Fleurons; Their Place in History and in Print

Dunmow Essex: The Workshop Press [Mark Arman], 1988. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 170 copies, quarto size, 63 pp., signed by Mark Arman. The author, Mark Arman, began printing in 1949; at that time, he shares in the book's Introduction, "type decorations did not interest me." He goes on to elaborate on his growing interest in these decorations, which interest and knowledge would eventually culminate in this book.

Not only is the work a fascinating look at the history and use of type decorations, but the insights into the printing process of this particular book, as set forth in the Postscript, is a delight to those, such as myself, who are only vaguely aware of the amount of time it tooks to produce a hand-set, hand-printed book: "...at this time there is a consciousness that making such a book has taken a year of one's life." Truly this is a work which is both useful and beautiful, stuffed with specimens.

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in quarter rust-coloured cloth with marbled Cockerell paper sides, rust-coloured paper label with black lettering and decorations on the front, rust-coloured paper spine label with black lettering, rust-coloured endpapers and flyleaves, title page in red and black, five fold-out specimen sheets tipped in, a multiplicity of other specimens printed in-text, signed and numbered by Mark Arman on the limitation statement, this copy no. 144; hand-set Caslon Old Face, Roman & Italic on Goatskin Parchment Paper, quarto size (10.5" by 7 7/8"), pagination: [i-v] vi-[xii] 1-51.

___CONDITION: Fine overall, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; a bare hint of rubbing to the two corners at the tail of the spine, the front board slightly splayed, apparently as a result of the folded speciman sheets.

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