[Vale Press] [Bookplate designed by Edwin Davis French] [Grolier Club president Edwin B. Holden's copy] De la Typographie et de L'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée. William Morris et Son Influence sur les Arts et Métiers

Paris and London: Chez Floury; Hacon & Ricketts at the Ballantyne Press, 1898. Limited Edition of 250. Paper covered boards. Very Good/No Dust Jacket As Issued.

Boards of half-printed paper with a 'Wild Rose' floral design in green and red by Pissarro, printed label on the spine to grey-green paper boards. pp. (4) blank, 31 (5) blank.

Text in French. Printed in red and black, with woodcut designs and decorative border by Charles Ricketts. 20x12.5 cm (8x5"), half-patterned paper over boards, printed spine label.

Spine sunned, minor soiling and wear to edges; very good. Errata slip laid in. Armorial bookplate of Edwin B. Holden present lightly attached .

Edwin Babcock Holden (1861-1906), former president of the Grolier Club, author of bibliographies and book collector. The bookplate is the work of Edwin Davis French (1851-1906), one of the most well-known and sought after American bookplate engravers of his time.. Limited to 250 copies (plus 6 on vellum) Printed in the Vale Type in black and red, on page 1 the Vale Monogram in red; on page 2-5 and 19-19 ruled in red. The paragraph mark was designed by Pissarro and engraved by Ricketts.

Pissarro was to have printed the whole work, but due to ill-health he only completed the first 8 pages with the rest completed by Ricketts.

Background Information:
Charles Ricketts (1866-1931) was a British artist, illustrator, author and printer, known for his work as a book designer and typographer and for his costume and scenery designs for plays and operas.

Ricketts first made his mark in book production, first as an illustrator, and then as the founder and driving force of the Vale Press (1896-1904), one of the leading private presses of the day, for which he designed the type and illustrations. A disastrous fire at the printers led to the closure of the press, and Ricketts turned increasingly to painting and sculpture over the following two decades. [Tate]

Lucien Pissarro was a French landscape painter, printmaker, wood engraver, designer, and printer of fine books. His landscape paintings employ techniques of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism.

Subjects: Printing -- Great Britain; Type and type-founding; Handmade papers; Printers' devices; Private press books; Typefaces; Typography