chesterton coburn alvin langdon (4 Ergebnisse)

First edition. Octavo. pp 20 + ten tipped-in photogravures by Alvin Langdon Coburn. Linen-backed boards. Printed at the Chiswick Press. Pages unopened.Endpapers tanned. Fine. Part of the original tissue dustwrapper is present. A lovely copy.

Quarter-Cloth. Zustand: Fine-. Limited Edition of this landmark of of early 20th-century photography, inscribed by the publisher. Tall, slim 8vo: 19,[1]pp, with portrait frontispiece (showing G. K. and Frances Chesterton with Edmund D. Brooks, the Minneapolis bibliophile who financed this book) and 10 photogravures by Coburn, numbered I-X, mounted on the rectos with versos blank. Original cream-colored paper-covered boards quarter-bound in beige canvas, upper cover and spine lettered in black, all edges uncut. Inscribed by Brooks on the fly-leaf, "For my old friend / Richard Burton / with the kindest regards / of Edmund Brooks / Minneapolis / Oct. 13th 1915." Boards very lightly soiled, spine slightly toned, end sheets embrowned, but a handsome copy: pages clean and bright (text leaves unopened), images fine. Imagining Paradise, p. 225. Coburn (Autobiography), p. 141. Sullivan 34. Books on cities, emblematic of a modernist future, were wildly popular at the turn of the twentieth century, and Coburn, enthused by Arthur Symons's Cities (1903), envisaged a series of such publications, on London, New York, Edinburgh (each of which was eventually realized), Paris, Venice, Liverpool, Birmingham, Boston, and Pittsburgh. "Coburn's photogravures of London for this privately printed book with text by G. K. Chesterton are quite different from those in his 1909 London. They are smaller format, simpler, busier, quicker images of everyday London life with dense traffic on the roads and bustling crowds in the streets." (Imagining Paradise) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

Unbound. Zustand: Fine. Original photogravure issued as Plate II in Alvin Langdon Coburn's *Men of Mark.* Portrait measures circa 7.75" x 8.75" with the photogravure tipped onto publisher's printed mount as issued which measures 9" x 12", and reproducing Chesterton's signature in holograph facsimile in lower margin as issued. The photogravure, in rich dark tones, shows Chesterton from the chest up, looking to his left. Archivally matted (measures 12" x 16"). Fine.

FIRST EDITION. 220 x 155 mm. (8 3/4 x 6"). 19 pp., [10] leaves. Original linen-backed cream-colored boards, black lettering on upper cover and flat spine, ENTIRELY UNOPENED. In the (slightly frayed and chipped) original plain dust jacket. WITH 10 PHOTOGRAVURES OF LONDON mounted on leaves. Minor offsetting to free endpapers from binder's glue, otherwise A PRISTINE COPY in an excellent dust jacket. This is an under-appreciated combination of fine letterpress printing and striking photogravure prints by one of the most celebrated masters of the craft. The essay by G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), one of the era's largest (literally and figuratively) wothies in literature, describes London around the framework of the underground stations. It is a meditation on how an outsider might view these stops and the locales around them. The atmospheric quality of the writing matches perfectly with the photogravures of Coburn, which are simultaneously modern and nostalgic, letting us into his vision of London as though through a mist. Coburn (1882-1966) was a noted photographer in his time. After studying at the London County Council School of Photo-Engraving, he became a book illustrator and portrait photographer. For many of his works, he personally created the photogravure plates and closely oversaw the printing. The photogravures in this book are small (measuring three by five inches), inviting us to look closely, drawing the viewer into their misty depths. While not nearly as well known as Coburn's first book on London (1909), this is nevertheless an important work in the history of photogravure, and a testament to its lasting beauty and its merit as an artistic medium worthy of our attention. Our copy is unopened and with the dust jacket, a rarity for this scarce imprint.