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A Conservatory for my Prospectuses and Specimen Leaves
Henry Morris,
2008
For the 50th anniversary of Bird & Bull Press I have made 100 bound collections of all the prospectuses and leaves in my possession. Many scarce early prospectuses which remained in small hoards have been included. Thirty-six pages of brief running commentaries on the books are included as are facsimiles of relevant letters plus leaves from books which will be unknown to my subscribers. Unlike the material which has been included in the portfolios of my three bibliographies, the 46 inserts are bound-in and not removable, providing a permanent record of the progression and variety of works produced over a fifty-year period. As the inserts are so varied and the quantities limited, no two copies are alike. The book is a thick 9x12" small folio, cloth bound, in a clamshell case. Since it was only possible to make 100 copies I am unable to completely fill multiple-copy standing orders and there is no need for the usual prospectus. The book is priced at $500.
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The Magnum Opus of Joseph Florimond Loubat
John E. Adams, George Klobe, Henry Morris and Pete Smith
2007
Early in 2007 I began working on the limited edition of John Adams' Comitia Americana. This authoritative text describes battles waged by our early military and naval forces and the medals authorized by Congress which honored the officers who led their men to success during the American Revolution. There was an earlier commercial offset version of Comitia, but the letterpress edition was limited to 60 copies of this 351-page book. This special edition contains a selected Jacquemart etching from Loubat's 1878 Medallic History which has provided a foundation for all later writings on this subject.
It was the substantial number of unused Jacquemart etchings that formed the basis of the present book, along with essays on the production of the Loubat book, personal details on the colorful Mr. Loubat and a review of the original book.
In addition to two full-sized original leaves there are two leaves from the letterpress limited edition. This profusion of leaves may irritate librarians and curators who are generally opposed to the making of leaf books. In my Forward I present an argument, under certain conditions, in favor of the leaf book.
The Magnum Opus of Joseph Florimond Loubat is a small quarto. Composed in hot-metal type and printed on imported mold-made paper. The book is hand-sewn and quarter-bound in morocco leather with Japanese silk boards and leather spine label. 150 copies were printed and the 20 copies not taken by standing orders are offered for $200, plus $8 for domestic shipping.
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Mr. Gladstone’s Washi
Includes a facsimile of the Parkes Report plus the thirty woodcut illustrations from the rare and famous Kamisuki Chohoki, printed on a heavier Japanese handmade paper. Also included are twenty full-size color reproductions of Japanese papermaking. Each copy has an extra set of the color prints in a portfolio.
134 pp. plus fold-outs, 8 1/4” x 11”. 450 copies quarter-bound in morocco with a slipcase. (Four copies remain).$260. plus $10. domestic shipping. |
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Vignettes, Vol. II.
Includes chapters on the early years of Bird & Bull with tip-ins and illustrations. The fourteen chapters cover book collecting, papermaking, articles about books that have intrigued me and lots of other bookish material. Inside the front cover of the clamshell box is a set of clay impressions taken from ancient Babylonian cylinder seals, which are discussed in one of the chapters.
77 pp. 10” x 13”. 155 copies bound in imported cloth in a cloth-covered clamshell box. $400. plus $10. domestic shipping
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The Foresters
This long epic poem describes Alexander Wilson’s first “pedestrian journey” into the American wilderness, from Philadelphia to Niagara Falls. It is a wonderfully descriptive account of the Arcadian splendor and spectacular sights of 18th century America. Wilson later went on to become “The American Audubon” with his nine volume American Ornithology. The book is illustrated with 14 wood engravings by Wesley W. Bates.
The Foresters, xx plus 112 pp., 6” x 9”. 150 copies quarter-bound in morocco in a cloth-covered slipcase. $400. plus $10. domestic shipping
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The Booksellers of San Serriffe
In his ground-breaking 1980 Private Presses of San Serriffe, Dr. Theordore Bachaus introduced most of the country’s active and better known presses. This new book aims to render a similar service for the leading specialist booksellers in this legendary republic. The books carried by these dealers are often peculiar to the history and culture of the country and will not be found elsewhere. There are three full page wood engravings of shop fronts by Wesley W. Bates, 15 tipped-in pieces, a fragment of the first book printed in San Serriffe, a large (18” x 24”) fold-out of a Grandiloquent Books title page, samples of various paste papers from St. Lukes, facsimiles of title pages never seen outside of San Serriffe and much more.
89 (6) pp., 6” x 9”. 185 copies quarter- bound in morocco in a cloth-covered slipcase. $300. plus $10. domestic shipping. |
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Forty-Four Years of Bird & Bull, A Bibliography,
1958-2002.
Following an Introduction are descriptions and commentaries of each book plus 24 tip-ins or inserts bound-in, including five 4 pp inserts, two 6 pp. inserts and one fold-out broadside on handmade “Roma” paper. Included in the separate inch-thick portfolio of specimens is a 16 pp. small folio booklet with the complete woodcuts of Three Lions and the Cross of Lorraine(1992). An additional inner portfolio contains a generous collection of leaves from DardHunter & Son (1998). The main portfolio also includes 8-,12-, and 16- pp. specimen sections, large posters, prospectuses, the two aforementioned items and other ephemera.
The book is 99 pp. plus unpaginated inserts 9” x 12 ½”. 150 copies quarter-bound in morocco. The book and portfolio are in a cloth-covered clamshell box. $500. plus $ 15. domestic shipping.
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Henk Voorn to Henry Morris.
Leonard Schlosser considered Henk Voorn to be the leading paper historian of this time, and Voorn’s name is well known to all those interested in papermaking history. The earlier letters include personal details and much information concerning the planning and publication of Old Ream Wrappers (1969), the Voorns’ first trip to the U.S. and our first trip to Holland and England in 1967. Subsequent letters are concerned with trips to IPH Congresses, books published by Bird & Bull Press and related matters dealing with papermaking history. Sixteen colored illustrations are tipped-in.
56 pp., 8” x 11”. 150 copies bound in cloth, in a cloth-covered slipcase. $200. plus $10. domestic shipping.
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Son of the Bookbinder
Collectors of fine press books are familiar with Campbell-Logan as they have produced bindings for many private presses, including of course, Bird & Bull. Less known to collectors is that they are also “library binders” and Campbell’s engaging and informative description of the work of the library binder provides a rare view of this essential branch of bookbinding. A separate accordion-style Appendix provides the interested collector with sixty generous-size samples of some of the most beautiful imported book-cloths available today.
The book is 81 pp. , 6” x 9”, bound in imported cloth. The Appendix is similarly bound and both are in a cloth-covered slipcase. 10 copies are available. $450. plus $10. for domestic shipping.
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In Black and White
This book records in words and illustrations Wesley Bates' journey form neophyte to master wood engraver. The stories he tells along the way and the engravings which illustrate them will be instructive and enjoyable to all those interested in the art of wood engraving. In addition to wood engraving, Bates' work as a professional illustrator included the medium of scraperboard, which produces an image that can appear to be a wood engraving. The process, which is probably unknown to most wood engraving enthusiasts is explained and a comparative example is included. Also included is a fold-out 4-color woodcut print which Bates made for a book published by the Bird and Bull Press in 2001.
74 pp. 7 3/8" x 10 1/4." 140 copies bound in Japanese cloth, in a cloth-covered slipcase. $275 plus $10 domestic shipping.
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La Relieuse
Charles Meunier’s plaquette, 1900. A rare and beautiful depiction of the Bookbinder in medallic art. Meunier was a well known Parisian binder who made this plaquette for an exhibition of his bindings in 1900, as noted by the wording on the reverse side. The original 2” x 3” plaquette was made in pewter and this reproduction is made in the same metal. Enclosed in a cloth covered holder, the plaquette is in a recess. $60. plus $5. domestic shipping
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