43
179
179. INCLINE PRESS. RAVILIOUS, Eric. The St Bride Notebook. [With essays by] Caroline Archer and Robert Harling. Incline Press [Published for the Friends of the St Bride Printing Library]. 2003. £98
8vo. Original brown cloth, spine lettered in gilt; 42 wood-engravings (some of them repeated) for the Notebook printed from the original blocks (apart from four) by Eric Ravilious, some of them printed in dark red, several other engravings by Ravilious printed in the introductory text, most of these printed in a single colour; a fine copy.
Eric Ravilious designed the wood-engravings for the fifth of the annual Notebooks issued at Christmas by the Kynoch
Press.This new edition of the Notebook for 1933 includes all of Ravilious’s engravings, all printed (except four) from the original blocks. The Notebook is prefaced by an essay by Robert Harling on the wood-engravings of Ravilious, and another on Ravilious and the Kynoch Press by Caroline Archer.
180. INKY PARROT PRESS. COOK, OLIVE. The Pink House. A Short Story Inky Parrot Press. 2002
£48 4to., original card wrappers. Illustrated by John Vernon Lord. A fine copy.
First edition limited edition of 300 copies. With a foreword by Philippa Pearce.
180
181. JOHNSON, John (Printer). HILL, William Henry, Arthur F. HILL F.S.A., and Alfred Ebsworth HILL. The Violin-Makers of the Guarneri Family (1626-1762). London: Printed by John Johnson at the University Press, Oxford for William E. Hill & Sons, Violin-,Makers 140 New Bond Street, W., 1931.
£1,995
4to, full red morocco gilt by Rivière to a rennaissance style, boards with broad gilt strapwork panel comprising parallel double-ruled gilt fillets with gilt floral sprays at the corners all enclosed within a border of double-ruled gilt fillets; upper board with central gilt escutcheon of the Guarneri family, spine gilt in compartments, spine lettered directly in gilt in 2 and at foot with imprint, others tooled with gilt foliate designs, gilt ruled board edges, gilt roll-tooled turn-ins, top edges gilt, others untrimmed; pp. xxxvii, [3 (blank, book title, blank)], 181, [1 (blank), 4 (advertisements)]; photogravure frontispiece of William Henry Hill, title-page printed in red and black with escutcheon of Guarneri family in full colour, 17 colour plates printed by Messrs. Hudson and Kearns retaining tissue guards, 37 photogravures printed by Messrs. Emery Walker, Limited, 4 colour facsimile plates of family labels, 3 maps (2 folding) and numerous collotypes and facsimile reproductions to text; slight offsetting from turn-ins to endpapers but nonetheless a fresh copy in a handsome binding.
Limited edition of 200 of which this is number 48. A lavish tribute from one famous family firm of luthiers to another, this book is a detailed history of the Guarneri family originally of Cremona. The family would later establish branches in Mantua and Venice, unlike the Amatis and Stradivatis who confined them selves to Cremona. The family’s standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari and some of the world’s most famous violinists, such as Niccolò Paganini, Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin, and Itzhak Perlman, have preferred Guarneris to Stradivaris. In fact it is possible that the Guarneri family could have remained in relative obscurity were it not for a gift to the great virtuoso violinist Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) of a violin by Joseph Guarneri del Gesu. Paganini jealously guarded the instrument and on his death he presented it to the city of Genoa, where it can be seen by the public by arrangement and heard being played by the winner of the ‘Paganini’ contest for young violinists held in Genoa annually. The instrument in question is known as the “Cannon” and was made by Joseph Guarneri del Gesu in 1742.
The firm of W. E. Hill & Sons (1887-1992) of Bond Street specialized in violins and other string instruments, and bows. Founded by William Ebsworth Hill at 38 New Bond Street, London in 1887, the name W. E. Hill & Sons built on a long family history of violin making going back to William Ebsworth’s great grandfather, Joseph Hill. The firm soon gained a widespread reputation for excellence in repairs, making of instruments, bows, cases and fittings as well as instrument identification and authentication. A “Hill’s” Certificate of Authenticity was considered
definitive worldwide throughout the firm’s history. For much of the 20th century, the Hill workshop employed England’s best bow makers, who created bows renowned for character and consistency. Their other famous products included varnish cleaner, violin e-strings, and books about violin making families such as this one. Not only then is this book beautifully presented, but was also produced by experts in their field, using their own skill and experience to pay intelligent homage to illustrious forebears.
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