#hellmuth weissenborn

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Wood Engraving Wednesday

HELLMUTH WEISSENBORN

The painter, illustrator, and wood engraver Hellmuth Weissenborn (1898-1982) was a German exile who fled to the United Kingdom in 1939, where he became a successful book illustrator, freelance graphic artist, and private press publisher along with his wife Lesley Macdonald. When Weissenborn died, Macdonald donated all of his wood and Perspex blocks to John and Rosalind Randle’s Whittington Press. These blocks have been used extensively by the press over the years.

The first 7 images shown here are hand-colored prints from Weissenborn’s blocks printed at Whittington for a broadside titled Malá Zahrada Vysázená pro Matrix 26 Hellmuthem Weissenbornem, printed on handmade Czech Velké Losiny paper in 2006 in an edition of 80 copies. Another uncolored version of the broadside was folded into the Whittington Press’s journal for printers and bibliophiles Matrix 26 for an article by Amsterdam bookseller Willem Keizer on the “Hand-made Paper from Velké Losiny” printed in an edition of 760 copies, Winter 2006, pp 113-118.This issue also includes an article by William Waterhouse on the Weissenborn family, “Musicians and Graphic Artists: the Weissenborns of Leipzig and London,” pp. 159-164.The last three images include wood engravings from Matrix 26 by Helmuth Weissenborn.

Our copies of both the broadside and the journal Matrix are another generous donation from our friend Jerry Buff.

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Fine Press Friday Proverbs

This week we present some select pages from A Collection of Proverbs from all Nations with 44 relief engravings by German/English painter, engraver, and illustrator Hellmuth Weissenborn, and printed by the Whittington Press for Weissenborn’s own Acorn Press in 1979. This small book was issued in a limited edition of 350 copies in hand-set Bell type and printed from the original Perspex blocks on Basingwerk Parchment paper and bound by Weatherbys. Weissenborn’s wife and co-owner of the Acorn Press  Lesley Macdonald provides the introduction. Our copy, a gift from our friend and benefactor Jerry Buff, is signed and numbered by Weissenborn and also includes a signed presentation inscription by John and Rosalind Randle, proprietors of the Whittington Press.

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It’s Fine Press Friday!

This week we present Nine Artists & a Press: An Exhibition of the Work of Nine Artists Working for the Whittington Press, Held at the Fiery Beacon Gallery, 2-17 December ‘89. The book was printed in an edition of 950 copies in Walbaum type at John and Rosalind Randle’s Whittington Press in Risbury, Herefordshire in 1989. Our copy is another generous donation from Jerry Buff, and it is one of 50 copies bound in paper marbled by Colleen Gryspeerdt and signed by the artists. The book features nine artists who worked with the press over a long period of time and includes information about each artist’s work under one of their illustrations. These artists are: John Craig, Brian Hanscomb, Richard Kennedy, Miriam Macgregor, Gwenda Morgan, John O’Connor, Howard Phipps, Judith Verity, and Hellmuth Weissenborn.

The book notes:

“These nine artists have talents that lie in many different directions. The common thread that runs through their work is that they have been published by the Whittington Press, which is fortunate indeed to have such a galaxy of talent at its disposal.”

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–Sarah, Special Collections Graduate Assistant

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Feathursday Proverbs

Please enjoy these few fine Feathursday proverbs with engravings by Hellmuth Weissenborn. The book is A Collection of Proverbs from all Nations and was printed by The Whittington Press and published by The Acorn Press in 1979. The Acorn Press was a defunct imprint that Hellmuth Weissenborn and his second wife, Lesley Macdonald revived in the late 1940s. Lesley was the driving force behind The Acorn Press and Hellmuth contributed with his skills as an engraver and illustrator. In the early 1970s The Acorn Press began an association with John Randle and the Whittington Press.

Lesley Macdonald writes in the introduction; 

“The intention is not to compete with the vast tomes of published proverbs but to select beauty of verbal image and to illustrate a few of them with engravings to give a special charm to the collection.”

This is yet another volume soon to be added to our collection from our benefactor Jerry Buff. It is a limited edition of 350 copies hand-set in Bell type and printed from the original Perspex blocks on Basingwerk Parchment and signed by the artist.

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London Scenes: Wood-engravings German-born artist Hellmuth Weissenborn (1898-1982) escaped Nazi Germany and settled in England in 1939. This collection of prints reveals the artist's fascination with the bomb sites, buildings, and people of post-war London. Curious to learn more about Weissenborn? Check out this book on the life of the artist. 

Post submitted by Shira Loev Eller, Art and Design Librarian