Recent Acquisitions at The Veatchs Arts of the Book
New acquisitions at The Veatchs Arts of the Book.
By Michael Stillman
Now available is Catalogue 57 from The Veatchs Arts of the Book. This issue is titled Recent acquisitions including association copies & unique books, The Officia Bodoni & other fines presses, William Morris' Roots of the Mountains, two wood blocks by Gustave Dore & three watercolors & a pastel by Bruce Rogers of Carl Rollins' Dyke Mill. Wow! That sounds like one of those 19th century titles that went on for so long there was no need to read the book once you finished the title. Everything was already covered. Well, long as this title is, it really doesn't describe everything that is available within the pages. There is much more, so we will describe a few of items not described in the title. But first, we have a reminder for those unfamiliar with the Veatchs' catalogues. As their bookselling name implies, they specialize in books that are works of art as much as information, as appealing to the eye as to the mind. Now for a few samples.
Here is a work that is self-explanatory: Thomas Bewick Portfolio. Containing twenty-four impressions printed directly from the original wood blocks engraved by the English master, Thomas Bewick at Newcastle-on-Tyne. Bewick was perhaps the greatest wood engraver, notable for his birds and other animals. His work was produced in the late 18th to early 19th century. This reprinting of his engravings is much more recent, though it too is becoming old, having been printed by the Cherryburn Press in 1945. Included are twenty-four prints, among them birds, quadrupeds and vignettes, printed on Japanese paper. There is also a four-page discussion of Bewick's blocks in the portfolio. Item 12. $750.
All of you typophiles out there will surely be intrigued by this item: Spinach From Many Gardens. Gathered by the Typophiles and Fed to Frederic Goudy on his Seventieth Birthday 1935. Goudy was a master type designer, developing over one hundred fonts through his career. Indeed, some of his most notable came after his 70th birthday celebrated herein. Seven of the contributors to this work, including Bruce Rogers, have signed their names. So did Goudy, who inscribed this copy to Charles Pont, an artist who wrote a book about Goudy. Item 134 is one of just sixty copies of this tribute that were published. $1,800.
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Recent Acquisitions at The Veatchs Arts of the Book
The General Store by Thomas Nason.
Item 28 is a calligraphic work from a group of long ago schoolchildren. It is a friendship album from children at the Nine Partners Boarding School of Clinton (Dutchess County), New York, in the 1820s. The book consists of handwritten poems and quotations, along with four-color drawings. This copy is signed by, and probably was the copy of, one Hannah Coffin. Hannah may have been related to Lucretia Coffin Mott, pioneer in women's rights and abolition, who was once both a student and later teacher at this school. The old Nine Partners School still exists today, though it is now known as the Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie. $450.
Item 6 is a very early publication from the Anvil Press of Lexington, Kentucky. It is Chaucer's The Book of the Duchesne, printed in 1954. This was John De Pol's personal copy. De Pol, who just passed away a few years ago, was one of the finest American wood engravers of the 20th century. $450.
Item 86 is one of several Thomas Nason wood engravings offered. This one is The General Store, depicting a scene already ancient when this engraving was printed in 1959. Part of a limited edition of one hundred commissioned by Old Sturbridge Village, the scene's age is given away by the horse and sleigh parked out front. This is clearly winter in New England a long time ago. $300.
The Veatchs Arts of the Book may be found online at www.veatchs.com, or reached by telephone at 413-584-1867.
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