Some Poems by Robert Browning - 1903

Hammersmith: Eragny Press, 1903. First, Limited Edition. Near fine. Lucien Pissarro. Octavo, 8 x 5.25 in (203 x 133 mm), pp.64 [2] + contents + colophon + blank + press-mark, Limited Edition. One of 215 copies on paper, from an edition limited to 226, printed in red and black; nine-line woodcut initials in red, wood-engraved frontispiece in five colors by Lucien Pissarro. Endpapers lightly browned, uncut, original light olive paper over "White Rose" floral patterned-paper boards, a little rubbed at edges, front cover stamped in gilt. 2 bookplates pasted inside front cover: William & Helena M. Hand and Albert Sperisen. First edition. [Ransom p. 263, no. 19; Tomkinson p. 64, no. 20]. Colophon: "The Frontispiece has been designed and engraved on the wood by Lucien Pissarro. The initial letters were designed by Lucien Pissarro and engraved by Esther Pissarro. The book has been by them at their Eragny Press, The Brook, Hammersmith, & finished in June,1904." The ERAGNY PRESS was founded by Lucien and Esther Pissarro. The Eragny Press specialized in small hand-made books in limited print runs featuring superior coloured wood engravings. The press was active between 1896 and 1914 and produced 32 titles. Its style was inspired by the work of William Morris at the Kelmscott Press and also by French Impressionist painters. The aesthetics of William Morris's can be seen in the incorporation of decorative woodcut borders, woodcut initials and the conceiving of each opening as a unified design, rather than as two separate pages. Like William Morris at Kelmscott, Lucien Pissarro designed a special typeface for his use at the Eragny Press. He called it "Brook" and it was inspired by typefaces designed by the French Renaissance engraver, printer and type designer Nicolas Jenson (1420-1480). "One of Mr. Pissarro's ambitions was to introduce colour and gold in the decoration of printed books without breaking the rules which he considered essential for a book typographically harmonious. - [Tomkinson p.60].