Gulliver's Travels. Golden Cockerel Press (1925)
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1Lukas1990
Hello, fellow collectors! Here's some pictures of my copy of Travels into several Remote Nations of the World, by Lemuel Gulliver, published by Golden Cockerel Press in 1925.
It is illustrated with 42 woodcuts by David Jones (many hand-colored) and 27 initials by Eric Gill (thanks to the forum members who confirmed it), 10x7¼ inches, original half white linen boards, spines lettered in gilt, edges untrimmed. My copy is a very rare No. 14 of only 30 copies printed on hand-made Batchelor paper and signed by David Jones. There are also 450 'regular' copies. This is the first Golden Cockerel Press book with D. Jones' illustrative work.
I've never thought I'll be able to afford even the 'regular' edition. There's a nice and affordable version with D. Jones' illustrations published by Franklin Library which I wanted to get instead. But somehow miraculously I found the de luxe copy being sold by a Canadian bookseller and grabbed it in a second. I couldn't believe it was the de luxe version until I got some pictures of the book.
The covers are stained, corners bumped, some page-edges are a bit brown but otherwise it's a fine copy. I should say 'was a fine copy' because I've made some mistakes cutting the uncut pages. The guilt will follow me every time I'll open the book... At least the text-block is OK.
It is illustrated with 42 woodcuts by David Jones (many hand-colored) and 27 initials by Eric Gill (thanks to the forum members who confirmed it), 10x7¼ inches, original half white linen boards, spines lettered in gilt, edges untrimmed. My copy is a very rare No. 14 of only 30 copies printed on hand-made Batchelor paper and signed by David Jones. There are also 450 'regular' copies. This is the first Golden Cockerel Press book with D. Jones' illustrative work.
I've never thought I'll be able to afford even the 'regular' edition. There's a nice and affordable version with D. Jones' illustrations published by Franklin Library which I wanted to get instead. But somehow miraculously I found the de luxe copy being sold by a Canadian bookseller and grabbed it in a second. I couldn't believe it was the de luxe version until I got some pictures of the book.
The covers are stained, corners bumped, some page-edges are a bit brown but otherwise it's a fine copy. I should say 'was a fine copy' because I've made some mistakes cutting the uncut pages. The guilt will follow me every time I'll open the book... At least the text-block is OK.
2ubiquitousuk
>1 Lukas1990: looks superb, thanks very much for sharing and congratulations! I have on a couple of occasions concluded a long and tenacious search for a book after stumbling upon a small dealer offering a great price. Those occasions are indeed to be treasured.
3DenimDan
Those initials and hand-colored wood engravings are phenomenal! David Jones is one of my favorite British book artists; wonderful modern art that looks just as great today. The layout on those pages is superb.
Congratulations, and thank you very much for the pictures!
Congratulations, and thank you very much for the pictures!
4Lukas1990
>2 ubiquitousuk:, >3 DenimDan: Thank you, both!
Now I need to find an affordable copy of The Four Gospels :D It is not as rare as my Gulliver's Travels, so I might have a chance.
There's also a very nice reprint of GCP The Song of Jonah by Clover Hill Editions (illustrated by David Jones). The original woodblocks were used for this edition. I've been looking for an affordable copy for a long time but still find 400$ a bit too expensive.
I am very interested in some GCP titles because of the woodcuts/wood engravings. They are my favorite method of illustration.
I've completely changed my collecting habits. I have a list of some 20 books that I can afford and would like to own and I would choose one of them, search for a good copy and buy it (for Christmas or my birthday). Now I just search by publisher and some nice books that are not even on my wish-list appear. A month ago I found and bought a pretty good copy of Limited Editions Club's Wind In The Willows. It was very very cheap.
Now I need to find an affordable copy of The Four Gospels :D It is not as rare as my Gulliver's Travels, so I might have a chance.
There's also a very nice reprint of GCP The Song of Jonah by Clover Hill Editions (illustrated by David Jones). The original woodblocks were used for this edition. I've been looking for an affordable copy for a long time but still find 400$ a bit too expensive.
I am very interested in some GCP titles because of the woodcuts/wood engravings. They are my favorite method of illustration.
I've completely changed my collecting habits. I have a list of some 20 books that I can afford and would like to own and I would choose one of them, search for a good copy and buy it (for Christmas or my birthday). Now I just search by publisher and some nice books that are not even on my wish-list appear. A month ago I found and bought a pretty good copy of Limited Editions Club's Wind In The Willows. It was very very cheap.
5ultrarightist
Most impressive. Great phots. Thanks for taking the time to post them and write a narrative / summary.
6Lukas1990
Looks like Ferdinand William Cavendish-Bentinck, 8th Duke of Portland, also had problems cutting those pages. :D His copy of the regular edition is for sale.
7Lukas1990
Didn't know that 30 copies of Song of Songs also had hand-coloured woodcuts. Looks really good:
https://digitalcollections.usfca.edu/digital/collection/p264101coll7/id/1512
https://digitalcollections.usfca.edu/digital/collection/p264101coll7/id/1512
8Lukas1990
Another hand-colored limited Song of Songs for sale. Robert Gibbings described it as "damn fine".
https://www.biblio.com/book/song-songs-called-many-canticle-canticles/d/15997658...
https://www.biblio.com/book/song-songs-called-many-canticle-canticles/d/15997658...
9Chemren
>8 Lukas1990: Sophie had that one at the recent New York book fair. It looked really nice. I picked up an Eragny Press book from her. My first from that press. She was really pleasant to deal with.
11Chemren
>10 dlphcoracl: Thanks for the reference. Interestingly, the book I bought (Moralites Legendaires, 2 vol) had an inscription in volume 2 from Lucien Pissarro to Diana White, so this copy was probably in her library at one point.
