

Engraved trade card, proof on paper, plate size 93 x 65mm. Teignmouth, n.d. [early C19].

One Thousand and One Initial Letters

JONES (Owen) One Thousand and One Initial Letters. Designed and illuminated by... London: Day & Son, 1864. La. folio. Two leaves of prelims (title chromolithographed) and 27 chromolithographed plates. A worn, working copy with several closed marginal tears, some repaired, and some small coloured ink/paint stains, mostly marginal, the image areas scarcely affected. Perhaps a calligrapher or sign-writer's studio copy. Outer leaves foxed. Recent full blue cloth. SOLD