Example of Doves Press - Faust on vellum

No association with the seller, nor any comment upon the price. However, the photos do render how type pops when on vellum. Paper just cannot compare.

https://www.whitmorerarebooks.com/pages/books/4086/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/fa...

>1 Sport1963: I do love me some vellum!! I wish I still had my vellum bifolium proof from the Doves Browning with a typo. The things we sometimes let go when we shouldn't have!!

>1 Sport1963:
>2 ChestnutPress:

Did you say vellum??

The 'mystique' of vellum is more than just that. The vellum accepts and absorbs the ink in a way no mould-made or handmade paper can and the type and words do indeed float off of the page. This effect is even more striking with full page colour illustrations. I have seen one of the vellum copies of the Cresset Press 'Gulliver's Travels with Rex Whistler Rococo-style illustrations and it will make you weep.

Absent that, I have taken two photos to further illustrate. Below are two copies of the Ashendene Press 'The XI Bookes of the Golden Asse' by Lucius Apuleius. The left copy with the bespoke Zaehnsdorf full thickness pigskin binding is printed on handmade paper whereas the copy on the right with the maroon and gilt W.H. Smith binding is one of the sixteen copies printed on vellum pages. One page of text is photographed below - the first photo is printed on handmade paper immediately followed by the same page printed on vellum.

>3 dlphcoracl: Oh my goodness

>3 dlphcoracl: I have seen multiple vellum books over the years and NOTHING touches the results attained by a couple of volumes I've seen from the Caradoc Press. Flawless doesn't even come close. Even the intaglio prints were extraordinary. Second to that was a book I saw by Giambattista Bodoni on vellum, which was also unbelievably good.

But I sure do have a soft spot for Ashendene books on vellum. The inks shine on the page!

>5 ChestnutPress:

Did the Caradoc Press do their own printing or was it done by the Chiswick Press? Do you know what equipment was used in the printing of the Caradoc Press books, e.g., 19th C. hand press, etc.?

>3 dlphcoracl: Thank you Oracle. The blue, black and reds are stunning. It's as if the vellum page is backlit. You are fortunate to own such a magnificent book.

>6 dlphcoracl: Caradoc was a pure private press that did its own printing. Yes, I believe a handpress

>7 Sport1963:

Thank you.

I believe the Webb's did all their own work. "All the wood engraving, typesetting, printing and binding were done, unaided, by the Webbs themselves. Their productions have been variously described as distinctly individual (Ransom) and tawdry (Cave)." https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/a8f587b2-7ef8-3b01-8d9b-76bf3107a...

James Freemantle, of the St James Park Press, published A History of the Caradoc Press in 2019, which may have more granular information on the actual operation of the press.

>10 dpbbooks: While not all Caradoc Press productions move me aesthetically, I cannot fault the ability to print on vellum.

Caradoc press was the private press of H. George Webb and his wife, Hesba. They did everything themselves: wood engraving, design, typesetting, printing, binding. They printed a few copies of their books on vellum, but most were on paper. I have a copy of the second book from that press, The Old Ballad of the Boy and the Mantle on Batchelor's Kelmscott handmade paper which they used on all their books. Of this book, 300 were on paper, 5 on vellum. Interesting little (20 pp, 5-2/3" x 4-1/2") book, well printed. The Press operated from Dec. 1899 until 1909. Tomkinson (A Select Bibliography of the Principal Modern Presses Public and Private in Great Britain and Ireland has more information and a checklist.

The binding on my Caradoc Press book is quarter holland over grey paper boards, rather in the style of the standard Kelmscott books.

Dang. Slow off the starting block am I!

>11 ChestnutPress:

FWIW, their work reminds me of the Essex House Press.

>14 dlphcoracl: It does a bit! That's a very fair evaluation, in my opinion. The typographic aesthetics of their output isn't necessarily all that exceptional, but dear Lord their vellum printing ability was something else! I was honestly dumbfounded when James Freemantle showed me some pieces!

>13 Glacierman: You can't be so slow, as you actually own something from the press! Good work!!

>16 ChestnutPress: I've had that little book for over 30 years. Found it in a local used book store for a pittance and freaked out. I think I paid $7.00 for it.

>17 Glacierman: That's a gift!!! I rarely get bargains like that.

>10 dpbbooks:
>15 ChestnutPress:

While James Freemantle is now best known for his superlative work at his St. James Park Press, he has a collection of modern press books that is 'to die for', including what is probably the finest and most complete collection of Golden Cockerel Press books and ephemera.

>5 ChestnutPress:
>15 ChestnutPress:

I am quite surprised to hear this, especially from a knowledgeable and experienced private press book collector. I automatically assumed that the finest editions of books printed on vellum pages were either Kelmscott Press or Ashendene Press editions.

>20 dlphcoracl: Why is that a surprise? The most famous and highly praised presses of any era aren't always the best. Sometimes much smaller presses have printers that throw shade on those 'above' them. Seeing is believing, and a particular Caradoc edition on vellum that James has showed me had more impressive presswork than that of other examples from other presses (Ashendene, Golden Cockerel, to name a couple) owned by James that I looked at at the same time. While Ashendene and Kelmscott books are beautiful and very well printed (with the Ashendene's particularly gorgeous on vellum), I think it reasonable to expect one or two lesser-known printers may well be better. While the Caradoc books aren't anywhere near as aesthetically pleasing from a typographic/design point of view, it doesn't stop me having to doff my cap and happily admit that the vellum presswork was superior. Curiously, their presswork on paper wasn't nearly as impressive!

PS. One thing that made one of the Caradoc books on vellum seriously impressive was that pages featured two colour printing, with text and woodcuts, plus text and etchings. All beautifully printed

>21 ChestnutPress:

Trust me, I believe you, and James Freemantle as well!!

I am quite surprised because I would never have predicted this based upon the Caradoc Press editions I have seen on handmade paper (I believe they printed on Jos. Batchelor & Son paper, same as was used by Wm. Morris and the Kelmscott Press). However, seeing is believing and I know that James Freemantle is an avid collector of modern private press books printed on vellum. Being able to directly handle and compare vellum editions from Caradoc, the GCP and Ashendene Press pretty much speaks for itself. Incidentally, which Caradoc Press book or books printed on vellum did James show you?

>22 dlphcoracl: There were a few he showed me, but I think the really impressive one was a Sir Philip Sidney volume. Incidentally, James isn't too dusty when it comes to vellum printing either. He printed four nice copies of my latest Chestnut on vellum (two manuscript calf and two sheepskin parchment), of which the parchment copies turned out particularly well.

>3 dlphcoracl: I have seen one of the vellum copies of the Cresset Press 'Gulliver's Travels with Rex Whistler Rococo-style illustrations and it will make you weep.

Your review on BooksandVines of the 'regular' one of 195 copies with the exquisite rebinding almost made me weep :)

https://booksandvines.com/2015/10/26/the-great-illustrated-private-press-books-p...

>21 ChestnutPress: Wow, sounds like you have done your homework!

>25 What_What: What_What: Cheers! Aside from my passion for collecting fine press, I'm very passionate about its history and practitioners, especially learning about those with serious talent that have seemingly flown under the radar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkBsl_Dfq-s

vellummmmm....Golden Cockerel Four Gospels

>27 MobyRichard:

Remarkably, the vellum edition of the GCP/Eric Gill 'The Four Gospels' appeared at auction TWICE within the span of three years - in April 2009 and April 2012, both times at Swann Galleries in NYC. It sold for $132,000 including Buyer's Premium in the April 2012 auction. Lord only knows what it would sell for in today's market.

https://www.swanngalleries.com/news/art-press-illustrated-books/2011/04/four-gos...

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/GOLDEN-COCKEREL-PRESS-The-...

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/GOLDEN-COCKEREL-PRESS--The...

>26 ChestnutPress:

"I'm very passionate about its history and practitioners, especially learning about those wirth serious talent that have seemingly flown under the radar."

The forthcoming Magnum Opus edition from the Barbarian Press - Bordering on the Sublime - should be firmly in your sphere of collecting interest. This edition has been delayed and the text greatly expanded due to the discovery of the compositor almost solely responsible for the printing of the decorative borders at Curwen Press, Bert E. Smith. Crispin Elsted has spent several years trying to learn who was responsible for these decorative printings and, with the aid of Bob Richardson at St. Bride Printing Museum, has now learned more about Smith's family, career, training background, etc. This is mentioned in the 3rd paragraph of the link below.

http://www.barbarianpress.com/catalog/ixf-forthcoming.html

>29 dlphcoracl: Crispin's essay on Bert in Parenthesis a couple of issues back was a superb read. Believe it or not, I'm not that fussed about having 'Bordering on the Sublime' though. The text will be interesting and it'll look decent but I'm just not into fleuron patterns that much; certainly not enough to spent that much money on a copy. I'm far more interested in their forthcoming poetry collection celebrating their many decades together. And their Ovid!

>31 dlphcoracl:

Clearly, we are two peas from the same pod. I, too, am not interested in purchasing a copy of a book on decorative borders of the Curwen Press, certainly not at that price. Because I knew I would not purchase Bordering on the Sublime, in fairness to Jan and Crispin Elsted I withdrew from the Barbarian Press subscription program with its -30% discount. Similarly, it is their 50th anniversary poetry collection The Marriage of True Minds and Ovid's Metamorphoses I am most interested in and I have already reserved a copy of each.

Incidentally, Ovid's Metamorphoses was superbly done by both the Shanty Bay Press and the Golden Cockerel Press (especially in the Special Edition with S&S binding). The Shanty Bay edition features fifteen illustrations, one for each of the fifteen tales included in this edition, by co-proprietor Walter Bachinski and it is a stunner. The illustrations were made into photogravures by Jon Goodman, who also printed the plates. This edition is also quite rare and pricey. Link below.

http://www.shantybaypress.com/sbp_ovid_metamorphoses.html

>31 dlphcoracl: That Shanty Bay edition is probably the highlight of their output, I reckon. I have the De La More Press edition of Ovid in a full leather binding. It's a tad foxed in places and the binding could do with a bit of cleaning, but it is still a handsome edition.

>32 ChestnutPress: Also looking forward to the Barbarian Metamorphoses. I like my Shakespeare Head Press edition on Batchelor’s Kelmscott hand-made paper but prefer to read a more modern translation than Caxton so I also have the FS LE translated by Golding.