Order Nr. 96375 A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE VILLAGE PRESS. Melbert B. Cary.

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE VILLAGE PRESS.

(Village Press).

Including an Account of the Genesis of the Press by Frederic W. Goudy and a Portion of the 1903 Diary of Will Ransom, Co-Founder.

  • New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books, Edward Ripley-Duggan, Nicholas T. Smith, Publisher, 1981.
  • 8vo.
  • cloth, dust jacket.
  • 220 pages.
  • ISBN: 0938768050

Price: $32.50  other currencies

Order Nr. 96375

This bibliography documents the career of the Village Press with meticulous detail and insight. Fading to the spine of the dust jacket, else a near fine copy.

In a short memoir at the beginning of this book, Frederic W. Goudy gives an account of a printer's life that is certain to be familiar to anyone who has experienced the "fun and fury" of a private press. The section from the diary of Will Ransom, co-founder of the press, gives some idea of the magnitude of the initial problems that were encountered. Despite these difficulties, the press still produced books that were an able tribute to William Morris, in many ways Goudy's chief inspiration in book design. However, the press was no mere imitation of the Kelmscott Press - in the years of its operation it forged a style that was distinctly Goudy's. Frederic W. Goudy was one of the most influential type designers of the twentieth century. His influence on advertising art and book design was considerable, and he became an arbiter of typographic taste for an entire generation between the Wars. Part of the reason for this success lay with his practical knowledge of the problems of designer and printer. Much of this expertise was gained through the Village Press. This book was originally published in 1938 in a limited edition of only 260 copies.