Category Archives: Books

books

Congratulations to the students of VIS 415

Congratulations to the students in VIS 415, Advanced Graphic Design under the 2013-15 Princeton Arts Fellow Danielle Aubert, who held a launch party at the Princeton Public Library tonight.

Each student wrote, designed, and produced a complete book. In addition, a class book entitled Princeton Places, combined elements from each of the individual projects.

Each book uses both words and images to examine a different site in the area. The students made their own selection and researched the history, geography, and sociology of their chosen site, such as the Princeton Airport, Palmer Square, the Delaware and Raritan Canal towpath, the YMCA and YWCA, Princeton Running Company, and others.

Aubert’s fall semester studio course was structured around three studio assignments that connected graphic design to other bodies of knowledge, aesthetic experience, and scholarship.

VIS 415 always takes a local concept or event as the impetus for investigations. Last semester they took New Jersey, as a place and an idea, as a starting point. It was a nice complement to the Firestone Library exhibition of historic New Jersey maps.

We are happy to have acquired a copy of Princeton Places for the Princeton University Library and the Graphic Arts Collection. Hopefully, this will be the first of many books the students produce (even if they don’t sew every one individually).

This spring, the students in VIS 321 will explore Words As Objects with Joseph S. Scanlan and Susan Wheeler. “This course will explore ways that language can take on material properties and how objects can have syntax and be “read”. Through studio assignments, readings, and discussions, students will investigate the idea of language as a tangible material that can be sliced, bent, inserted, reproduced, embedded, and scattered, as in the work of such modern artists as Guillaume Apollinaire, Susan Howe, Marcel Broodthaers, or Jenny Holzer.”

We wish them equal success and enjoyment.

The most extensive rolling press manual ever published

The Graphic Arts collection recently acquired the 1st edition, 1st issue and the 1st edition, 2nd issue of the most extensive rolling press manual ever published:

Berthiau (later Berthiaud) and Pierre Boitard (1789?–1859), Manuels-Roret. Nouveau manuel complet de l’imprimeur en taille-douce. Par MM. Berthiau et Boitard. Ouvrage orné de planches. Enrichi de notes et d’un appendice renfermant tous les nouveaux procédés, les découvertes, méthodes et inventions nouvelles appliquées ou applicables a cet art, par plusieurs imprimeurs de la capital.

The first: Paris: A la Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret rue Hautefeuille, 12 [no date] (Colophon: Toul, imprimerie de Ve Bastien), [1836?].

The second: Paris: A la Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret rue Hautefeuille, No 10 bis (Colophon: Toul, imprimerie de Ve Bastien), 1837.

Book historian Roger Gaskell has done an exdended description of these volumes and with his permission, I will repeat it here for the benefit of others.

The first edition, first issue has the half-title is headed Encyclopédie-Roret and has an Avis on the verso with authenticating facsimile signature; the titlepage is undated, headed Manuels–Roret and Berthiau is so spelled. Copies with this state of the half-title and title were re-issued with advertisements dated 1880 and 1885.

In the second issue the first bifolium is re-set, and among other differences there is no mention of the Manuels Roret, the verso of the half-title is blank, the titlepage is dated 1837, and the author spelled Berthiaud. Bigmore and Wyman I, p. 52; Stijnman 029.1, both describing the issue dated 1837.

This is the most extensive rolling press manual ever published and the first original manual since Bosse (1645). Pierre Boitard explains in his Avertis–sement that he took the part of an editor for material supplied by Berthiau, an experienced copper-plate printer. Both wooden and iron presses are described and illustrated, making this the first published account of the iron rolling-press and its operation.

It is the first manual to discuss the use of intaglio illustrations in printed books. Berthiau travelled to England to investigate copper-plate printing in London, where plates for books were apparently much better printed than in Paris.Boitard attributes this to the higher price of books in London. In his long Appendice de l’éditeur, he makes proposals for the improvements in the economy of copper-plate printing. Many of the Manuels Roret were first published as Manuels with revised editions as Nouveu Manuels, but there seems to have been no earlier edition of this manual.

This issue, which I take to be the first, is undated but Boitard says that Bosse’s Traité was published 193 years ago in 1643, giving a date of 1836 (actually the Traité was published in 1645; Boitard repeats his error on the following page).

The priority of this undated issue seems to be confirmed by the fact that the author’s name is here consistently spelled Berthiau (on the titlepage and on pp. 4 and 5) while in the 1837 dated issue it is Berthiaud on the titlepage but unchanged in the text which is printed from the same setting of type (presumably from stereotype plates).

If the OCLC holdings are to be believed, this original issue is much rarer than the later issues, with copies at the V&A and University of Virginia only; compared with 8 copies in North America of the 1837 issue and 4 undated but with 1880 advertisements.

In the first edition, second issue, the first bifolium is re-set, omitting any mention of the Manuels Roret. The verso of the half-title is blank, the titlepage is dated 1837 and the author spelled Berthiaud. (In the first issue the half-title is headed Encyclopédie–Roret and has an Avis on the verso with authenticating facsimile signature; the titlepage is undated, headed Manuels–Roret and Berthiau is so spelled – see above). Bigmore and Wyman I, p. 52; Stijnman 029.1, both describing this issue.

In this issue the relationship between author, Berthiaud, and editor, Boitard, is spelled out on the titlepage and plusieurs imprimeurs de la capitale whose improvements are reported are now identified as, MM Finot, Pointot and Rémond and other printers of the capital.

This copy belonged to a practicing copper-plate printer. Adolfo Ruperez was the leading printer of artists’ prints in Spain in the first half of the twentieth century; he learned his craft in Paris. OCLC locates copies of this issue at Getty, LC, Newberry, University of Illinois, Brandeis, Columbia, Harvard and NYPL.

Letters to Anna

Brody Neuenschwander, Letters to Anna. Photos by John Decoene and drawings by Peter Jonckheere (Belgium: Neuenschwander, 2014). Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2015- in process. Gift of Alfred Bush.

“The freedom of the book format is astonishing,” writes Brody Neuenschwander, Class of 1981. “The order of the pages continues to change, bringing new combinations into being. Of course, you have to settle on a final order at some point. Or perhaps not. Books do not have to be bound…”

Neuenschwander’s new book Letters to Anna is a good example of a successful unbound book. Together with photos by John Decoene and drawings by Peter Jonckheere, the 120 pages can be rearranged to produce new texts.

Completed in 2014, Neuenschwander’s artists’ book is sold to raise money for children at risk, through a program run by the King Boudewijn Foundation in Belgium. Special thanks go to Alfred Bush for his generous gift to the Graphic Arts Collection.

Bunbury’s designs after Tristram Shandy

Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811), “The Siege of Namur by Captain Shandy and Corporal Trim” from Life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman, no date [1772]. Hand colored etching. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2011.00548.

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Undated etching from the Walpole Library attributed to Thomas Rowlandson [left] and a drawing sold by Christies also attributed to Rowlandson [right]. After Bunbury’s design but note the difference on the door on the far right.

Laurence Sterne is “the most illustrated novelist of the eighteenth century,” writes Peter de Voogd. “The English language editions alone yield well over 1,300 different illustrations and the field is so vast that it must be subdivided.” [“Sterne and Visual Culture” in The Cambridge Companion to Laurence Sterne (2009)]. Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759 and the last in 1767.

A series of etchings were designed in 1772 by the amateur draughtsman Henry William Bunbury, including “The Overthrow of Dr. Slop,” “The Battle of the Cataplasm,” “The Siege of Namur,” and “The Damnation of Obadiah.” This set was inspired by Sterne’s book but never bound with the text. They were published by James Bertherton in 1773; re-etched and published in 1799 by S.W. Fores; and then, lithographed in 1815-17.

Princeton’s Graphic Arts Collection owns several prints etched by Bunbury before the Bertherton edition, including one laterally reversed from the final published print. Although Thomas Rowlandson prepared two plates for a later bound edition of Tristram Shandy, they are different images, not the same as Bunbury’s designs.
Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811), “The Damnation of Obadiah” from Life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman, no date [ca.1772]. Hand colored etching. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2011.00546. Gift of Dickson Q. Brown, Class of 1895.

Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811), “The Overthrow of Dr. Slop” from Life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman, no date [ca.1772]. Hand colored etching. GA 2011.00547. Gift of Dickson Q. Brown, Class of 1895.

James Bretherton (active 1770-1781) after Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811), “The Overthrow of Dr. Slop” from Life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman, 3 February 1773. Etching. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2011.00506. Gift of Dickson Q. Brown, Class of 1895.

Beneath the design is engraved, “When Obadiah & his Coach Horse turn’d the Corner rapid, furious, pop, full upon him – nothing I think in Nature can be supposed more terrible than such a rencounter – Obadiah pull’d of [sic] his Cap twice to Dr Slop, once when he was falling & again when he saw him seated.”

James Bretherton (active 1770-1781) after Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811), “The Battle of the Cataplasm” from Life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman, 3 February 1773. Hand colored etching. Graphic Arts Collection, GA 2011.00505. 1773/02/03. Gift of Dickson Q. Brown, class of 1895.

Beneath the design is engraved, “Susannah, rowing one way & looking another, set fire to Dr. Slop’s Wig, which being somewhat bushy & unctuous withal was as soon burnt as kindled – You impudent Whore cried Slop (for what is passion but a wild Beast) You impudent Whore cried Slop getting upright with the Cataplasm in his hand – I never was at the destruction of any body’s nose said Susannah, which is more than you can say; – Is it? cried Slop, throwing the Cataplasm in her face – Yes it is cried Susannah returning the Complement with what was left in the pan”

A look inside Charlie Hebdo

Today’s issue of Charlie Hebdo sold out but the Irish Times posted a pdf of the centerfold. Here is a higher resolution version: http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2065387.1421224156!/menu/standard/file/CHARLIE_HEBDO.pdf. Additional copies of the weekly magazine are already being printed.

Charlie Hebdo Lives

“Tout est Pardonné.” Translation: “All Is Forgiven.”

The latest issue of Charlie Hebdo went to press last night, with an anticipated print run of three million. A spokesperson for the satirical weekly said, “We have requests for 300,000 copies throughout the world – and demand keeps rising by the hour. [One] million will go. As of Thursday, the decision will probably be taken to print extra copies… So we’ll have one million, plus two if necessary.”

The cover was drawn by the staff cartoonist known as Luz (Rénald Luzier), who was born on January 7, 1972. Because of his birthday, the artist was 30 minutes late in arriving to the editorial meeting at the Charlie Hebdo office last week and escaped the terrorist attack.

A Lesson in Brushwork with Elizabeth Yeats

The Graphic Arts Collection recently acquired two copy books by Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868-1940), the sister of W.B. Yeats. In the 1890s, Elizabeth was living in London, teaching art to children and involved with the Royal Drawing Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The Society’s director, Thomas Robert Ablett, wrote the introduction to her 1896 edition:

Miss Yeats, who is the daughter of an artist and a skillful kindergarten mistress, has proved that she can make good use of the subject. For several years her pupils’ brush work has obtained high awards at the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Drawing Society of Great Britain and Ireland . . . In this volume, Miss Yeats gives her experience for the benefit of others, wisely choosing her subjects from the flowers of the field, so that any teacher may paint from the growing plants themselves, with the help of the advice freely given and the chance of comparing the results obtained by Miss Yeats.

In 1901, the Yeats family moves back to Ireland and Elizabeth learns printing. Her imprint, Dun Emer Press, begins in 1903 with the letterpress printing of her brother’s book In the Seven Woods.

Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868-1940), Brush Work (London: George Philip & Son, 1896). Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2014- in process

Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868-1940), Brushwork studies of flowers, fruit, and animals for teachers and advanced students (London: George Philip & Son, 1898). Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2014- in process

Progressive Series Showing Japanese Papermaking

Process of Japanese Paper Making of Japanese Shrubs. 16 hand colored collotypes. Graphic Arts Ephemera collection.

This inexpensive souvenir pack of cards shows the steps of traditional papermaking in Japan. Although the color is decorative, the photographs capture a great deal of useful information.

Genii of Strange Appearance

Hishikawa Moronobu (ca. 1618-ca. 1694), Newly Published Picture Book of Genii of Strange Appearance (Shinpan igyo sennin ehon)(Edo: Urokogataya, 1689).

Hishikawa Moronobu is considered one of the earliest Japanese book illustrators. The translation of the title used here is taken from our colleagues at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston but on Princeton’s copy someone has written “Stories of immortals.” Someone else, probably Elmer Adler, has noted “Ghost stories in Chinese style.”

There is a second volume of this book that seems to have been separated from the first, but it was here and will eventually be found when our Japanese books are completely catalogued.

Craig’s Book of Actors

Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), A Book of Actors, 1911. Unique album with 19 mounted engravings. Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2014- in process

In 1911, while Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966) was living in Florence with Elena Fortuna Meo (1879–1957), he gave his son Edward (Teddy) Carrick (1905–1998) a scrapbook of engravings depicting classical actors, several from the Comédie-Française. Meo is responsible for the lovely green binding.

It appears that Craig had been working on this for some time, as it is inscribed “Papa fecit 1902” in red ink at foot and “PAPA” in black ink below. Mounted on the front pastedown is a plate with the illustrated initial “A” by J.Oliver (EGC), with the title “Book of Actors for Teddy – 1911, Florence, January – Papa. -Bound by Mama-.” In addition, Teddy Craig later wrote “and now, in 1968, passed on by that same TEDDY to his friend Lee Freeson who also loved EGC. ‘Papa’ being, of course, Edward Gordon Craig.”

The actor and bookdealer Lee Freeson (1902-98) helped to compile many theatre libraries in America. He corresponded with Craig, assisting him in his later years by selling some of his significant items to American collections. Freeson also became a close friend of Teddy Craig.

There is another note in Craig’s hand that reads: “The Actors whose pictures are in this book were better actors than those known so well to us as Kean – David Garrick – Kemble – Talma – Le Kain -.”

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