Hardcover
Shaker Herbs: An Essay by Cynthia Elyce Rubin with 19th-century Shaker Herb Labels
(Northampton, MA): Catawba Press, 1984. Approximately 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 ". 40 pp. LIMITED EDITION of 155 copies, this being #36. Printed green paper boards with title and decorative border on cover, labels tipped in as frontispiece and throughout the text, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Catawba Press 1)
The only miniature book printed by Barbara Blumenthal of Catawba Press, the essay has been reprinted with the permission of the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City. The essay starts with a short history of the Shaker religion and their industries, which included agriculture, medicine, seeds, and foodstuffs. The latter part of the essay details the medicinal properties of the herbs that the Shakers used in their medicinal recipes. A beautiful little books, interspersed throughout with lovely Shaker herb labels for added interest.
Shakespeare on Paper Mills
Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Book Press, 1988. [64] pp. Approximately 1 9/16 x 1 15/16". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, of which the first 100 copies are printed on paper made during Shakespeare's lifetime (from a damaged copy of Digestrum Novum: 1576) and the second 100 copies use Peter Thomas' handmade paper. This is #99 from the first set made. Gilt morocco spine, paper over boards, illustrated by Donna Thomas, very minor wear, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Peter and Donna Thomas, 26; P&D Thomas Bibliography A50).
A beautiful miniature by well-known book artists, authors, and paper-makers Peter and Donna Thomas, this book presents a fascinating study of paper-mills and paper-making, as seen and described in various Shakespeare works, particularly Henry VI, Part 2: Act 4, Scene 7.
Shakespeare's Seasons
(Manteno, IL): Bronte Press, 1998. (28) pp. Approximately 2 3/8 x 3". LIMITED EDITION of 60 copies, this being #32. Marbled paper boards, calligraphy and illustrations by Suzanne Pruchnicki, hand-colored by Suzanne and Paul Pruchnicki, signed by the artist/printer. A fine copy, delightfully done. (Bradbury, Bronte Press #50)
Exceprts from Shakespeare's verses on the happenings of the seasons, all beautifully hand-colored.
The Canterbury Tales
Agoura Hills, CA: [Barbara J. Raheb] Pennyweight Press, [1987]. 48 pp. Approximately 5/8 x 15/16". LIMITED EDITION of 300 copies, this being #92. Black leather with gilt titles on spine and cover, previous owner's bookplate on front free endpaper, decorative endpapers, illustrated, signed and numbered on the colophon, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Barbara J. Raheb, 367)
Barbara Raheb must have loved this book as it is printed, by her, in four separate editions: 1978, 1980, 1987, and 1993. The illustrations by Barbara Raheb are based on those printed in the Ellesmere Manuscript published in 1410. Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 - 1400) is known as the Father of English literature and this is his best known work.
The Cask of Amontillado
Boston: Anne & David Bromer, 1981. [21] pp. approx. 2 x 2 5/8". LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies, thirty-five of which are deluxe. Apart from the deluxe bindings printed by the Thistle Bindery which have a black inlaid morocco binding with box, this is a unique deluxe A/P edition in a custom Roland Meuter binding with pink leather, marbled aluminum covers and gilt top edge gauffered. Colored illustrations, signed by the illustrator on the colophon, housed in a wooden box with pink leather accents, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Bromer 7)
When Linnea Gentry moved her successful Amaranth Press from San Francisco to Santa Fe in 1980, she brought an exceptional sense of quality and a reputation as one of the Bay area’s most talented book artists. Gentry started her career as a designer at the EP Dutton firm in New York. In San Francisco she camped on the doorstep of the much-lauded Grabhorn Press, until she was taken on as a typesetting apprentice. She later launched her Amaranth Press where she turned out fine letterpress work for a discriminating clientele. In the mid-1970s she helped found and became production manager of Fine Print, an international journal of the book arts.
Her introduction to New Mexico came during childhood visits to her aunt, Helen Gentry, a renowned book designer and publisher who lived part-time in Santa Fe during the 1930s and 1940s and settled there after 1965. Colored by the elder Gentry’s circle of artist friends, the visits made a deep impression and influenced the Amaranth’s brief stay in Santa Fe before Gentry closed the press in 1983. (privatepress.org)
The binder, Roland Meuter, maintains an atelier in Ascona, Switzerland, where he continues to produce imaginatively designed bindings that attract considerable attention.
The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man's Recreation, being a discourse of rivers, fish-ponds, fish and fishing
London: Henry Frowde, ca 1900. Approximately 1 1/4 x 2". 588 pp. Rare in Miniature Book format. Black leather over boards with gilt title in panel on spine, gilt top edge, frontispiece with no tissue guard and minor tear, Oxford University Press Warehouse Amen Corner E.C., based on fifth edition on India paper, final page separated but still included, in very good+ condition. (Welsh 7030, Bondy p. 117, Coigney 204)
Subtitled "The Contemplative Man's Recreation, Being a Discourse of Rivers, Fishponds, Fish and Fishing, not unworthy the Perusal of most Anglers." The Compleat Angler is a practical guide to the art of angling, or fishing; however, it also has political and historical underpinnings. What sets "The Compleat Angler" apart from other practical handbooks and puts it firmly in the realm of literature is its delightful style that is technically polished and charming to read and its abundance of insight into human nature.
The Creation
Tarzana, CA: Barbara J. Raheb, 1981. 72 pp. Approximately 5/8 x 15/16". LIMITED EDITION of 300 copies, this being #51. Black pyroxylin with gilt titles on spine and cover, previous owner's bookplate on front free endpaper, marbled endpapers, illustrated, illustrated by Edward Burne-Jones, signed and numbered on the colophon, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Barbara J. Raheb, 281)
The illustrations in the book were made for an edition of "Bible Innocentium" which was to have been produced by the Kelmscott Press and would have contained upwards of two hundred pictures. Many were begun, but none quite finished. The designs contained herein have been modified from a horizontal to a vertical format and the book itself is based on a facsimile of the first edition published in 1902 by Longmans Greene & Co., printed by the Chiswick Press. (from the forward by Barbara Raheb)
The Exquisitry of William Lewis Washburn
New Britain, CT: REM Miniatures, 1999. (44) pp. Approximately 2 3/4 x 2 1/4". LIMITED EDITION of 99 copies, this being #28. Black buckram, printed paper label on upper cover, illustrated, unpaginated, slide-on paper sleeve, all enclosed in a decorated box with printed label. Signed presentation from the Massmanns on second free fly. A very fine copy; prospectus laid in. (Bradbury, REM, 100)
A tribute to William Lewis Washburn, publisher of miniature books and broadsides, with a short-title list of all his publications.
The Friar of Rubygill
n.p.: The Cherub Press, 1987. (6) pp. Approximately 2 3/4 x 2 3/8". LIMITED EDITION of 65 copies. Decorated handmade paper over stiff wrappers, printed paper lable on front cover, Hand-colored frontis by Kim Butcher. A fine copy, attractively printed.
Cherub Press is the publisher of the journal KABBALAH and many books and editions of Jewish mystical literature. This particular little story is an excerpt from Thomas L. Peacock's novel, "Maid Marion" (1822).
The Griffin
San Diego, CA: Ash Ranch Press, 1989. 36 pp. Approximately 2 7/16 x 2 7/16". LIMITED EDITION of 126 copies, this being #34. Red leather over boards, blind stamped griffin design on cover with gilt title on spine, letterpress, marbled endpapers, illustrations throughout, signed on the colophon by the publisher, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Ash Ranch Press #14)
The subtitle of the book says, "The Griffin. A note on a fabulous creatures rise from a guardian of gold to a symbol of printing." A lovely little history with illustrations about the griffin symbol.