University Park, TX: Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University, 1983. Hardcover. One of 275 copies (250 for sale) printed for the Bridwell Library by the famed Bird & Bull Press. An inscription in ink on the colophon states that this copy is "one of two printer's copies in a trial binding that was not used for the edition." This interesting book explores the famous feud between C.H. Cobden-Sanderson and Emery Walker over the ownership of the type of the renowned Doves Press. It offers a new perspective through the discovery by Michael Hornby, son of St John Hornby, of previously unknown correspondence between Cobden-Sanderson and St John Hornby, Sidney Cockerell, and Walker. The letters, mostly dated from 1906 to 1908, shed new light upon the controversy and provide fresh insight into the intensity of Cobden-Sanderson's preoccupation with the type.

The unsigned inscription on the colophon was possibly written by Henry Morris, founder of the Bird & Bull Press. Morris founded his press in 1958 and continued to print their highly regarded letterpress books until his retirement in 2014. From Princeton University “…Morris’s publishing program has been a boon to the historian of the book. He is correct when he writes, ‘It pleases me to know that without the Bird & Bull, many books on worthwhile, albeit esoteric subjects would probably never have been published.’ And all these works have been printed by letterpress from metal type on either Henry’s own handmade or on imported mould-made papers.” The inscription is written to Abe Lerner and Kit Currie "on the occasion of their visit here on Oct. 8/1983." Abe Lerner and his wife, Kit Currie, were both important figures in the world of books in the twentieth century. Abe Lerner (1908-2002) was a highly respected and talented typographer/book designer with links to the likes of the great Bruce Rogers. With a meticulous eye for detail and clean design, he was constantly working on new projects. With a career that landed him as the Director of Design and Production at Macmillan, President of the Typophiles, and lecturer at the Grolier Club in New York, Abe Lerner was certainly one of the finest typographic designers of the 20th century. Kit Currie began her career in the antiquarian book trade as the personal assistant for London bookdealer Bertram Rota. She moved to California in 1964 and began working at Dawson’s Book Shop in Los Angeles, where she stayed for 14 years. She moved to New York City in 1977 with her husband, noted typographer and graphic designer Abe Lerner. Unable to find work initially, Currie ventured to start her own bookselling business, and issued her first and only catalog in the winter of 1977-1978. Soon afterward, however, she was offered a position with H. P. Kraus.

Bound in brown paper covered boards with brown cloth spine. Title debossed in blind to front cover. Minimal wear to corners. Text pages are clean and bright. Printed in Centaur types on Bugra Bütten paper. Folded prospectus is inserted. In fine condition. Octavo. 31 pages. PRI/102423. Fine. More

Newtown, PA: Bird & Bull Press, 1990. Hardcover. There were 230 copies of this book. This copy is unnumbered with a pencil note saying "Binder's sample - r'cd 3/16/90." In his acknowledgments, Morris writes that one's best-told tales are drawn from personal experience, and he thought it would be good to compile some relevant bookish perceptions "taken from outside my particular environment." He thanks Sidney Berger for his enjoyable contributions. The book is a humorous and sometimes satirical take on the book trade and those who ply this profession. Morris states that although satirical, he tried to write without malice, and he thanks Geoffrey Chaucer, whose Canterbury Tales "provided the inspiration for this Biblio-Typographic Pilgrimage." He also thanks the illustrator, Lili Wronker, for what he calls the roguish illustrations that he thinks are vital to the book. Bound inlovely orange and gilt paper covers with a design adapted from the earliest known (1509) wallpaper. Maroon cloth spine with titling to spine label and front cover. Printed in Van Dijck types on Arches mouldmade paper. Bound by Barbara Blumenthal. Missing the prospectus and broadside that originally accompanied the book. In fine condition. Measures 9 x 12 inches. 61 pages. PRI/071924. Fine. More

Newtown, PA: Bird & Bull Press, 1984. Hardcover. Number 469 of 500 copies. A beautifully produced book from the famed Bird & Bull Press. The Bird & Bull Press was one of America’s oldest private presses, started in 1958 by Henry Morris – who describes a private press as “someone who prints books or ephemera related to his personal interests…” By starting the press Morris was hoping to “make use of the product of a new hobby – hand paper-making.” Many of the books published by Bird & Bull dealt with book related subjects, such as paper-making, printing, illustration, book binding, and typography. Henry Morris and his press thus played an important role in the study, preservation, and dissemination of printing history. In 2013, Morris announced that he was ending his press's 55 years of activity due to advanced age and difficulty finding exciting projects. The title refers to the repeated efforts by Prime Minister W.E. Gladstone in the 1860s to obtain information on Japanese papermaking. Under the guidance of Sir Harry Parkes, England's envoy during the period of the transfer of power from the shoguns to Emperor Meiji, three consular reports and a varied collection of handmade Japanese paper were assembled. These were shipped to England in 1871. This book describes these efforts, provides a facsimile of the Parkes Report, and a facsimile of the Kamisuki Chohoki woodcut illustrations. The book is accompanied by a separate portfolio of a set of color prints, of which two of the plates are missing. Both the book and portfolio are housed in a slipcase.

Bound in a paper cover reproduced from a decorated paper in the Parkes Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, with a dark red leather spine with a black spine title label printed in gilt. It was bound by Gray Parrot. The text was composed in Van Dijck types and printed on Hahnemühle paper. The woodcut facsimiles are printed on handmade Japanese Torinoko paper. The book is in fine condition. The portfolio's gray paper covers are toned along the fore-edges as are the edges of the slipcase and just about very good. Measures 8.25 x 11 inches. 134 pages plus three fold out illustrations. PRI/120224. Fine in very good slipcase. More

Newtown, PA: Bird & Bull Press, 1980. Hardcover. Number 34 of 350 copies. The handsome bibliography of this esteemed press lists all books issued by the press from its inception in 1958 through those printed in 1980. The press continued to publish books until its founder, Henry Morris, closed the press in 2013. The bibliography is divided into two sections: those done under Morris's own imprint, and those done for other publishers. In his introduction, Taylor states that the technical descriptions of the books are fairly extensive but avoid a slavish view of completeness. The books issued with the press imprint include commentaries from Morris. In addition to these two sections, the book includes a section of selected ephemera, and one with citations to articles by or about Morris. This copy does not include the separate folder of press ephemera or the prospectus.

Bound by Grey Parrot in covers with a repeated design of images of a bird or a bull, with a yellow spine with gilt titling. The spine has some spotting, and there is very light wear to the corners of the front cover. Printed on handmade Roma V.E. paper with the text composed in Van Dijck types by Mackenzie-Harris. Includes a detailed index compiled by Howell J. Heaney. In very good plus condition. Measures 6.75 x 9.75 inches. v-vii, 13 - 108 pages. PRI/062325. Near Fine. More

Newtown, PA: Bird & Bull Press, 1987. Hardcover. Number 28 of 310 copies. The Bird & Bull Press was one of America’s oldest private presses, started in 1958 by Henry Morris – who describes a private press as “someone who prints books or ephemera related to his personal interests…” By starting the press Morris was hoping to “make use of the product of a new hobby – hand paper-making.” Many of the books published by Bird & Bull dealt with book related subjects, such as paper-making, printing, illustration, book binding, and typography. Henry Morris and his press thus played an important role in the study, preservation, and dissemination of printing history. In 2013, Morris announced that he was ending his press's 55 years of activity due to advanced age and difficulty finding exciting projects.

An interesting book from the press on the history of marbling paper and its role in the production of decorated paper in the Near East, Europe, and the New World. The craft was carried on extensively in Europe from early in the 17th century. Most notably, this volume includes thirteen original marbled samples provided by Wolfe. Each sample gives the name of its pattern and when it was mainly used. There is light offsetting from the samples to the blank versos of each sample page. Bound in multicolored marbled paper covers with black leather spine with orange title label. Printed in Cochin types on damped handmade Umbria paper and bound by Gray Parrot. In near fine condition. Measures 7 x 10 inches. 81 pages plus paper samples and two pages of notes on the text. PRI/031524. Near Fine. More

Toronto: Biting Dog Press, 2019. Hardcover. 1 of 35 copies, signed by the translator on the title page and the designer on the colophon. An examination of the "Necronomicon" - "a scientific diary of the putatively insane doctor known as Abdullah Alhazred. He was a scientist and an alchemist who believed cannibalistic funerary rites could both appease the spirits of the dead and access the divine" (page 13). It includes a fascinating discussion of previous translations, historical contextualization, medical and philosophical explanations behind Alhazred's practices, biographical facts about the doctor, and new translations of the five extracts. According to Alhazred, if performed using the correct rituals, ingestion of the dead could transfer their energy or life force, thus extending the life of the consumer. If true, perhaps he is still alive, wandering in the desert (or so this book suggests)!
According to the colophon, this book is digitally printed on laid paper in Adobe Jenson Pro with Neue Kabel for captions and Junius Rough for chapter titles. The first half of this edition was printed pre-Covid and the second half was just printed in 2023. Due to paper shortages, this second half has been printed on machine made paper. It includes an original woodcut made by George A. Walker, signed and numbered out of 42, inserted into a pocket on the front free endpaper. The book is bound in grey cloth boards with a black dust jacket titled in white on the spine and front panel. A pattern of grey skulls decorates the jacket. Includes color photographic illustrations that depict fragments from the original Necronomicon, a page from the Book of the Dead, and other historical sources. 37 pages. PRI/031323. Fine. More

Toronto: Biting Dog Press, 2003. Hardcover. Number 44 of 250 numbered copies, signed by the author, writer of the foreword, and designer and illustrator. It is a humorous and rather irreverent retelling by Jack Ketchum of "an ancient, yet always timely tale." The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose. The surviving work is dated to about 200 BC, but the fables are likely much more ancient [Wikipedia]. In this tale, a little mouse unexpectedly falls into the hands of a magician, who transforms the mouse into a young girl who becomes a daughter to him and his wife. It recounts their attempts to find a suitable god for her to marry before they realize that she should be transformed back into a mouse and marry the King of the Mice. With original wood engravings by George Walker that were impressed directly onto handmade Japanese gampi paper from the original wood blocks. The text is printed with Linotype Granjon type on Zephyr Laid paper. Bound in a dark gray full leather portfolio with a tan leather tie that evokes a mouse's tail. A charming book in fine condition. Measures 6.25 x 9 inches. Unpaginated [about 18 pages plus illustrations]. PRI/050922. Fine. More

Upland CA: Blackbird Press, 2007 [Distributed in 2010]. Hardcover. Number 40 of 100 copies. Signed by the poet, the book artist, and the illustrator. A poem about the word and concept of "beauty", which is applied to a homoerotic experience witnessed in a machine shop. Writes Gillingwators, "When I first read B. H. Fairchild’s poetry collection The Art of the Lathe, I knew I wanted to publish the opening poem “Beauty” as a letterpress limited edition book. The poem has book characteristics–narrative structure and four, chapter-like divisions–and its visceral, lyrical appeal motivated me." Fairchild's poetry has been widely published and he has been the recipient of numerous awards. The Art of the Lathe was described in the LA Times as "a contemporary classic...finely crafted and perfectly pitched." The book artist continues: "I knew from the initial reading that my book edition would have metal covers, reminiscent of the corrugated-metal buildings that often house machine shops [where the poem takes place]. The making of the book took three years as the book artist and illlustrator learned how to make the tiny metal hinges for the book and how to age the thin aluminum used for the book covers. Each step required research, test trials, and practice. Printed with Centaur and Arrighi monotype on Zerkall Book paper, with linocuts by Alquitela. Housed in a grey clamshell box with title and author in red to spine. In fine condition. 7 x 11". Unpaginated. [11 pages] PRI/031715. Fine. More

Riverdale CA: Bo Press, 2013. Hardcover. Limited Edition (not numbered as issued) and signed by the book artist. Designed, printed, and bound by Pat Sweet. A Keepsake for the Miniature Book Society Conclave XXI held in Vancouver Canada. A joint effort between Pat Sweet, Jim and Elaine Brogan of the Red Dog Press, and Margaret Challenger, a lettering artist. It includes facts about Vancouver; although, most of the book focuses on Canada's wildflower stamps, with full color reproductions of the stamps and brief descriptions of each of the flowers. Includes two tipped in stamps - one from the USA and one from Canada, both featuring flages. Bound in white and gold decorative paper covered boards with title label and stamp illustration to front board. A belly band of paper vellum with a title label slides around the book. Book size: about 2.25 x 1.75 inches. MINI/080724. Fine / Fine. More

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 2016. Hardcover. 105 of 300 copies, signed by both authors. "In this book we will endeavor to unravel some of the key elements of the story [of Bruce Rogers's Centaur typeface] and set the record straight. Examining the muddled origination of the design, the intellectual property issues involved, and the curious story of the font's recutting for machine composition, we hope to shed new light on the evolution of this seminal typeface" (introduction). Set in three digital versions of Bruce Rogers's Centaur Type: the text in a recent revival of the original foundry Centaur, rendered by Jerry Kelly, and a new caption Centaur by Toshi Omagari, used in this book for the first time, with monotype Centaur used fro display. Design and typography by Jerry Kelly. Printed in black and dark red. Bound in speckled cream paper covered boards with paper title label to spine panel. Bruce Rogers design to front board in brown. Clean and bright. Housed in a brown paper covered slipcase with minor sunning to edges and light rubbing to panels. 120 pages. PRI/102323. Fine. More

Bussum, Netherlands: C.A.J. van Dishoeck, [1921]. Softcover. One of 200 copies. Now scarce. This is a lovely small book in Dutch with a poem by well known writer P.C. Boutens. Pieter Cornelis Boutens (1870 – 1943) was a Dutch poet, classicist, and mystic. His debut as a poet was the Utrecht Student Almanac in 1891. His early work was inspired by the verses of Herman Gorter; later sources of inspiration were Plato, Sappho and the Bible. Boutens' style became based on the idea of achieving a "higher reality". In the course of 45 years, he published some 20 volumes of poetry, but also a large number of translations of Ancient Greek (i.a. Iliad and Odyssey), Persian, French, German and English poets.

CAJ van Dishoeck was a Dutch publishing house that was founded in 1889 by the founder of the same name. Cornelis Anthonij Jacobus van Dishoeck (1863 – 1931) was a member of the Van Dishoeck family, which came from Zierikzee and was included in the Dutch Patriciaat .After his education and experiences in bookstores between 1880 and 1888 (including in Leipzig ), he settled in Leiden and started a publishing house there in 1889. In 1898 he moved it to Amsterdam and finally to Bussum in 1903 where he called his villa Zeelandia. In the Netherlands he published work by Johan de Meester , but also the famous Beatrijs by PC Boutens and other works by that poet, such as Alianora .Van Dishoeck's publications were known for their beautiful design. He also attracted artists such as Jan Toorop and Jan van Krimpen . He also chose well-known artists such as Edzard Koning and Willem Vaarzon Morel for the illustrations . Moreover, he often published luxury editions of his publications: on handmade or Japanese paper, bound in full parchment or full leather, often in small, but sometimes unknown editions [Wikipedia Dutch version].

The five striking black and white woodcuts ncluding title page) were done by Joan Collette (1889 – 1958). He was a Dutch engraver, graphic designer, illustrator, monumental artist, painter, glass painter, wall painter, draughtsman, manufacturer of mosaics and bookbinding designer. Bound in plain white paper wrappers with a dark blue cover with a printer device in red on the front cover. Very light signs of handling. Interior pages are clean and bright. Printed in black letter type with occasional blue Initials. Near fine condition. Measures 5 x 6.5 inches. Unpaginated. [18 pages] PRI/111523. Near Fine. More

Stratford, ON: Gerard Brender à Brandis, 2000. Paperback. Number 166 of 310 copies, Signed by the illustrator. The text is about the importance of books, reading, and writing to the author and includes personal experiences and memories. The accompanying engravings all feature books, teapots, or printing presses. Sewn blue paper wrappers with black title to front wrapper. With 8 wood engravings by the Brandis. Clean and bright. Handset in Libra type and printed with an Albion Press onto Lana Verge Antique paper by Mary Carrington and Gerard Brender à Brandis. [8 pages.] Size: 9 x 5.5 inches. PRI/032323. Fine. More