John Craig
Venice, 2015
(Risbury, Herefordshire: Whittington Press)
From an edition of 285, this is one of forty copies bound in full leather and with an additional suite of signed prints.
1924
Quarto. (51)pp., frenchfold. With over 80 wood engravings and linocuts by John Craig, including four printed on lightweight hand-made papers and tipped in, and some in color. Although Craig claims...
Quarto. (51)pp., frenchfold. With over 80 wood engravings and linocuts by John Craig, including four printed on lightweight hand-made papers and tipped in, and some in color. Although Craig claims that this work is "by, and for, a Venice amateur," he masterfully captures the character of the city's nooks and crannies in these double-page spreads. The asymmetrical text and images are balanced by Craig's deliberate use of white space making the spreads seem like stage designs. This style of illustration hearkens to the work of Craig's grandfather, Edward Gordon Craig. Printed on a lightweight, hot-pressed Zerkall mould-made paper with a touch of sheen. Binding designed by Craig, executed in black Oasis leather with inlays of red, green, and light blue, and with the title blind-stamped to the spine. The suite, in its own portfolio, includes most of the engravings from the book, printed on proofing paper. The book and suite are housed together in a cloth clamshell box, with a gilt-titled black leather spine label. Mint.