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Canterbury Tales: With wood engravings by Eric Gill.
by CHAUCER, Geoffrey
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Beverly Hills, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Waltham Saint Lawrence in Berkshire: Printed and published at the Golden Cockerel Press, 1929. GOLDEN COCKEREL PRESS; GILL, Eric|SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE. With Wood Engravings by Eric Gill
[GOLDEN COCKEREL PRESS]. CHAUCER, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. With wood engravings by Eric Gill. Waltham Saint Lawrence in Berkshire: Printed and published at the Golden Cockerel Press, 1929-1931.
One of 485 numbered copies on Batchelor handmade paper, out of a total edition of 500 copies. Stated "File Copy" on colophon page, in lieu of a limitation number. Four folio volumes (12 x 7 1/2 inches; 307 x 190 mm). One full-page illustration, twenty-nine half-page illustrations, 269 decorative borders, tail-pieces, and line-fillers, and sixty-one initial letters (printed in black, red, or blue), all engraved on wood by Eric Gill.
Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in quarter niger morocco over patterned boards. Gilt-lettered spine with raised bands. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Spines lightly sunned to different degrees. A few very tiny chips to spines. Tips slightly bumped and with some rubbing. Housed in a morocco-tipped cloth slipcase. Overall a handsome and desirable set which shows very well and the text is very clean.
"Most of the borders are leaf and stem, but among the leaves, hiding or beckoning, climbing or leaning out, are girls and men, kings and boys, priests and nuns who take part or seem to be commenting upon the stories...the pattern continues, affectionate and cheeky, erotic, enjoyable and relevant, decorative and explanatory, a balance of taste and eye. Borders are repeated, sometimes in new combinations. To start a new tale we have more elaborate and descriptive work with a red or blue initial letter...There they are, the characters in the tale, with their stage scenery...One other quality in these borders should be noticed—their mannerism, the distortion of human figures sometimes so that they almost share the forms of leaf and stem—and sometimes grow from them. It is another, rather touching aspect of Gill's idea and all these manners work towards a single art—the poetry, people, leaves, decoration and explanation. Author, artist and printer have shared one concept and expressed it" (Colin Franklin, The Private Presses, pp. 143-144).
Chanticleer 63. Gill 281.
HBS 68192.
$10,000.
[GOLDEN COCKEREL PRESS]. CHAUCER, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. With wood engravings by Eric Gill. Waltham Saint Lawrence in Berkshire: Printed and published at the Golden Cockerel Press, 1929-1931.
One of 485 numbered copies on Batchelor handmade paper, out of a total edition of 500 copies. Stated "File Copy" on colophon page, in lieu of a limitation number. Four folio volumes (12 x 7 1/2 inches; 307 x 190 mm). One full-page illustration, twenty-nine half-page illustrations, 269 decorative borders, tail-pieces, and line-fillers, and sixty-one initial letters (printed in black, red, or blue), all engraved on wood by Eric Gill.
Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in quarter niger morocco over patterned boards. Gilt-lettered spine with raised bands. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Spines lightly sunned to different degrees. A few very tiny chips to spines. Tips slightly bumped and with some rubbing. Housed in a morocco-tipped cloth slipcase. Overall a handsome and desirable set which shows very well and the text is very clean.
"Most of the borders are leaf and stem, but among the leaves, hiding or beckoning, climbing or leaning out, are girls and men, kings and boys, priests and nuns who take part or seem to be commenting upon the stories...the pattern continues, affectionate and cheeky, erotic, enjoyable and relevant, decorative and explanatory, a balance of taste and eye. Borders are repeated, sometimes in new combinations. To start a new tale we have more elaborate and descriptive work with a red or blue initial letter...There they are, the characters in the tale, with their stage scenery...One other quality in these borders should be noticed—their mannerism, the distortion of human figures sometimes so that they almost share the forms of leaf and stem—and sometimes grow from them. It is another, rather touching aspect of Gill's idea and all these manners work towards a single art—the poetry, people, leaves, decoration and explanation. Author, artist and printer have shared one concept and expressed it" (Colin Franklin, The Private Presses, pp. 143-144).
Chanticleer 63. Gill 281.
HBS 68192.
$10,000.
Synopsis
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, the son of a wine-merchant, in about 1342, and as he spent his life in royal government service his career happens to be unusually well documented. By 1357 Chaucer was a page to the wife of Prince Lionel, second son of Edward III, and it was while in the prince's service that Chaucer was ransomed when captured during the English campaign in France in 1359-60. Chaucer's wife Philippa, whom he married c. 1365, was the sister of Katherine Swynford, the mistress (c. 1370) and third wife (1396) of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, whose first wife Blanche (d. 1368) is commemorated in Chaucer's ealrist major poem, The Book of the Duchess . From 1374 Chaucer worked as controller of customs on wool in the port of London, but between 1366 and 1378 he made a number of trips abroad on official business, including two trips to Italy in 1372-3 and 1378. The influence of Chaucer's encounter with Italian literature is felt in the poems he wrote in the late 1370's and early 1380s – The House of Fame , The Parliament of Fowls and a version of The Knight's Tale – and finds its fullest expression in Troilus and Criseyde . In 1386 Chaucer was member of parliament for Kent, but in the same year he resigned his customs post, although in 1389 he was appointed Clerk of the King's Works (resigning in 1391). After finishing Troilus and his translation into English prose of Boethius' De consolatione philosophiae , Chaucer started his Legend of Good Women . In the 1390s he worked on his most ambitious project, The Canterbury Tales , which remained unfinished at his death. In 1399 Chaucer leased a house in the precincts of Westminster Abbey but died in 1400 and was buried in the Abbey.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Heritage Book Shop, LLC
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 68192
- Title
- Canterbury Tales
- Author
- CHAUCER, Geoffrey
- Illustrator
- GOLDEN COCKEREL PRESS; GILL, Eric|SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Printed and published at the Golden Cockerel Press
- Place of Publication
- Waltham Saint Lawrence in Berkshire
- Date Published
- 1929
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Illustrated Books|Fine Printing|Fine Bindings
Terms of Sale
Heritage Book Shop, LLC
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Heritage Book Shop, LLC
Biblio member since 2006
Beverly Hills, California
About Heritage Book Shop, LLC
Owned and operated by Ben Weinstein, who has been in the business of antiquarian books for over fifty years, Heritage Book Shop\'s inventory consists of some of the finest items in the areas of first editions, early printed books, bindings, illustrated books, literature, and manuscripts. Heritage Book Shop serves a clientele base consisting of private collectors as well as esteemed public institutions. We take great pride in the dedication we offer our clients. Whether you are building a first-rate collection of a favorite author or an extensive library, we look forward to offering the experience of our knowledgeable and helpful staff.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Folio
- A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Colophon
- The colophon contains information about a book's publisher, the typesetting, printer, and possibly even includes a printer's...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
This Book’s Categories
- Bindings & Editions Fine Bindings
- Fiction & Literature Classic Literature
- Fiction & Literature English Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Literary Studies Literary Criticism
- Fiction & Literature Medieval Literature
- Children & Juvenile Juvenile & Young Adult Juvenile Fiction & Literature
- Presses & Publishers Fine Printing
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