Typography; Printing & Piety: An essay on life and works in the England of 1931, & particularly Typography
London: Sheed & Ward, 1931. Limited edition. Original brick red cloth (8 inches tall), gilt spine, uncut, original dust jacket. Bookplate, an about-fine book, unclipped dust jacket with minor edge-wear and modest chipping. Very good indeed. Item #1595
"THE BEAUTY THAT RADIATES FROM THE WORK OF MEN IS THE BEAUTY OF THE LIVING FACE"
Limited edition of Eric Gill's Essay on Typography—one of only 500 copies signed by Rene Hague and Eric Gill—complete with the original dust jacket printed in red-and-black with the Tree and Dog (433) imprint of Hague & Gill. This copy with the bookplate of the "Training Department" at R.R. Donnelley and Sons / The Lakeside Press.
A modern classic in the history of typography and printing ("the making of letters and the making of books") and perhaps the greatest explication of Gill's thought, "the appearance of this book was not as imposing as its reception in the press might indicate" (Sister Elizabeth Marie). Later printed (and generally referred to) as "An Essay on Typography," the book consists of a brief preface ("The Theme") and eight sections: I. Composition of Time and Place, II. Lettering, III. Typography, IV. Punch Cutting, V. Of Paper and Ink, VI. The Procrustean Bed, VII. The Instrument, VIII. The Book. Illustrated with 25 figures in the text
The "makers of books" are compelled to discover "the real roots of good book making, just as St. Benedict in the 6th century, confronted by the decayed Roman society, was compelled to discover the roots of good living." Printed at Pigotts on handmade paper (watermarked, 'ER'), Gill's philosophy is reflected by a distinctive title page: "Gill believed that the justification of the right-hand margin was less important than retaining the even flow of letters and one finds an excellent example of this theory practically applied in An Essay on Typography" (Sister Elizabeth Marie). Evan Gill. Bibliography of Eric Gill, 21; Sister Elizabeth Marie. Eric Gill: Twentieth Century Book Designer; Skelton. Eric Gill: The Engravings (Tree and Dog, P733).
Price: $1,000.00