Joshua Heller Rare Books

Section 3. Designer Bookbindings

Go to: Front Page | Susan Allix | Artists' Books | Designer Bookbindings | Fine Printing & Private Press

87 (Paul Delrue - Bookbinder The Waternymph and the Boy. By Roden Noel. Old Style Press. [Monmouthshire. 1997.] Linocuts in brown and cream by J. Martin Pitts. n.p. 13" x 10". Printed on tan Hahnemuhle Ingres. Bound by Paul Delrue in 2003 using his ‘Lacunose' technique in shades of brown, tan, orange, beige, gray, green, yellow and blue to a design of a boy sitting at a pool with surrounding foliage; the back board is similar but without the figure. Binding signed by Delrue at the bottom of the front doublure. Laid in an envelope type folder with brown cloth spine and gray/green patterned fabric boards, beige ribbon pull-out, and brown cloth trim; stamped with ‘Delrue’ at the bottom of the spine. No. 109 of 225 copies, signed by the artist and the binder on the colophon page. Fine. Beautiful - reflecting the content of the book.

$2,200.00

Louise Genest
Louise Genest was born in Montréal in 1949. After majoring in Education at university, she put her Master’s degree on hold in order to live in Paris for a year. Once there, she took a bookbinding course in the XVI arrondissement, and discovered her true vocation. Her work and reputation have earned her the title of Master Bookbinder, granted by the German-based International “Meister der Einbandkunst” Association. She has won many prizes, including the ‘Grand Prix des Métiers d’Art du Québec’, the Canadian Bookbinders’ and Book Artists’ Guild Design Award, and the prestigious Saidye Bronfman Award.

A magnificent and monumental set of the Bremer Press ILIAD and ODYSSEY A triumph of the finest German printing between the two world wars; specially bound in a unique set by Louise Genest

88 (Louise Genest – Bookbinder) The Iliad. By Homer. Bremer Press. 1923. 13.675" x 9.125" x 2". Edited by Edward Schwartz. Printed in Greek type on Zanders handmade paper. No. 550 of 615 copies. Unique binding by Louise Genest in full terracotta Oasis; laced-in binding. Tooled onlays in patinated and/or decorated metal leaves. A design of an archeological map of the Hellenic town of Malthi with late Hellenic III additions in blue patina. In the background are two warrior helmets. The one on the front cover was taken from Phidias's sculpture of Athena Lemnia dating back to 450 BC. Top edge colored with ink drawings. Doublures of black Japanese Kozo papers with tooled onlays in patinated and decorated metal leaves and half onlays in decorated metal leaves. Design of two dying warriors - top one taken from the East pediment of the temple of Aphaia, Aigina, ca. 480-470 BC; and the bottom one from the West pediment of the same temple, ca. 500-490 BC. Writing is Linear B.

Together with:

The Odyssey. By Homer. Bremer Press. 1923. 14" x 9.125" x 1.625". Edited by Edward Schwartz. Printed in Greek type on Zanders handmade paper. No. 170 of 615 copies. Unique binding by Louise Genest in full black Oasis; laced-in binding. Tooled onlays in patinated and/or decorated metal leaves, recessed onlays in decorated metal leaves, blind tooling and 23K gold tooling. The design, on a background of the modified map of Greece, shows two Kouros taken from the marble statue by the Dipylon Master, ca. 620 BC, and, in between, two antelopes taken from a fresco in Thera, Crete. Top edge colored with ink drawings. Doublures of colored Japanese paper with tooled onlays in patinated metal leaves and half onlays in decorated metal leaves. Design of Poseidon, taken from a bronze probably by Onatas of Aegina, ca. 450 BC over Linear B writings.

Price for the set - $15,000.00

With the above set we include a full English translation in 2 volumes by E.V. Rieu with lithographs by Elizabeth Frink. The Folio Society. London. MCMLXXV. (1975.)

89 (Jenni Grey - Bookbinder) William Shakespeare Sonnets. The Falcon Press Limited. London. MCMXLVIII. (1948.) Printed in Holland by Drukkerij M. Lindenbaum & Co. 83p. 7.5" x 5.5". Unique binding by Jenni Grey, signed and dated 1999. Bound in a structure devised by the binder with leather spine and veneered boards. Front and back brown wooden boards edged with yellow and black wood inlaid design; of spine of black leather edged with small brass pins with cream leather mid-section. Inlaid design echoed on doublure which has black leather at spine edges embellished with gold and relief tooled circles. Black endpapers.

Laid in matching brown wooden box with lift-off lid design showing sections of the yellow and black inlay. Box lined with black velvet and containing a black ribbon to help remove book. Text with some slight spotting; binding fine.

$3,950.00

"Shakespeare addresses two main characters in the sonnets, the fair young man and the dark lady, his affections wavering between them. This emotional struggle is reflected in the inlaid design of light and dark woods." - Grey.

90 (Jenni Grey - Bookbinder) In the Margins of a Shakespeare. [Edited and introduction by] George Mackay Brown. Wood engravings by Llewellyn Thomas. The Old Stile Press. Nr. Monmouth. 1991. All woodengravings printed from the wood. 49p. 12.25" x 6.75". Printed in red and black in Garamond on a special making of Zerkall mouldmade paper. No. 172 of the regular edition of 220 copies in a total edition of 246. Signed in pencil by George Mackay Brown and Llewellyn Thomas.

Unique binding by Jenni Grey dated 1996 and signed by her on the back free endpaper. Bound in leather with dyed vellum bands and onlaid etched brass panels. Red leather with grey marbling effect on spine; black leather boards. Broad strips of mottled leather across front and back boards as well as spine. Textured gold colored rectangles in each corner, on the mottled leather, complete the design. Rust paper doublures and endpapers, with doublures having four small rectangular mottled strips reflecting the binding design. Laid in large dark brown/black dropback wooden box lined with black velvet, lid with large rectangle of matching mottled leather trimmed with small gilt studs. Black ribbon for book removal. Fine.

$3,500.00

This is the first publication of the text, and was completed in preparation for the seventieth birthday of George Mackay Brown on 17th October 1991. "This text focuses on the importance of sub-characters and sub-texts to the central theme of a narrative. The main elements of the design have been pushed to the edges of the book and, although not physically part of the binding, hint at concealed structures." - Grey. A wonderful binding. Jenni Grey’s work was included in the traveling exhibition Designer Bookbinders in North America.

91 (Jenni Grey - Bookbinder) The Ballad of Reading Goal. [By] Oscar Wilde. Wood engravings by Garrick Palmer. The Old Stile Press. [Llandogo, Gwent. 1994.] 45p. 10.75" x 7". Box - 11.675"x 8.125" x 2". Garrick Palmer’s wood engravings were printed from the wood. Printed in Baskerville on Zerkall mould-made. An edition of 225 copies, numbered and signed by Garrick Palmer.

Unique binding by Jenni Grey in a macassar ebony. Boards sewn onto a black leather spine for flexibility and strength. Design divided into panels, the central more fluid forms being restrained by the darker linear markings at the sides. The wooden boards are attached to the spine leather, and the leather bands across the spine are both decorative and structural as the copper studs attaching them to the boards provide extra stability. Doublures of the same wood and black leather. Laid in a matching wooden black velvet-lined box with lifting strip and a separate lid. The box lid reflects the design of the binding and is also lined with black velvet. Fine.

$4,000.00

Grey writes that the macassar ebony, chosen for its strong markings and dark colour, had qualities that were ideal for the design, but were also sympathetic to the illustrations in the book. ...

"The visual contrast between the element [of color and form] is intended to reflect on themes provoked by the poem, questioning which has more effect - physical deprivation through imprisonment or mental torture."

A unique binding on one of only three copies printed on vellum

92 (J. Franklin Mowery - Bookbinder) Laws and Acts of the General Assembly for Their Majesties Province of New York. [A facsimile edition.] The Grolier Club of New-York. MMDCCCXCIV. Printed and Sold by William Bradford...1694: Together with an Historical Introduction, Notes on the Laws, and Appendices, by Robert Ludlow Fowler, Counsellorat- Law. NY, 1894. (12), clxiii, (1) pages; (4), 84, 3, (1), 4, (6), 11, (2) pages. 11.5" x 7.75". Three headpieces and a plate showing William Bradford's tomb etched by Max Rosenthal. Printed at the De Vinne Press. Charles R. Hildeburn provides a bibliographical note on the first edition. One of 3 copies on vellum in a total edition of 315 copies.

Unique binding by J. Franklin Mowery bound under Prof. Kurt Loudenberg in 1975. Black goatskin with blind tooled borders and gilded titles on front and spine to reflect the legal nature of the contents. Sewn on four raised bands. Edges gilt tooled with turnovers also gilt tooled. Brass and leather clasps, which were made to keep the book closed to prevent the climate-sensitive vellum from curling. Laid in a tan linen dropback box with goatskin spine. Spine with blind tooled design and gilt title. Box lined with padded gold color silk and goatskin at spine. Fine.

$6,500.00

A superb binding on a very scarce book.

93 (J. Franklin Mowery - Bookbinding) Le Soir D’Austerlitz. Comédie en cinq actes. [In French.] [By] Sacha Guitry. Représentée pour la Premire Fois. Paris. 1941. This edition 1947. Pochoir illustrations throughout by Dreux-Barry.. 192(1)p. 9.75" x 7.5". No. 86 in a total edition of 750 copies: this is one of 700 on Velin Grevecoeur du Marais paper.

Unique binding by J. Franklin Mowery, with his stamp ‘JFM 1975’ on the lower back doublure. Bound in green leather with simple relief tooled design on both covers. Inlaid brown and beige title label with gilt lettering on spine; gilt title on front. Gold tooled lines all round edges and spine of book. Red sewn head and tail bands. Green cloth dropback box lined with padded cream silk. Fine.

$2,000.00

First performed in Paris, 1941. The occupying authorities of that era not having accepted its title, Le Soir D’Austerlitz., became Vive Le Empereur. To-day, however, it resumes its original title.

Two rare early bindings and a unique maril panel by one of the world’s foremost bookbinders working to-day –

Philip Smith MBE – Artist and Bookbinder

Philip Smith began as an art student in 1949, being channeled into the bookbinding class ostensibly to make customized sketch books. He was selected by Roger Powell on his resulting examination binding for entry to the Royal College of Art in 1951. Since about 1959, when he developed the techniques of feathered onlays with backparing, called ‘maril’, he has consistently explored the potential of the physical form of the book as an alternative art medium. Publications include numerous articles and catalogue introductions; as well as New Directions in Bookbinding, 1974, and The Book: Art & Object, 1982. He has added several new terms to the vocabulary of bookbinding and has been awarded patents for new inventions both visual and functional, as well as making innovations in structural and visual design now applied by an ever growing number of bookbinders. A past Director of the V & A Museum, Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, has written about Smith’s work: "As exhibition pieces they have a monumentality and visual impact that forces an original view of what binding is about."

Smith, a Past President of Designer Bookbinders, initiated its redevelopment and expansion in the late 1960s, and was an inaugural editor of The New Bookbinder, serving on the editorial board for 15 years. His work is in many international public and private collections. Philip Smith was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II several years ago. His magnum opus – Tom Phillip’s Dante’s Inferno – was completed after many years of work and was the highpoint in a recent traveling exhibition in the United States of the British Designer Bookbinders Association.

94 (Philip Smith – Bookbinder) Forms in Landscape. Leather panel no. 20. By Philip Smith. 1989. 7.25" x 9.5". Frame - 17" x 18". Maril technique with leather onlays of various colors. Mounted on white card, dated and signed by Philip Smith. Matted and framed. Fine.

$2,200.00

This work is an interesting departure for the artist - one of his first "paintings" in maril and leather onlays depicting typical forms and images found in his fine bindings.

95 (Philip Smith - Bookbinder) The Bible of The World. Edited by Robert O. Ballou. In collaboration with Friedrich Spiegelberg … and with the assistance and advice of Horace L. Friess … The Viking Press. New York. 1939. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Seventh Printing June 1959. Copyright 1939 by Robert O. Ballou. xxi, 1415p, includes Index. 9.25" x 6.25".

Unique designer binding by Philip Smith in dark green leather with multi- colored and gold inlaid design in which a figure can be seen continuing across the front, spine and back boards. Gilt title on spine. Gold tooling on front cover highlights an intricate design of small figures showing through in leather. Red paper doublures with gold tooled pattern round the borders on both back and front doublures. Gold stamp logo device ’19 PS 62’ on top of rear doublure. Blue, red and gold sewn headbands. All edges gilt. New black cloth covered dropback box lined with black suede, black leather gilt title label on spine. Fine.

$8,500.00

96 (Philip Smith - Bookbinder) Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments … of The Church of England. Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David … At the University Press, Cambridge. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London. [n.d.] 629p, plus Tables. 5.85" x 3.75".

Unique designer binding by Philip Smith in black leather with many colored inlays, including gold, with tooling in gilt and relief, to a design across front, spine and back boards. Gilt title on spine. Doublures of blue leather with gold tooling design. Relief stamp of ‘C.P. Smith 1968’ on outside foredge of back board. Red and gold sewn headbands. All edges gilt. New black slubbed cloth covered dropback box lined with black suede, black leather gilt title label on spine. Fine.

$5,500.00

The title page in this copy has been reset and imprinted by Philip Smith; the title printed on this leaf in gilt using the same size and style of typeface as in the gilt title on spine of binding. A marvelous example of the art of Philip Smith expressed in an early binding.

97 (Julian J.W. Thomas – Bookbinder) Wrenching Times. Poems from ‘Drum Taps’ by Walt Whitman. Selected by M. Wynn Thomas. Wood engravings by Gaylord Schanilac. Gwasg Gregynog. [Newtown, Powys.] 1991. n.p. 15" x 9". 8 full page color wood engravings, a small one on the colophon page, and a tipped-in insert with a wood engraving originally intended for use in the book; all printed from the original blocks. Printed on Zerkall mouldmade paper. One in an edition of 450 copies. Unique binding by Julian Thomas in 2000. Goatskin, dyed calf, gilded leather, gold and black tooling. Abstract design in black, charcoal, light & dark green, red, and brown, with recessed inlays and onlays. Green, red, yellow silk endbands. Painted paper doublures and endpapers, with toning turquoise patterned painted edges. Grey cloth drop-back box lined with gray felt, turquoise cloth trim; black leather title label on spine. Binder’s stamp of ‘Julian J.W. Thomas’ in gilt at bottom of back doublure. Fine.

$4,250.00

A superb binding which needs to be seen and enjoyed from close up to appreciate the quality of the tooling, texture and detailed work of this binder, who is Chief Conservator and Restorer at the National Library of Wales. Exhibited in the Designer Bookbinders in North America exhibition.

98 (Laura Wait - Bookbinder) Stone Eye. Poems by Richard Taylor. Larkspur Press. Monterey, Kentucky. 2001. Wood engravings by Wesley Bates. 76p. 9.25" x 6". Design, composition and printing by Deborah Kessler, Leslie Shane and Gray Zeitz. Handset in Gill’s Joanna type and printed on a hand-fed C & P. Unique simplified binding by Laura Wait, 2001. Full tan leather with toning spine; gilt title. Tooling in gold and color. Hand painted grass design. Endpapers of decorated paste paper by the binder. Signed and dated in pencil by the binder at the bottom of the colophon page. Laid in a black cloth dropback box with tan paper title label on spine. An edition of 655 copies, signed by Taylor and Bates. Fine.

$1,500.00

From the Midwest Chapter of the Guild of Bookworkers regional exhibit of the same name - Stone Eye. Wait writes: "There were so many references in the poetry to grass and growing things that I chose the interocking leaves for the design to be reminiscent of a field and lying in the grass."

Go to: Front Page | Susan Allix | Artists' Books | Designer Bookbindings | Fine Printing & Private Press