Valenti Angelo, Author, Illustrator, Printer by Lewis, Oscar; Grabhorn, Robert; Anderson, Sherwood; Duff, Annis (all contributing essays) / Angelo, Valenti (Autobiographical Story) / Englund, Anne (Editor, Bibliographical Checklist) - 1976

San Francisco: The Book Club of California [printed by Andrew Hoyem], 1976. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Angelo, Valenti. One of 400 copies, folio size, 99 pp., signed by Valenti Angelo, with prospectus and related ephemera, in custom box. Valenti Angelo (1897-1982) was a highly-regarded designer, illuminator, and decorator of books over a career that spanned decades, doing much of his early work for the Grabhorn Press and the Book Club of California; he also printed his own books in extremely limited editions under the imprints of "The Golden Cross Press" and "The Press of Valenti Angelo". This publication of The Book Club of California celebrates Angelo's fiftieth anniversary as a printer, and is a detailed collection of his work up to 1975. Many of the facsimiles in the book are printed in colour and some are even hand-coloured by Angelo himself; he contributed greatly to the design of this book.

The volume has essays about Angelo's work and his skill as a printer and designer, written by celebrated novelist Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941), writer Annis Duff, and Robert Grabhorn, of the Grabhorn Press. This particular copy has several pieces of related ephemera laid in, including two different cards regarding Angelo's work and the publication of this book, one with hand-colouring, and two Christmas cards addressed to a prior owner, one from Andrew Hoyem, Printer, and one from Valenti Angelo. The book is housed in a custom clamshell box.

___DESCRIPTION: Quarter red cloth with orange boards, blue decorations by Valenti Angelo running vertically on the front and rear boards, orange paper spine label with blue lettering, fore-edge uncut, bottom edge rough cut, title page with illustrations and ornaments in blue and orange with hand-colouring in gilt by Angelo, decorations and initial capitals by Angelo throughout, forty-three specimens of Angelo's printing, thirty-five of which are in colour, and some hand-coloured, throughout; monotype Centaur, machine-made paper, folio size (14.5" by 10.25"), pagination: [1-6] 7-97 [98] [1 colophon], one of 400 copies, unnumbered, signed by Valenti Angelo on the colophon. With prospectus loosely laid in, one sheet folded once, and related ephemera, two cards regarding the Open House celebrating the book's publication and an exhibition of Angelo's work, and two Christmas cards inside envelopes with prior owner address, one from Andrew Hoyem at the Arion Press featuring an illustration of madrone berries by Valenti Angelo, and one from Valenti Angelo himself. Housed in a custom clamshell box covered in brown paper, with a brown paper spine label with black lettering.

___CONDITION: A fine copy; the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, as new. The prospectus is near fine, clean overall, without wear except for a small crease to the bottom right corners. The custom clamshell box is near fine, strong and sturdy, clean overall with the hint of a stray mark or two, spine is lightly sunned, and bottom front corner bumped and with some rubbing. The ephemera are near fine, clean overall with some minor soiling, without wear.

___CITATION: BCC no. 154.

___POSTAGE:  Please note that this is an unusually large and heavy item and additional postage may apply; please inquire for details.

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