Item #106803 Engravings by... A Selection of Engravings on Wood and Metal representative of his work to the end of the year 1927 with a complete Chronological List of Engravings and a Preface by the Artist. Eric Gill.

Engravings by... A Selection of Engravings on Wood and Metal representative of his work to the end of the year 1927 with a complete Chronological List of Engravings and a Preface by the Artist.

1929. Bristol: Douglas Cleverdon, 1929.

4to, (xii), 49, (5) pp. Frontispiece and 103 plates showing 147 engravings. Original black cloth, gilt vignette to upper cover, hinges cracked but the covers still firmly attached by the ties. In a new quarter calf folding box.

§ Limited to 400 copies from a total edition of 490, this copy not numbered. Gill's own copy with his bookplate, and filled with corrections and annotations to the List of Engravings, plus a marginal note to his Introduction. The Prospectus for this work is loosely inserted, with Gill's pencil calculations to the final page as to how much money each variant of the edition will bring in - a total of £3,192, plus a press cutting and a couple of other pieces of ephemera inserted as well. The ultimate copy of a scarce title - the first collection of Gill's work, including his magnificent illustrations for several Golden Cockerel Press books as well as designs for the St. Dominic's Press and many other ephemeral pieces. Gill's Preface sets out his unique philosophy, concluding with two pages of Latin. "Whatever may be said of life, it remains that, in art, desire may be feeble or insufficient, but it can never be wrong; it is the intellect that makes mistakes". Next to the sentence "Being a Catholic I naturally accepted the Catholic faith - as one intending to go to Peterborough naturally takes the train there" Gill has written "Why Peterboro'? because it was in the train to Peterboro' that this part of this preface was written. EG". The list of engravings has a number of annotations and corrections, inserting 6 engravings not mentioned into the list, expanding on descriptions and changing some sizes and titles. Evan Gill 17. Item #106803

Price: $15,750.00

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