Oak Knoll

Limited to 500 copies. A fine copy.

Published jointly with Liss Llewellyn. "The poems are meant to be read aloud, which we really hope you will do to get the best from them." -colophon

the text was set in 12pt Garamond by Harry McIntosh at Speedspools and printed letterpress by Simon Lawrence at the Fleece Press; the facsimile pages were printed in Sheffield by Northend Creative Print Solutions. The binding was done at the Fine Book Bindery.

From the artist's website: "Douglas Percy Bliss served in both World War One and World War Two; in the latter he put his artistic training to use by working in camouflage and deception, and in his spare time made two collections of favourite poems for his daughters, Prudence and Rosalind.

In total there were 66 poems, almost all of them illustrated by a carefully made coloured drawing, and the little girls treasured these gifts. Both are fully published here in facsimile form (much the same sort of feel as Mr Kilburns Calicos) with a letterpress introductory section printed at the Fleece Press and several tipped-in illustrations.

hown at lower left is the illustration for The Elfin People Fill the Tubes, a fairy poem by Winifred Mary Letts, one almost unknown even to her descendants. It was printed in Punch in 1920, and then disappeared from public familiarity, though Douglas or Phyllis remembered it, and Douglas illustration captures some fairy magic. The poem begins I know a solemn secret to keep between ourselves, I heard it from a sparrow, who heard it from the elves: like the rest of the poems, these are meant for reading aloud, to children or even just to ourselves. "