Live auction - Lot 161
[UK - Vale Press]
The excellent narration of the Marriage of Cupide and Psyches. Translated out Latine into English by William Adlington.
(London, the Ballantyne Press, sold by Hacon & Ricketts, [November] 1897)
€ 300 / 400
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Lot description
8vo.
Publisher's binding: white cloth, flat spine with gilt title lettered from top to bottom (spine sl. browned). Top edge trimmed.
Illustrated by Charles Ricketts with 6 medallion woodcuts (with explanatory texts), "characterised by a powerful stylisation" (Watry) depicting episodes of the text, one red initial, sm. ornaments in text and red full-page pressmark on last page. Printed in Vale type in red & black. Edition limited to 212 unnumbered copies (incl. 2 on vellum, one burnt at bindery), one of the 210 on Arnold hand-made paper.
Because of difficulties due to the location, the books of the Vale Press were printed on the Ballantyne Press: The Vale (i.e. Chelsea) "was in a residential quarter and such a practice would have made it technically a shop or place of business" (cfr Tomkinson, p. 163). The Ballantyne produced the books on a small press specially reserved for them (L'Art ancien, p. 11).
Ref. Watry B13. - Ransom, Vale Press, 13. - Tomkinson, Vale Press, 13. - A collection of books designed by Charles Ricketts. Zurich, L'Art ancien, bulletin 25, 1972, pp. 2-43, n. 33.