#chiswick press

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Wood Engraving Wednesday

Here are a few delightful wood engravings from a recent gift showing the various processes that go into binding a book. This little pamphlet is entitled A Short History of Bookbinding and a Glossary of Styles and Terms Used in Binding . . . .printed in London at the Chiswick Press for the bookbinder Joseph William Zaehnsdorf in 1895.These images were probably printed from metal plates that were made from the original wood engravings. The engravings are not attributed, as was the case for most commercial engravings.

Click or tap on the images to see the definitions for these activities as provided in the booklet’s glossary. 

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Scientis of the Day-Silvanus P. Thompson

Silvanus Phillips Thompson, an English physicist, was born June 19, 1851.

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Typography Tuesday

This untitled pamphlet was a Christmas keepsake from Tony and Patsy Appleton printed in an edition of 100 copies in 1984 at their Old School Press, which at the time was in Buckland Dinham, England. Our copy has a signed presentation to "Abe & Kit." A printed message to recipients at the beginning of the pamphlet describes the contents and the reason for printing the keepsake:

I have recently acquired a Chiswick Press type specimen book showing the incomparable collection of initial letters, head & tailpieces, and borders & ornaments. Most of them were engraved by Mary Byfield, and a number were designed by Charlotte and Elizabeth Whittingham. This book may be the sole survivor of a small number made up for internal use in the press composing room. . . . I may possibly issue a facsimile of this 142 leaf specimen. In the meantime, here is an advance tasting for friends this Christmas. . . .

Our copy is another gift from our friend Jerry Buff.

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Shakespeare Weekend

The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare with notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. was published in 1826 by the influential English printers Chiswick Press in ten volumes. The works are accompanied by sixty engravings on wood by Englishman John Thompson “from drawings by Stothard, Corbould, Harvey, etc.” Thomas Stothard (1755-1834) was a British illustrator and student of the Royal Academy who had a penchant for illustrating the works of his favorite poets. Over his career Stothard designed plates for pocket books, concert tickets, almanacs, and actor portraits, and had previously worked with Shakespeare editor Alexander Pope (1688-1744). 

Henry Corbould (1787-1844) was born into a painting lineage and also attended the Royal Academy. A devoted artist, he was well known for his book illustrations and was considered surpassed by few in his professional knowledge. Englishman William Harvey (1796-1866) was a preeminent illustrator, engraver, and designer who contributed works to many popular publications of his time. 

Stothard, Corbould, and Harvey provided the inspirational base of Thompson’s engravings and helped bring to life Shakespeare’s words. The engraved title vignettes provide a subtle context of characters and scenery to lead readers into Shakespeare’s world and contribute to the illustrative traditions of Shakespeare publications.  

Volumes Two and Three shown here contain Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, Midsummer-Night's Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, All’s Well that Ends Well, and Taming of the Shrew. 

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-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

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Shakespeare Weekend

The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare with Notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. was published in 1826 by the influential English Printers Chiswick Press. The press was founded by Charles Whittingham (1767-1840) who innovated printing by extracting tar from old ropes. The hemp was pulped for paper and the tar was used to create printing ink. Upon Whittingham’s death, his nephew Charles Whittingham II (1795-1876) took over the operation pioneering a movement towards small, pocket sized, finely printed books at affordable prices.  

Chiswick Press was known for their woodcut engravings and was credited with being the first printer to use proper overlays in printing them. Their devotion to illustration and ornamental lettering earned them a reputation within the printing world and opportunities to publish early works of artists William Morris (1834-1896). The dramatic works of William Shakespeare with Notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. is no exception featuring sixty wood engravings by Englishman John Thompson.  

Volumes five through seven of the ten volume collection contain Shakespeare’s history plays chronicling the lives of English Kings and the tragic comedy Trolius and Cressida. 

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-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

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Shakespeare Weekend

Volumes eight through ten of The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare with Notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. contain primarily dramatic tragedies including Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, and Othello. Singer (1783–1858) included Thomas Walkley’s noted preface to Othello within his preliminary remarks for the play. London businessman Walkley (1618-1658) -- spelled Walkly by Singer -- was a publisher and bookseller known to have a productive working relationship with the Shakespearean acting company The King’s Men. His printing of the 1622 first quarto of Othello was the earliest to divide the play into five acts.  

The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare with Notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. was published in 1826 by the influential English printers Chiswick Press. The ten-volume set contains “sixty engravings on wood” by Englishman John Thompson and our edition features a dark umber embossed arabesque binding by Remnant and Edmonds of London.   

View more Shakespeare Weekend posts. 

-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

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Shakespeare Weekend

The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare with Notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. was published in 1826 by the influential English printers Chiswick Press in ten volumes. Editor Samuel Weller Singer (1783–1858) proclaims in his preface that Shakespeare admirers have found all previous collocations unsatisfactory and he has the new “candidate of public favour” shall set out to “afford the general reader a correct edition of Shakespeare, accompanied by an abridged commentary, in which all superfluous and refuted explanations and conjectures, and all the controversies and squabbles of contending critics should be omitted . . . [and only] critical illustrations  of the text as might be deemed most generally useful be retained.” 

Volume One opens with a classic Chandos portrait engraving of Shakespeare by Englishman John Thompson (1785-1866) and remarks on Shakespeare’s life by Welsh priest and poet Charles Symmons (1749-1826). The beginning of each play features a distinguished engraving by Thompson with an accompanying line of climatic dialogue from the play, followed by preliminary remarks from Weller Singer. Four plays are included in Volume One including Tempest, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Merry Wives of Windsor, and Twelfth Night, or What You Will. 

Our edition of The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare boasts a dark umber embossed arabesque binding by Remnant and Edmonds of out London. 

View more Shakespeare Weekend posts. 

-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

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Shakespeare Weekend

Volume Four of The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare with Notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. contains the plays Winter’s Tale, Comedy of Errors, Macbeth and King John. It is by far the most well-worn volume within our collection and contains a fair amount of marginalia within Winter’s Tale and Macbeth.  

The unknown author of these annotations primarily jotted down their own editorial suggestions, counted the lines of the plays, and occasionally offers a note of understanding for themselves or perhaps intended future readers. While marginalia may sometimes be seen to decrease the value of books, it also offers valuable cultural insight into how books were read and interpreted throughout time. 

The dramatic works of William Shakespeare with Notes, original and selected, by Samuel Weller Singer, F.S.A., and a life of the poet, by Charles Symmons, D.D. was published in 1826 by the influential English printers Chiswick Press in ten volumes. The collection is illustrated with engravings by Englishman John Thompson. 

View more Shakespeare Weekend posts. 

-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern