Bird & Bull Bibliographies |
|
Artist's Book No. 2 7.5 x 3.875"; 15 leaves. Bound in red bookcloth. Title embossed in gilt on front cover. Printed for the 2010 Oak Knoll Fest. Text: "52 years is a long time for a private press, but if you love the work & can still do it, then I say, what the hell, go for it." |
 Click image for more |
The Foresters 6.25 x 9.75"; 112 pages. Printed in Dante types on Arches mouldmade paper. Wood-engravings by Wesley Bates. Quarter bound morocco in cloth-covered slipcase. Prospectus: "Alexander Wilson, poet, weaver and reformer, was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1766, and died in Philadelphia in 1813. His reputation rests almost entirely upon his monumental American Ornithology, a nine-volume work illustrated with his own drawings, the completion of which he did not live to see. He came to America in 1704 and after a depressing period as an underpaid and unappreciated rural schoolmaster, taught himself to draw and then set out to make 'a collection of all our finest birds.' The terrible physical hardships suffered during many long journeys into the American wilderness were probably responsible for his death. He has been variously called 'The Father of American Ornithology' and 'The American Audubon.' His long poem The Foresters, described his first 'pedestrian journey' with two companions to the Falls of Niagara in 1804. It has been criticized as being too long for a poem, but I think it is really a book written in verse, and seen in that light, not of unreasonable length. Wilson's verse is as good as any being written in America at that time. Published serially in The Port Folio, the leading Philadelphia literary magazine, it was enormously popular. It was first published in book form, here in Newtown, in 1818, five years after Wilson's death. "Beyond the somewhat flowery and stilted literary style of the period, lies a wonderfully descriptive account of the Arcadian splendor of the 18th-century America. The earlier poets Barlow and Freneau had celebrated America's patriots, but Wilson was the first to describe the spectacular sights of the American wilderness and the lives of some of the early settlers who dwelled in it. Wilson and his companions, one of whom was Duncan, his nephew, set out from Philadelphia on an October day in 1804. They crossed mountains, rivers, almost drowned in Lake Ontario and finally reached Niagara around mid-November. After a two-month trip which covered almost 1,300 miles, mostly on foot, Wilson returned to Philadelphia on December 7, 1804, exhausted and frozen, with seventy-five cents in his pocket. But he had seen some of the natural wonders of his chosen land and having also discovered a new variety of jay, he was a happy man. "Alexander Wilson was the quintessential American. He came here seeking freedom and the opportunity to make his way in the world, based entirely upon his own merits and ambition, without the advantages of inherited wealth or privilege. He became an American citizen on June 9, 1804 and his love for his adopted country is evident throughout The Foresters." |
|
| A Trip to Paris in July & August 1792 By Richard Twiss with preface by Henry Morris and wood engravings by Wesley Bates Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 1988. Edition of 120. 6.25 x 9.25"; 88 pages. Printed letterpress on Arches laid paper. Composed in Baskerville types. Quarter-bound in morocco with Japanese-cloth sides. Four wood engravings by Wesley Bates. Prospectus: "Richard Twiss (1747-1821) was an 18th-century travel writer of some reknown. He went out of his way to stir up controversy as the resulting publicity increased the sale of his books. His second book, A Tour of Ireland in 1775, full of disparaging remarks, sneers and ridicule, earned him universal dislike in that country, but made the book a best-seller. Irish anger was visibly expressed by the production and sale of thousands of chamberpots ('Twiss-pots') with a picture of Twiss printed on the bottom. "In 1793 he published A Trip to Paris in July and August, 1792, which is the basis for the present book. Twiss' tendency to be overly-critical appears here and there in the Paris book, but alongside the mundane details of transport, sight-seeing, food and lodging, and currency exchange, which all travelers want to know, he is on the ground reporting the bloody events of a violent revolution in progress." Henry Morris, Preface: "I publish this account on the 220th anniversary of the French Revolution (L'an CCXX). Although the French have shown serious discontent with their government on many occasions since the end of World War II, civil disobedience has taken the form of overturning and burning cars, smashing windows, throwing rocks at the police and nationwide strikes. No one has been beheaded or killed by bloodthirsty mobs." $400 |
 Click image for more |
| Henry Morris, who operates Bird & Bull Press, has been printing books by hand using letterpress equipment for over 40 years. | |
The Private Typecasters 8.75 x 13 x 1.75"; 101 pages. Printed on Zerkall book laid paper, Quarter bound in morocco with Japanese cloth sides. Housed in a cloth covered clamshell case. Henry Morris, Prospectus: "The Private Press has been with us in one form or another for 200 years or more. The equipment for a small private press was inexpensive, required little space and almost anyone could learn to do basic printing in a short time. Private typecasting is entirely different. A single machine weighs almost a ton and a lot of practice and experience is required in order to decently produce the most basic work. This once-costly equipment came into the hands of printing enthusiasts when hot-metal typesetting was forced into decline by the computer. The members of this hot-metal fraternity comprise a network of small shops using the machines and matrices which once supported the hot-metal letterpress era. They are, in effect, a group of small working museums. "Richard Hopkins and myself have gathered fifteen of these typecasters into the pages of this book. Here you'll see unknown type faces, ancient faces cast from 200 year old matrices, experimental faces, beautiful faces and a few not so beautiful. In addition to the alphabets each contributor has composed specimen pages showing his types in use. "The types shown in this book encompass a period of about 100 years. This was during the heyday of mechanical typecasting and letterpress printing in America. Some of these types represent ideas of style and design long since passed out of favor. They may seem dated, perhaps quaint, or even ugly to contemporary eyes. But they are a vital part of the history of printing and we think it is important to take note of, and document their existence. The contributors to this book are respectful stewards of these rapidly disappearing artifacts of the golden years of American typecasting and the letterpress process." Includes a two page dedication by Richard Hopkins to Paul Hayden Duensing (1929 - 2006); preface by Henry Morris; and introduction by Richard L. Hopkinsricus. Typecasters included are Michael R. Anderson; Michael Bixler; Dan Carr & Julia Ferrari; Phillip Driscoll; Richard L. Hopkins; Dan S. Jones; Scott King; Raymond Stanley Nelson, Jr.; Chris Paul; Edward Rayher; Jim Rimmer; Schuyler (Sky) Shipley; Jim & Franziska Walczak; and Gregory Jackson Walters. |
|
So Long, Hot-Metal Men 9.5 x 12.5 x 1.25"; 119 leaves. Set and printed by hand, mostly in two Henry Morris, Prospectus: "Different from any type specimen book you've seen, the specimen settings here not only show the various types in use, but also tell a story in themselves. This book represents a full year of daily work and a pedestrian journey of 123 miles. An engaging and informative Foreword clears up much of the confusion regarding metal type as it was produced during the 20th century, and describes the various kinds of hot-metal types and how they were used. Also included is ornamental material from the last days of the great German type founders, which is rarely seen in the hands of American private presses, much of which was designed by Hermann Zapf and others of equal ability. I've seen many of the type specimen books of the 20th century and I believe I have come up with a novel way of doing this. I predict the idea will be copied, but this is the original and no serious collection should be without it." Includes examples of Original Caslon; Post Roman Bold; Codex; Stempel Borders / Ornaments; Californian; Sapphire; Palatino Semibold; Carolus; Wood Type; Alt. Gothic, Franklin Gothic Cond.; Mortised Brass; Trump Mediaeval.; Fry's Ornamented; Union Pearl; Hadriano Stone Cut; Sachsenwald; Tuscan Ornate, Craw Clarendon, Standard Bold Condensed; Thorne Shaded; Fournier; Champleve; and, Century Expanded, Franklin Gothic, Boxhead Gothic. |
 Click image for more |
| My Log & Diary 1994 - 2005 Interspersed with anecdotes and obser- vations on book collecting, printing, private presses and other bookish matters By Henry Morris Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 2005. Edition of 160. 9 x 12"' 105 pages. Composed in Dante types. Letterpress printed on Arches mouldmade paper. Quarter bound in morocco. Enclosed in a cloth covered slipcase. Henry Morris, "A Prepfatory Note": "In 1980 I started keeping a record of various technical details, printing problems, etc., of all the books and other items I was printing. Over time, I began including other entries in this log - time and events which seemed important and worth recording, some of which are unrelated to Bird & Bull Press. So the log had also become a diary." Henry Morris, Prospectus: "This book is a continuation of the entries in Two Birds with One Stone, which was published in 1994 and covered the period between 1980-1993. These entries describe the day-to-day operation of a private press and includes details of the making of many of my books which would usually remain unknown. The 'anecdotes and observations' are in most cases illustrated with tipped-in color photos and have something for everyone interested in the many aspects of the world of books and printing. They are scattered about and are usually relevant to the entry which precedes them." $450 |
 Click image for more |
| Son of The Bookbinder with an appendix showing samples of some of the finest bookcloths manufactured today By Gregor R. Campbell Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 2004. Edition of 170. 6.25 x 9.5 x 2.25"; 81 pages. Composed in Bell types. Letterpress printed on Zerkall mouldmade paper. Bound in imported cloth. The Appendix (five pages) is similarly bound. Both housed in a cloth-covered slipcase. Henry Morris, Prospectus: "Gregor Campbell was born to the bookbinding trade and still uses his father's bench, .... Collectors of fine press books are familiar with Campbell-Logan as they have produced bindings for many private presses, including of course, Bird & Bull. Less known to collectors is that they are also 'library binders' and Campbell's engaging and informative description of the work of the library binder provides a rare view of this essential branch of bookbinding." Henry Morris, "A Note Regarding the Samples in the Appendix": "Sample portfolios of fine bookcloths are highly desirable to many collectors but are usually available only to those who publish or bind books, and such portfolios are of course limited to the cloths offered by the particular maker. Our samples include a selection of twelve bookcloths each from five different makers in Japan, Holland, Germany, and Italy. "The making of portfolios or sample books is a costly labor-intensive business and there is no incentive to supply them to anyone who is not a prospective buyer.The Appendix provides the interested collector with sixty generous size samples of some of the most beautiful imported bookcloths available today." $450 |
 Click image for more |
| Henk Voorn to Henry Morris Selected Correspondence June 1967-July 1981 By Henry Morris Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 2003. Edition of 150. 8 x 11", 56 pages. Printed on Zerkall mouldmade paper. Composed in Garamond Types by Michael & Winifred Bixler. Sixteen colored illustrations tipped-in. Bound in Japanese cloth. In cloth-covered slipcase case. Henry Morris, prospectus: "Leonard Schlosser considered Henk Voorn to be the leading paper historian of his time, and Voorn's name is well known to all those interested in papermaking history. The earlier letters include personal details and information concerning the planning and publication of Old Ream Wrappers (1969), the Voorns' first trip to the U.S., and our first trip to Holland and England in 1967. Subsequent letters are concerned with trips to IPH Congresses, books published by Bird & Bull Press, and related matters dealing with papermaking history." Henk Voorn (1921 - 2008) International Society of Paper Historians: "Henk Voorn has been an active paper historian since his early years in the paper business. Henk's life story is that of the self-educated man who becomes obsessed with his work and hobby and develops into a universally recognized authority in his field f expertise: the history of papermaking. ... " Henry Morris: Morris was awarded the American Printing History Association Individual Award for Distinguished Achievement in 2008. Jane Siegel, Columbia University (for APHA): "The papermaker, printer and publisher Henry Morris has single-handedly contributed to the study, recording, preservation and dissemination of a good bit of printing history ... Morris started Bird and Bull, one of America's oldest private presses, in 1958 as an outlet for his new-found interest in hand papermaking - an interest sparked by a piece of fifteenth-century paper. Indeed, his strong interest in the art and history of handmade paper has resulted in a variety of books on Western, Japanese, and Chinese papermaking, and marbled and decorated papers." $200 |
|
| Vignettes An eclectic assemblage of anecdotes about papermaking, the private press, printing and its history, book collect- ing, Numismata Typograhphica and much more. Volume II By Henry Morris Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 1999. Edition of 155. 10 X 13"; 77 pages.Letterpress printed on Arches mouldmade paper. Composed in Ehrhardt types. Includes eleven pages of black-and-white illustrations and two pages of color inserts. Case bound in cloth with leather title label on the spine. Laid in matching cloth-covered clamshell box with leather title label on the spine. Henry Morris, Prospectus: "In 1996 I came up with the idea of combining the inherent quality of the broadside and the printed book. It was a novel concept which required an enormous amount of effort and expense to produce, but one of my most enjoyable and satisfying projects. I called it Broadside Vignettes, ... An attractive feature was the ability to offer a great variety of interesting textual and visual material, much of which was of a bookish nature. Like a broadside it was something to look at, and like a book, it was something to read. ... "Everyone liked the subjects included in my collection but there were complaints about the problem of shelving and storage, so I decided to try another approach which would preserve a part of the broadside quality but would result in a bound folio which could be shelved. This book is the result. "A 7 x 11" sample sheet of the original 1958 Bird and Bull handmade paper is tipped in along with twenty additional tip ins, most of which are in color. A novel adjunct to the article 'Better Late than Never' is a pair of clay impressions with human figures and cuneiform inscriptions taken from ancient Babylonian cylinder seals. The seals date from 1900-1600 BC and the two clay impressions, about 1 x 2" in size, are in a recess inside the front cover of the clamshell box. A color insert shows how the production run of these impressions was accomplished by our talented engineering staff in charge of reproduction of ancient artifacts. A laid in Appendix to 'A History of Die Cutting' is included for the benefit of private press folks, and shows how easy it is to do simple die cutting on their letterpress equipmen." $400 |
 Click image for more |
| Books by Bird & Bull on book illustration using techniques such as wood engraving. | |
The Art of Intaglio 6.5 x 9.5 x 1.25"; 105 pages. Dos-à-dos binding. Composed of hot-metal types. Printed on Arches and Somerset papers. Includes twelve intaglio plates and two wood engravings. Quarter-bound in morocco with Japanese cloth sides and housed in a cloth slipcase. Henry Morris, Prospectus: "Engravings and etchings (intaglios) are printed on special presses which exert the far greater pressure needed for this kind of printing. I had been told that intaglio could not be printed satisfactorily on a letterpress, which is generally true. But in 2009 I tried my hand, printing two intaglio plates successfully by letterpress, albeit not very large ones. In this new book I have printed by letterpress, twelve intaglio plates, some as large as 5" x 6 1/2". "These images were made from Ambrose Heal's privately published 1925 London Tradesmen's Cards of the Eighteenth Century, which showed 101 collotype prints of old engraving advertising the wares, goods and services offered about 250 years ago. I have been attracted to these 'cards' - they are really papers of differing sizes - ever since I got Heal's book fifteen years ago. Thanks to my recent introduction to intaglio, I have returned twelve of these prints to their original 18th century state: you can run your finger over the print and feel the image. "A Foreword and texts on the Origin of Intaglio, The Process, and background information on Heal and his book, precede the twelve engravings. "On an entirely unrelated subject, a 16 page addition relates an unforgettable event in the early life of Henry Morris, entitled Schlocker and the Fishes, thus making this book my first dos-à-dos binding. This brief account is illustrated with two full-page wood engravings by Wesley Bates. " |
|
Emblemata 6.5 x 9.5"; 146 pages. Octavo. Composed in hot-metal Dante types by Michael Bixler and printed on Frankfurt mould-made paper. Quarter-bound in morocco with Japanese cloth sides by Campbell-Logan Bindery. Each copy has an original leaf with a woodcut emblem illustration from the 1589 Alciato edition. Housed in blue cloth slipcase. Henry Morris, prospectus: "During the late Renaissance, the most famous professor of law in all of Europe was Andrea Alciato (1492-1550) of Milan. He was also a leading humanist, someone who studied, explained, and emulated the great Greek and Roman writers of the classical era. Almost accidentally, he was responsible for creating a whole new genre of publication consisting of text and image, known as the emblem book. Alciato's emblems were built upon the Latin epigrams he liked to write as a learned pastime. It has been estimated that more than 2000 different emblem books were issued in the two centuries in which the genre was at its height. A large secondary literature has grown up to describe the history, form, and content of these emblem books. Surprisingly, however, there are few books in English devoted to Alciato or to his emblems. No separate overview of Alciato's life and writing is known. In addition to the history of the emblem books, the author provides much personal information that illuminates the personality of Alciato. "Alvan Bregman has written an illustrated text on a subject usually directed to scholarly specialists, but he has done so in a way that is engaging and informative to the non-specialist reader. Mr. Bregman is Curator of Rare Books at the Library of the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. "Discovering Alciato and his emblem book has been an enjoyable learning experience for me, as I hope it will also be for many of my readers who may have little knowledge of the literary accomplishments of Alciato and his relationship with many famous humanist colleagues, or the important connection between the emblem book and early printing and publishing history. "As I came to understand and enjoy the emblems I wanted to create some contemporary emblems and a selection of eight of these, illustrated by Wesley Bates' wood engravings, is included as an Appendix." |
|
In Black and White 7.375 x 10.75"; 86 pages. Composed in Dante types by Michael and Winifred Bixler. Printed on Zerkall mouldmade paper. Twenty-six one-color wood engravings and one foldout color engraving. Bound in Japanese cloth by the Campbell-Logan Bindery. Enclosed in a cloth covered slipcase. Henry Morris, Prospectus: "This book records in words and illustrations Wesley Bates' journey from neophyte to master wood engraver. The stories he tells along the way and the engravings connected with them will be instructive and enjoyable to all those interested in the art of wood engraving. In addition to wood engraving, Bates' work as a professional illustrator includes the medium of scraperboards, which produces an image that can appear to be a wood engraving. The process, which is probably unknown to most wood engraving enthusiasts, is explained and a comparative example is included. Also included is a fold-out 4 color woodcut print which Bates made for a book I published in 2001." |
 Click image for more |
| Bird & Bull Press specializes in books about books. This section is primarily about collecting, collectors, and what they collect as well as the booksellers and bookselling. | |
Dr. Rosenbach and Mr. Lilly 6.25 x 9.25"; 136 pages. Octavo. Composed in hot-metal Dante types by Michael and Winifred Bixler. Letterpress printed on Arches Mouldmade paper. Quarter-bound in African goatskin with leather spine label and imported cloth sides by the Campbell-Logan Bindery. Henry Morris, prospectus: "There was a time when book collecting was big news. In the first half of the twentieth century, some of America's leading financiers, executives, and philanthropists played 'this book collecting game' (as A. Edward Newton called it), and competed with each other for the finest books and manuscripts in the world. Their booksellers were no less newsworthy, and one of the most astute, knowledgeable, and flamboyant of them all was Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach of Philadelphia. Dr. R., as the press liked to call him, helped to build some of America's greatest collections, and his own library, assembled from the treasures that he took home for himself rather than put into his stock, still draws visitors and researchers from around the world. "[This book] is the story of one collector, Josiah Kirby Lilly, Jr., of Indianapolis, and the books and manuscripts that he bought from Dr. Rosenbach. The story is told through the many letters that they exchanged, and through the descriptions and illustrations of the books and manuscripts themselves. Though this book is the story of only one collector and bookseller, it is also a microcosm of a great age of book collecting, in which choices were made by booksellers and collectors alike that shaped the contents of some of the greatest research libraries of our own day." Contents include sections on "The Thirties and the Quest for the Grolier Hundred," "The Forties and the Pursuit of Americana," and a bibliography of the "Books and manuscripts Purchased by J.K. Lilly, Jr. from The Rosenbach Co." Joel Silver is Director of Special Collections, Associate Director, Librarian and Curator of Books of the Lilly Library at Indiana University. |
 Click image for more |
| The Booksellers of San Serriffe By Theodore Bachaus, D.S.E. [Henry Morris] Newton, Pennsylvania: [Bird & Bull Press] San Serriffe Publishing Company, 2001. Edition of 185. 6.25 x 9.5 "; 95 pages. Composed in Ehrhardt types. Printed on Arches mouldmade paper. Quarter bound in morocco. Enclosed in a cloth-covered slipcase. Henry Morris, prospectus: "In his 1980 ground breaking Private Presses of San Serriffe, Dr. Theodore Bachaus introduced most of the country's active and better known presses. This new book aims to render a similar service for the leading specialist booksellers in this small republic. The books carried by these dealers are often peculiar to the history and culture of the country and will not be found elsewhere. As will be seen, San Serriffe booksellers give new meaning to the word 'specialist'. Alone with the book ever purchaser will receive a personal letter from Dr. Bachaus, mailed directly from his office in Port Clarendon. Enclosed with this letter will be small token of appreciation for the continuing support of his readers. "There are three full page wood engravings of shop fronts by Wesley Bates, 15 tipped in pieces, a fragment of the first book printed in San Serriffe, a large fold out of a Grandiloquent Books title page, samples of various paste papers from St. Luke's, facsimiles of title pages never seen outside of San Serriffe, plus additional illustrations drawn from esoteric areas of book collecting and color photos of the inner workings of St. Luke's paste paper manufactory." Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Serriffe: "San Serriffe is a fictional island nation created for April Fools' Day, 1977, by Britain's Guardian newspaper. An elaborate description of the nation, using puns and plays on words relating to typography (such as "sans seriff"), was reported as legitimate news, apparently fooling many readers." Henry Morris, www.chiefacoins.com: "Many readers will be justifiably unacquainted with the Republic of San Serriffe. I never heard of it myself until I saw the 'Special Report of The Guardian ... A copy of this issue was sent to me by an English friend with no explanation other than 'I think you'll find this interesting.' I was at first puzzled as it looked like any ordinary newspaper and I couldn't imagine why he'd gone to the expense of air-mailing a copy of a now week-old newspaper. After some perusal, I finally began to think there was a something odd about the eight-page Special Report which was in a center section. The report dealt at length with the Republic of San Serriffe, a country whose existence I was previously unaware of. The power of print is such, that a report like this is a big-city newspaper establishes instant credibility. I couldn't understand why I'd never heard of this country before. My suspicions were soon aroused by the names of various cities shown on a map of this country which was included. These names were all terms connected with printing - places like Garamondo, Bodoni and Erbar - all names of printer's type faces; Caissa Superiore (Upper-case), and Caissa Inferiore (lower-case), referring to the printer's type-case arrangement. I finally realized it was a colossal printer's April Fool's Day Joke ..." In this publication Theodore Bachaus is the pseudonym of Henry Morris and the San Serriffe Publishing Company is actually Bird & Bull Press. The San Serriffe book selling community is represented by Hoi-Nol Books, Books on the Mail Order Arts, Ki-Flongian Booksellers, Ltd, Grandiloquent Bookshop, Gloacina Books, St. Luke's paper Mill and Bookshop, Contre Kook Mail Order Books, and, finally, Exterminator Books. Quite a remarkable accomplishment and spoof by Morris. $300 |
|
| Bird & Bull Bibliographies Henry Morris, Thirty Years of Bird and Bull, Foreword: "In 1958 it was not my intention to establish a private press – I hadn't even heard the term before and had no knowledge of such things. My press was started in order to make use of the product of a new hobby – hand papermaking. I was already in the commercial printing business and so had access to type and a press. In 1956 I accidentally wandered into hand papermaking – a rare stroke of good luck which was to change and enrich my future in ways beyond imagining." |
|
| Thirty Years of Bird and Bull A Bibliography, 1958-1988 Compiled by Howell J. Heaney With a Foreword & Commentary by Henry Morris Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 1988. Edition of 300. 8 x 11"; 103 pages. Composed in Van Dijck types. Printed on dampened handmade Bird & Bull paper. Quarter bound by Barbara Blumenthal in morocco and tips with morocco spine and label and paste paper sides made at the Press. Each copy is housed in a cloth-covered and lined 10 x 13" clamshell box with morocco spine label. The box has a recess for the book and a cloth-covered inner portfolio containing various text pages and ephemera. Box and portfolio by Richard Lohwasser. Henry Morris, Prospectus: "I have been working on this bibliography for over two years and during that time it has become something very special to me. My overwhelming desire was to produce a work which would serve as a fitting observance of my 30th anniversary and one that would also bring pleasure and useful information to the reader. ... "As in the earlier 1979 bibliography (Twenty-one Years of Bird & Bull), there is a bibliographical description of each entry, followed in most cases by commentary written by myself. The descriptions have been written by Howell J. Heaney, Curator Emeritus of the Rare Book Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia. "Unlike the earlier work, all copies of this edition are accompanied by a generous portfolio of assorted and varying ephemeral material. Each portfolio also contains a copy of 'The Bird & Bull Chronological Type Specimen List' made especially for this edition. ... Also unlike the earlier work, many examples of ephemeral material are bound into the book, and there are occasional illustrations in color. "Because this book was so important to me, I felt it should be printed on paper of my own making. I haven't done this since 1979 because making 4000 sheets of paper is hard work and takes a great deal of time, especially when one is working alone. Made in 1986, this paper is the first made at our new home and is appropriately watermarked BIRD & BULL JERICHO." This production is the last Bird & Bull book printed on Henry Morris' handmade paper. $ 400 |
|
| Forty-Four Years of Bird and Bull A Bibliography, 1958 - 2002 Compiled by Sidney E. Berger with a Foreword & Commentary by Henry Morris Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 2002. Edition of 150. 9 x 12.5"; 99 pages plus unpaginated inserts. Composed in Dante types. Printed on Arches mouldmade paper. Quarter bound in morocco with Japanese cloth sides and leather spine label. The book and accompanying portfolio are housed in a cloth-covered clamshell box with leather spine label. Included in the inch thick portfolio of specimens is a 16 page small folio booklet with the complete woodcuts of Three Lions and the Cross of Lorraine (1992). An additional inner portfolio contains a collection of leaves from Dard Hunter and Sons (1998). This inner portfolio has a printed sheet providing details of the items enclosed. The main portfolio also includes 8, 12, and 16 page specimen sections, large posters, prospectuses, the two aforementioned items, and other ephemera. There are an additional twenty four tip-ins or inserts bound in the book, including five 4-page inserts, two 6-page inserts, and one foldout broadside on handmade Roma paper. Henry Morris, Prospectus: "During the past four years I have devoted much of my spare time to assembling and in some cases, creating special new materials for this bibliography. At my request, the compiler of my 1988 bibliography and the present one, have included only the basic information needed to accurately confirm the completeness of a given book. I have tried to make my comments informative and engaging. I want the reader to know any thing concerning the making of a book that would add in some way to his interest in it, and to provide this information in an enjoyable forms. So there will be no need to skip over paragraphs of bracketed pagination numbers, slashes, and detailed lists of contents, as all this has been omitted. However, I have included a lot of the sort of material that I think collectors enjoy most." Henry Morris, Foreword: "The earlier Bibliographies were divided into three sections: 'A', Books printed by and for Bird & Bull Press, 'B', Books printed by the Press for others, and 'C', Selected ephemera. Each entry carried a letter prefix designating its section. The same method is used here, with numerical order continuing where the earlier lists ended. A short-title list of the earlier A, B, C, will be found following page 92." This bibliography begins with full bibliographies of books printed since 1988. The last section is a list of those books prior to 1989 with year and title. $ 500 |
|
Bird & Bull Press Out of Print Titles: |
|
| Chinese Bamboo Papermaking A Companion to Chinese Hand Made Paper, 1986 By Floyd Alonzo McClure with preface by Henry Morris Newton, Pennsylvania: Bird & Bull Press, 2011. Edition of 120. 7.75 x 10.25"; 98 pages. Composed in Dante types. Letterpress printed on Zerkall mouldmade paper. Quarter-bound in African goatskin with leather spine label and Japanese cloth sides. Henry Morris, prospectus: "Floyd McClure (1897-1970) was considered the world's leading authority on bamboo. His manuscript for Chinese Handmade Papers, written in 1928, laid dormant for 56 years, along with trunks full of samples of papers for a book he hoped to publish. The manuscripts and samples were discovered by Elaine Koretsky in 1984, and in 1986 I published the books, which remains one of my favorites. "Hidden away in the huge carton of samples were 24 photographic color transparencies of 18th-century Chinese paintings depicting bamboo papermaking. The films were badly faded with an overall bluish cast. I considered them useless. These transparencies had been loaned to McClure by Dr. W.B. Pettus, President of California College in Peking. McClure greatly admired the paintings and hoped a way could be found to reproduce them in his book. There was no information on the origin of the transparencies except that they came from an unknown French collector. "When I saw the album of 24 paintings of Chinese Bamboo Papermaking, published by Akademie Verlag in 1993, I realized the faded transparencies had been made from the same source. Thanks to the advanced state of computer color technology these formerly useless transparencies have been restored and are shown here in a smaller size. McClure's chapter How the Chinese make paper by hand is included in an abridged form. It is limited to portions of his text which illuminate the scenes portrayed in the relevant painting." (SOLD) |
 Click image for more |
| Trade Tokens of British and American Booksellers & Bookmaker | |
By Henry Morris Contents: Introduction; British Tokens; British Tokens prior to the 18th century; A check-list of all known British Tokens; American Tokens; Appendix; The Participants; Bibliography. "These old tokens cannot be satisfactorily described in words alone, so where possible, illustrations have been provided. It would have been nice to include specimens of original tokens, but this would have been expensive and impractical. Instead, all of the booksellers and bookmakers listed have struck a new token of their own, and specimen of each has been included. ... |
|
Page last update: 12.20.12
Home | About Us | Contact Us | New Arrivals | Fine Press & Artists' Books | Broadsides | Miniature Books | Resource Books | Order/Inquiry
Copyright © 2008 Vamp & Tramp, Booksellers, LLC. All rights reserved.