Books On Books
Designed by Simon Esterson of Esterson Associates, this long-awaited monograph documents the work of world-renowned typographer, designer and letterpress practitioner Alan Kitching.
Spanning over fifty years, this lavish volume leads us from Kitching's first typographical experiments under the auspices of mentor Anthony Froshaug to his most iconic creations at The Typography Workshop. It covers his years designing alongside Derek Birdsall, as well as his time teaching letterpress at the Royal College of Art, and showcases his most colourful and expressive pieces, including his prolific work for The Guardian. Kitching's work hangs in private collections and galleries but it has also featured on everything from magazine and book covers, postage stamps and theatre posters, to wine labels, billboards and signage.
Black cloth with gilt decoration and lettering; both dj and book in near fine condition. VG/VG
Donald M. Grant, Publisher, 1978. 1st edition; dust jacket protected; edges toned; light brown cloth; front hinge has small crack in top corner; text clean. G/G
Fifty Forgotten Books is a very special sort of book about books, by a great bookman and for book-people of all ages and levels of experience. Not quite literary criticism, not quite an autobiography, it is at once a guided tour through the dusty backrooms of long vanished used bookstores, a love letter to bookshops and bookselling, and a browser's dream wish list of often overlooked and unloved novels, short story collections, poetry collections and works of nonfiction.
In these pages, R. B. Russell, publisher of Tartarus Press, doesn't only discuss the books of his life, but explains what they have meant to him over time, charting his progress as a writer and publisher for over thirty years . . . and a bibliophile for many more. Here is living proof of how literature, books, and book collecting can be an intrinsic part of one's personal, professional and imaginative life, and as not only a solitary act, but a social one, resulting in treasured friendships, experiences, and loves one might never, otherwise, have enjoyed.
Filled with a lively nostalgia for the era when finding strange new books meant pounding the pavement and not just filling in search engines, Fifty Forgotten Books is for anyone who wishes they could still browse the dusty bookshelves of their youth, and who can't wait to get back out into the world in quest of the next text liable to change their life.
Chosen and with a retrospectus by Sir Francis Meynell & Herbert Simon. Spine and edges toned; spine creased; binding good; text clean. VG
Dust jacket in protective cover; minimal wear to dj; black cloth spine over beige cloth; binding good; text clean. VG/VG
Two-page introduction followed by 12 full page woodcuts. Mardersteig's commentary is printed on each facing page. One leaf of contents. One of 300 copies printed at the Officina Bodoni. Masereel's woodcuts (which first appeared in the 1929 "Operation of a Hand Press") are printed from the original woodblocks.
Verona: Officina Bodoni, 1973.Scarce and near fine.
San Francisco: Scarab Press, 1980. Limited to 2000 copies; dust jacket in protective cover; spine toned; small tears at top edge and bottom front corner; blue cloth spine over illustrated paper boards; corners bumped; 1 folded page announcement for book laid in front; binding tight; text clean and bright. VG/G