BOOKS
Warmenhoven, Erik J. and Bakker, Steven A.
The Miss Margaret Sidney Davies complete collection of special Gregynog bindings.
Antwerp, Zilverdistel Rare Books, 1995.
€ 35.00
Bound, cloth with original dustjacket, 627pp., 18x25cm., illustr. in col., in very good condition.
This book is a descriptive and illustrated catalogue of the special bindings produced for the Gregynog Press commissioned by Margaret Sidney Davies. It provides a complete listing of all the special (i.e. deluxe, full morocco or otherwise specially bound) Gregynog editions in her collection, with bibliographic data, binding descriptions, illustrations (many in colour), provenance notes, and cross references (bibliography and index). It begins with introductory material (by Dorothy Harrop) setting out the history of Gregynog?s binding programme under Davies? patronage, then proceeds through each title in turn, describing the design, materials, tooling, binder, and surviving copies. The volume is lavishly illustrated with colour plates and binding detail photographs, and is intended as a reference for collectors of Gregynog bindings and those studying the aesthetics and history of private press fine binding. A Gregynog binding typically refers to a ?special binding? commissioned for a Gregynog Press publication. The Gregynog Press (founded in 1922 by Margaret and Gwendoline Davies) published limited-edition books, some of which were issued in a ?special binding? (as opposed to the ordinary binding). These special bindings were created by skilled binders (notably George Fisher, designs by craftsmen such as Blair Hughes-Stanton, Horace Walter Bray, etc.), often in fine leather (e.g. morocco or Levant), with gilt tooling, decorative designs (cross motifs, Celtic, interlacing, inscriptions), spine bands, and sometimes with elaborate endpapers or doublures. Each special binding was essentially a bespoke binding made to high craftsmanship standards, often as a deluxe presentation copy. The catalogue of Gregynog?s special bindings is comparatively small (only a modest number of books were so treated). The special bindings serve not only as functional protective covers but as artistic objects in themselves, often reflecting the design ethos of the private press movement and the patron?s aesthetic. The scholarship on Gregynog special bindings aims to document the variety, provenance, binder attribution, tooling styles, and interrelations between binding design and the text within, thereby contributing to the study of private press bindings, binding history, and bibliographic description.