Utile Dulci: The First Decade at Barbarian Press | 1977 - 1987; A History & Bibliography by Crispin Elsted | with 2 essays on the craft by Jan & Crispin Elsted
Mission, B.C. Barbarian Press, 1988. Octavo, 25.8 x 16.8 cm. Cased in quarter black cloth and patterned paper over boards. The covering paper’s pattern was printed in red and repeats a wood engraved press device cut for the Barbarians by John DePol. Paper title-label to the spine. Plain black endpapers. An additional spine label is neatly pasted to the rear pastedown. pp. [9] 4-52 [2]. Adhesive bleeding in a few spots along the gutter has caused a few leaves to stick together; in some cases, where the pages have been opened fully, this had resulted in some lifting to the surface of the paper where the leaves were previously adjoined: an unfortunate but not uncommon result in a handmade book. Else, a fine copy. The text was set in pica Bembo roman and Fairbanks italic, and printed on Mohawk Superfine paper. The text is supplemented with photographs, including a tipped-in frontispiece. The photographs were printed by Benwell-Atkins Ltd., Vancouver. The binding was done by Rasmussen Bindery, North Vancouver. The text comprises:
(1) Ab Incunabilis: A Short History.
(2) Finis Coronat Opus: An Annotated Bibliography.
(3) Gaudeamus Igitur: Reflections on the Craft.
Reflections on the Craft includes Jan Elsted’s Printing: Night and Morning and Crispin Elsted’s Type Design & Jan van Krimpen: A Compositor’s View. Jan’s text first appeared in issue 71 of Amphora (March 1988). Each section title is illustrated with a wood engraved press device by John DePol, printed in red. The versos facing each section title are also illustrated, either with a tipped-in photograph or a tipped-in sheet bearing two or more wood engraved press devices; included are devices cut for the Press by E.N. Ellis and Colin Paynton. A sheet bearing the Press’ first device, made from a drawing by Louis Turpin, is also tipped-in. From an edition of 150 copies, this being number 20. (Hoi Barbaroi, A17)
Accompanied by loosely inserted copies of the original prospectus and a later advertisement (1991). The prospectus is a once-folded cut sheet pasted into pale blue covers. It measures 27.3 x 12.3 cm closed. The advertisement is a single cut sheet printed on the recto only. It measures 20.9 x 12.1 cm. Item #316
“Much of the story of Barbarian Press to date is that of our realizing & following our own prejudices, and that is as it should be. The book, like marriage, is a conservative institution: so much experiment is enlivening; too much becomes anarchic. Our books, for good or bad, represent much of who we are, & it is right that it should be one of the deepest pleasures of the private press to reveal enthusiasms, account for joys, and delineate that careful ritual of familiarity we call contemplation.” — Crispin Elsted, Ab Incunabilis: A Short History.
Price: $600.00