Matrix: A Review for Printers and Bibliophiles.
Andoversford and Risbury: Whittington Press, 1981-2014. Quartos, and one Sextodecimo. Ordinary limited editions. A complete set of Matrix to date (including both the first and second issues of the first volume), together with the index to volumes 1-21, and the small supplementary pamphlet 'Matrix: Some Brief Guidelines for Contributors & Compositors'. 35 volumes. Bound in stiff covers with decorated paper dustwrappers. Variously paginated, with between 70 and 238 pp per issue. Slight creasing to the spine of Volume 3, and occasional minor shelf wear to the others, else a Fine set of this beautiful and comprehensive Press review. The first issue of Volume 1 is housed in a collector’s cloth covered solander box, with the spine lettered in gilt. Caslon type is used throughout, and is complemented by numerous specimen tip-ins, sew-ins, fold-outs, and mounted leaves displaying other type faces. The text is illustrated with wood engravings, most of which have been printed from the block, pochoir, photography, facsimiles, and examples of fine papers and marbling. Item #30
Matrix developed out of an idea to issue a collection of papers on printing and typography. The essays appearing in the first volume were selected by John Randle, and being too short to be issued individually, were compiled into a single volume. The title 'Matrix' was selected both because it names the mould in which a type sort is cast, and because the Caslon swash M was a particular favourite of Randle’s. Contributors to 'Matrix' include Sebastian Carter, Roderick Cave, John Dreyfus, Christopher Sanford, Christopher Skelton, and nearly every other contemporary authority on printing. The papers and specimens included cover the gamut, as comprehensively as any single review could, of typography, the revival of wood engraving, and just about every other subject pertaining to private printing.
“Matrix has made distinguished contributions to the study, recording, preservation, and dissemination of printing history, and has done so utilizing a remarkable combination of authoritative scholarship and fine printing.” Committee of the American Printing Association, 2009.
Price: $9,500.00