Search Results: Titles starting with T from Swan's Fine Books

(Wakefield, West Yorkshire): Fleece Press (Simon Lawrence), 1985. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Reddick, Peter. One of 250 copies, twelvemo size, 29 pp. Per the "Publisher's Note", "Vyvyan Richards' essay was first printed in 1937 and is the personal story of his friendship with T.E. Lawrence, with whom he planned to set up a private press...." Providing a fascinating glimpse into the life of someone who continues to be of interest almost one hundred years later, the essay begins thus: "In my third year at Jesus College, Oxford, it was reported that there was a queer stranger among us, who walked solitary at all hours of the night in the still quadrangles of the college..." Published by the Fleece Press, run by Simon Lawrence, who became entranced with the art of printing when he "walked through the door of the Whittington workshop in April 1980" (n.b., from the web site of the Press). It has been called "The highest quality private publishing firm in the country" by Paul Johnson (The… Read More

London: Printed...for the Members of the Limited Editions Club at The Curwen Press, 1963. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. Böhmer, Gunter. One of 1500 copies, large octavo size, 486 pp., signed by the illustrator, with Monthly Letter and Announcement. French writer Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) is best known for his short stories written in a naturalist style. This volume presents forty-nine of approximately 250 that Maupassant wrote during his lifetime; of the forty-nine, over half of them (twenty-six) were translated by the also well-known author, Lafcadio Hearn. Complementing the text are thirty-two illustrations reproduced by means of lithography from watercolours (seventeen full-page) by Gunter Böhmer of Switzerland, who signed the volume at the colophon. This volume as complete as one can hope for: in addition to the book itself and the publisher's slipcase, the previous owner retained the original glassine wrapper, the Monthly Letter, and the seldom-seen Announcement.… Read More

[Monmouthshire]: The Old Stile Press, 2004. Limited Edition. Leather. Fine. Cour, Glenys. No. 195 of 225 copies, folio size, 56 pp., signed by Gwen Watkins, Glenys Cour, and Paul Delrue. This copy in a custom binding done in 2014 by Paul Delrue (b. 1944). Paul bound his first book at the age of 15 in 1959, and knew he had discovered his calling. He became an apprentice at the University College, London from 1961-64 and worked there as a binder until 1971, when he set up his own bindery. In 1981 was elected a Fellow of the Society of Bookbinders, having founded and served as chairman of the Chester and North Wales branch in 1979. Paul has earned numerous awards and honours, including the Silver medal and three other awards in 1991 in The Bookbinding Competition. He was elected a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in the same year; the following year he was awarded two Bronze medals in the prestigious Prix Paul Bonet. Paul invented the lacunose style of binding which he has taught to other binders,… Read More

Monmouthshire: The Old Stile Press, 2004. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Cour, Glenys. Copy A of the special edition, folio size, [56] pp., signed by Gwen Watkins and Glenys Cour, with prospectus. In his commendation, written to be printed in this book, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, says "the intensely disciplined beauty of Vernon Watkins' poetry is one of the still largely undiscovered treasures of twentieth century British literature." For Katherine Raine, Watkins was a singer born. He saw how light is woven out of the darkness, life out of death, to perfect a whole greater than either. This beautiful poem (redolent of the Genesis creation story) has long been a favourite of the artist Glenys Cour who, with her sculptor husband, Ronald, was part of the famous group in Swansea that included Vernon Watkins and his close friend Dylan Thomas. Her richly powerful collage images help to make a journey through this large format book an extraordinary experience. She is, still today, a near… Read More

New York: The Limited Editions Club [printed by Richard W. Ellis at The Georgian Press], 1930. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. Dwiggins, W.A.. One of 1500 copies, sixmo size, 303 pp., signed by W.A. Dwiggins, in glassine wrappers and with slipcase. The LEC publication of this novel (originallly published in 1872) is graced by having been both designed by W.A. Dwiggins, as well as containing his illustrations (line drawings). William Addison Dwiggins (1880-1956) was a man of many talents: he became known first for his work as an illustrator and a commercial artist, and then entering into type and book design. "His work can be described as ornamented and geometric, similar to the Art Moderne and Art Deco styles of the period, using Oriental influences and breaking from the more antiquarian styles of his colleagues and mentors Updike, Cleland and Goudy" (n.b., quote from Wiki). ___DESCRIPTION: Two volumes (complete), bound in decorated paper (also designed by Dwiggins) over boards with a… Read More

California: Ettan Press [printed by Patrick Reagh], 1980. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Hernández, José. One of 90 copies, elephant folio size, 8 pp., separate etching signed by José Hernández. Édouard Roditi (1910-1992) achieved acclaim through his "numerous volumes of poetry, short stories, and art criticism starting with 'Poems for F' (his first book, 'inspired by a two-year affair with a married man...Roditi kept the identity of F. secret to the end of his life' " (n.b., info and quotes from Wiki). José Hernández (1944-2013) who (according to Wiki) "was daydreaming at the age of 17 and drew angry cats." He became well-known for his illustrations for works by many famous authors, such as James Joyce, Arthur Rimbaud, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Franz Kafka, among many others (n.b., info and quotes from Wiki). Author and artist merged their considerable talents in this work, "The Temptations of a Saint", a surrealistic short story about a man who lives alone...with all his… Read More

(Kentfield, California): The Allen Press, 1974. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. One of 140 copies, folio size, 90 pp., with prospectus. Although Gustave Flaubert's (1821-1880) best known work may be "Madame Bovary", he had a deep interest in "The Temptation of Saint Anthony", spending thirty years in research and working countless revisions. It is said that he became intrigued with the subject by a stained-glass window in the Rouen cathedral, which depicts the Saint as a hermit. Anthony (ca. 251-350), born in upper Egypt, experienced, says tradition, every temptation the devil could devise, including the sensuous charms of the Queen of Sheba (fortunately he "was an unusually rugged character and was able to dismiss all of the enticing seductions") (n. b., above info from prospectus). This text from the translation by (Patrick) Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), a noted author and translator who himself had in his family background blood both Greek and Arab, Irish and Gypsy. Embellished with… Read More

London: Printed for the Holbein Society, by Wyman & Sons, 1884. Hardcover. Very good. Folio size, 600 pp. "Tewrdannckh", with its 118 wood engravings and type designed in a calligraphic style "has been described as one of the greatest books of the German Renaissance." In format the story is "a long allegorical courtly poem written in rhymed couplets. This epic is a fictionalised account of the adventures of Maximilan as he travels to the Netherlands in 1477 to claim his bride, Mary of Burgundy, and her kingdom. Maximilian is portrayed as the chivalric knight, Teuerdank (the name roughly translates as 'noble thought') accompanied by his trusty companion Erenhold" (n.b., quotes from the web site of the Glasgow University Library). This a facsmile printed for the Holbein Society in 1884 of the second edition (Augsburg, 1519). The glory of the work is the 118 wood engravings "designed by Hans Scheufelein, a pupil of Albert Dürer, and engraved by Jost von Negker, probably also by Scheufelein himself… Read More

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, printed and decorated with woodcuts by Mallette Dean, 1956. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/very good +. Dean, Mallette. One of 350 copies, quarto size, 58 pp., with prospectus. The only published prose work by Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962), with a preface by Professor B. H. Lehman, who had also introduced the Book Club of California's earlier, 1928 work of Jeffers, entitled simply "Poems", this volume is the transcript of a lecture Jeffers gave at the Library of Congress in 1941; it was one of the few times Jeffers could be persuaded to read and talk about his poetry, and the lecture demonstrates the force and depth behind one of California's finest poets. Mallette Dean (1907-1975), in addition to printing the book, illustrates the book with his stunning woodcuts; a printer and muralist, Dean was one of twenty-six artists commissioned to paint murals in San Francisco's Coit Tower, and he illustrated books for the Grabhorn Press for fifteen years. This… Read More

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1978. Limited First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. One of 500 copies, folio size, [112] pp., with original prospectus and sample plate, and a notice from the publisher. A significant illustrated study of the aquatint medium for book illustration, by antiquarian bookseller and bibliorapher Colin Franklin, who is also the author of "The Private Presses" and is considered an authority on the subject. The book was designed by John Dreyfus and printed at the Curwen Press, the first Book Club publication to be produced entirely in England. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter red cloth, and Cockerell marbled paper over boards, title in gilt to backstrip, white paper dust jacket, sixteen numbered plates including frontis (not included in pagination), Bell monotype type, machine made paper, folio 14 1/2" by 9 3/8", [i-iv] v-vii [viii] 1-103 [104] pp., limited first edition, one of 500 copies, with original prospectus and sample plate, and a notice from the publisher… Read More

[Monmouthshire]: The Old Stile Press [2013], 2013. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Kiggell, Ralph. Special Edition, No. I of X, folio size, 52 pp., signed by Ralph Kiggell. The special edition includes a separate suite of woodcuts, titled, numbered (1/10) and signed by Ralph Kiggell, in four colours, that complement but are different from the illustrations in the volume; these illustrations are printed on Japanese paper, with water-based inks and by hand, using a baren, by the artist himself. Both are encased in a custom clamshell box. The title comes from D.H. Lawrence's wonder at "the third thing" that binds an oxygen atom with two of hydrogen. A selection of poems with woodcut images by Ralph Kiggell, all centred about the idea of WATER. Ralph "allowed himself to explore poems and prose - from across different ages and cultures - to inspire the illustration of water as it interacts with landscape, animal and man. Poets and writers have shown us that from sea to land to cloud and back to sea,… Read More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1875. First American Edition, 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good Plus. Octavo size, 196 pp. William Black (1841-1898) was, in his day, immensely popular and his work was compared favourably with that of Anthony Trollope; sadly, his fame has not lasted into the 21st century and he has now been largely forgotten. Originally writing as a journalist, he achieved fame with the publication of his fifth novel, "A Daughter of Heth", upon which he left journalism and wrote novels full-time, eventually publishing more than 35 (per listing in the CBEL). A later novel, "A Princess of Thule", was later adapted into a musical play, "The Maid of Arran", by a young L. Frank Baum. This novel, as with many of its day, has to do with young love, the entanglements and final, happy resolution. ___DESCRIPTION: Green cloth binding, gilt lettering and short, narrow rule on the front board, gilt lettering and decorative rules to the spine, publisher's device blind-embossed on the back board,… Read More

Ditchling Common: St Dominic's Press, 1929. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. No. 16 of 100 copies, twenty-fourmo size, 68 pp., initialled and numbered by Hilary Pepler. The Saint Dominic's Press, founded by Harry (Hilary) Douglas Clarke Pepler, flourished at Ditchling, Sussex, from 1916 to 1936. The first home of the Press was "a disused stable", with a hundred-year-old Stanhope hand-press which supposedly had belonged to William Morris. Pepler endeavored to do everything possible by hand, believing that such would both produce the best results and also be a "more individual or 'humane'...product". He therefore "preferred the handpress to the machine, handmade to machine-made paper, and handset founder's type to the products of typesetting machines." Pepler met Edward Johnston and Eric Gill while living in Hammersmith; Pepler and his family would eventually move to Ditchling to join Gill, who was one of the most important artists to provide illustrations for the St. Dominic's Press. Other… Read More

[New Delhi]: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives [Associated Publishing House], 1975. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Near Fine. Octavo size, 133 pp. First volume of the periodical "The Tibet Journal"; "an occasional publication of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, devoted to the presentation of scholarly and general interest articles on Tibetan culture and civilisation by Tibetan and non-Tibetan contributors, in the styles of their own traditions" (from the "Policies" statement on verso of the front wrap). This, the maiden publication, includes articles such as "Mahamudra - The Method of Self-Actualization", "The Historical Status of China in Tibet", "The Influence of Religion on Tibetan Politics" and "Waht is Nirvana", among others. ___DESCRIPTION: Softbound in blue wraps, black lettering with a white design on the front, publisher's ad on the back wrap for the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, octavo size (just over 9.25" tall), pagination: (i) verso of front wrap, (1)-130, Subscription… Read More

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First printing, octavo size, 333 pp. From the dust jacket flap, "Erich Auerbach (1892-1957)...a prophet of global literary studies [and] best known for his classic literary study Mimesis, [here] presents a wide selection of essays, many of which are little known outside the German-speaking world...twelve have never appeared in english before, and one is being published for the first time..." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full light grey cloth over boards, gilt lettering stamped on spine; octavo size (9 7/16" x 6 1/4"), pagination:[i-v] vi-xlix [1,blank] [1-3] 4-284. Dust jacket cover with front panel of "The Great Flood", black and brown lettering with author bio and summary of book on front flap, editor and translator blurbs on back flap, review blurbs on back panel. ___CONDITION: Volume is fine, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean… Read More

Berkeley, California: The Hart Press, 1966. Limited Edition. Wraps. Near fine. Anderson, Victor R.. Quarto size, [8] pp., with a presentation card from the publisher. The annual Christmas publication issued by Ruth and James D. Hart, to friends in a limited edition. James D. Hart (1911-1990) was an American literary scholar and professor at UC Berkeley for fifty-four years. He is best known for his work "The Oxford Companion to American Literature". Owen Seaman (1861-1936) was a British writer, journalist and poet, probably best known as editor of "Punch" from 1906-1932. ___DESCRIPTION: Original pictorial green wrappers, edges uncut/deckled, pictorial title and three illustrations in text, printers device at colophon, laid Arches paper, quarto 10" by 6 1/2", [8] pp., limited edition, with a presentation card from the publisher/printer slipped in. ___CONDITION: A near fine copy, with some small creases to the paper wrappers at the edges, otherwise internally bright and free chips or foxing, overall… Read More

London: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd, 1912. Hardcover. Good +. Folio size, [28] pp. English artist Louis Wain (1860-1939) is known for his trademark anthropomorphic cats, who live in a rich, vibrant world and display playful personalities amidst their alphabetised actions. According to H. G. Wells, "[Wain] has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (n. b., quote from Wikipedia). A large, folio-size book meant for young children (the publisher even printed "Untearable" on the front board) the pages are of stiff textured cardstock, each page with the title of the story or games the animals are playing at the top and a single sentence at the bottom. With twenty-four full-page, full-colour illustrations, plus four illustrations (the title page and three others) in red and black, plus colour illustrations on both boards. Included are: "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Red Riding… Read More

San Francisco: Paul Elder and Company, 1909. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. One of 350 copies (unnumbered), octavo size, 72 pp. Esther Brown Tiffany (1858-1918), a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was both a writer of prose and a playwright, with her plays having been performed by the Cambridge Dramatic Club and the Players of Newton. This book, published in 1909 by Paul Elder and Company under the direction of John Henry Nash, can be called a "modern miracle-play". The major characters each have their own "ah-ha" moments which bring them closer to their actual goals of service to God. ___DESCRIPTION: Light blue laid paper boards, paper labels to front and spine with black lettering and a thin double rule in red, cream endpapers, fore- and bottom edges uncut, frontispiece is an illustration of "The Dream of Life" by Michaelangelo with lettered tissue guard, two pages of Historical References (explanations) at the end, limitation statement at the very back of the book. ___CONDITION:… Read More

New York: [Edition Gunnar A. Kaldewey] Printed in the tower of Poestenkill, 1984. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Kuball, Mischa. One of 15 deluxe copies bound in vellum, folio size, 40 pp., signed by Mischa Kuball, in German. "Todesfuge" is one of the "great and terrifying literary works" written by survivors of the Holocaust. Paul Celan (1920-1970) was born Paul Antschel in Romania to a German-speaking Jewish family, his surname was later spelled Ancel and he eventually adopted the anagram Celan as his nom de plume. Celan lived in France and was influenced by the French surrealists but wrote his poetry in German (he was well versed in at least six languages, and also translated the work of many notable poets). As a German-speaking Jewish survivor of WWII, living in France, Celan struggled immensely throughout his life with feelings of estrangement from his native language; he is said to have tried to create his own version of the language, emotionally dismantling it, resulting in an… Read More

[San Francisco]: Printed [by the Grabhorn Press] for Members of The Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, 1932. Limited Edition. Wraps. Near fine. One of 100 copies, small quarto size, 15 pp. A charming story of a young boy's Christmas morning in San Francisco, and a promise he made to the Christ child in the church's creche - a promise which required a bit of explanation to the parish Priest... In "Chronology of Twenty-Five Years, The Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, 1928-1953", Douglas S. Watson is listed as a Roxburghe member, serving as Printer's Devil for the 1932-33 season and subsquently as Master of the Press for the two seasons of 1933-34 and 1934-35. Watson was the author and/or editor of many books having to do with San Francisco/California history and growth, including "The Life of Johann August Sutter" (printed by the Grabhorn Press in 1932/33), "The Expedition into California of the Venerable Padre Fra Junipero Serra and his companions in the year 1769...." (printed at the Nueva… Read More