Descriptive Bibliography of the Books Printed at the Ashendene Press. MDCCCXCV—MCMXXXV. [together with] ALS, signed by Hornby.
Chelsea: Shelley House, 1935.
The Last Book from the Ashendene Press
with an ALS from Hornby and a Presentation on the Front Fly Leaf
ASHENDENE PRESS. ASHENDENE PRESS. HORNBY, Charles Harry St. John. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Books Printed at the Ashendene Press. MDCCCXCV—MCMXXXV. [together with] ALS, signed by Hornby. Chelsea: Shelley House, 1935.
[ASHENDENE PRESS]. HORNBY, Charles Harry St. John. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Books Printed at the Ashendene Press. MDCCCXCV—MCMXXXV Chelsea: Shelley House, 1935.
Limited to 390 numbered copies, signed by C.H. St. John Hornby on the colophon, this being number 278. Presentation copy to the subscriber "Eric G. Miller/ from the printer C.H.StJ. Hornby/August, 1935." on the front fly leaf. With an ALS from Hornby to Miller laid in. Folio (13 x 9 1/8 inches; 332 x 230 mm.). [8], 172 pp. With errata slip tipped in at end and with the "Additional Errata" slip also tipped-in at the end. Printed in red and black in Ptolemy type. Full-page woodcut of "The Printer at Work" on p. viii and two woodcut vignettes (on pp. 1 and 11) by R.A. Maynard. Five collotype plates illustrating bindings, five additional collotype plates, and two photogravures (on pp. 47 and 53) in the text. Specimen pages are given of most of the books of the Press (including six double-page inserted). Printer's mark in red.
Publisher's russet sheep by W.H. Smith & Son Ltd. Front cover stamped in gilt with publisher's device. Spine ruled in blind and lettered in gilt in compartments. Top edge gilt on the rough, others uncut. Some minor rubbing to board edges. Original owner Eric G. Miller's inscription dated Auguest 1935 on front free endpaper. Housed in a custom morocco tipped marbled slipcase. A fine copy.
[together with]:
ALS, signed by Hornby and addressed to books owner Eric Miller. Manuscript letter in black ink on recto and verso of small sheet of letterhead entitled Chantmarle Dorchester. Letter reads: "Telephone. Evershot 27 23 Aug 1935 My Dear Miller [You've?] kindly subscribed for a copy of my 'Bibliography of the Ashendene Press'- but I should like to give you a copy of this, my last book- so unless I hear from you that you want a second copy for any other purpose I shall just send you this copy for which you subscribed. You ought to receive this presentation copy about the end of this month or the beginning of Septembeer. I hop you are having a good holiday. Do come over here one fine day, if you have nothing better to do. Ever yours. CHStJ Hornby"
"This book, the last from the Ashendene Press, was printed at Shelley House, Chelsea, by C.H. St J. Hornby with the help of A.J. Fisk, compositor, and H. Gage-Cole, pressman, and was finished in the month of February, 1935, forty years after the date of the first book printed at the Press. The collotypes & photogravures were made and printed by Emery Walker, Ltd., and those initial letters which are filled in by hand were done, as in the original books, by Graily Hewitt" (Colophon).
Laid in is the announcement ‘A Farewell Notice to the Subscribers to the Books of the Ashendene Press’. A small bifolio that is in essence a prospectus for the book being offered here.
Ashendene Bibliography XL.
HBS 69618.
$3,000.
Price: $3,000.00
Item #69618