God's Book; And Other Poems

Ditchling, Sussex: St Dominic's Press, 1930. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Derrick, Thomas. No. 49 of 480 copies, octavo size, 45 pp. The Saint Dominic's Press, founded by Harry (Hilary) Douglas Clarke Pepler, flourished at Ditchling, Sussex, from 1916 to 1936. The first home of the Press was "a disused stable", with a hundred-year-old Stanhope hand-press which supposedly had belonged to William Morris. Pepler endeavored to do everything possible by hand, believing that such would both produce the best results and also be a "more individual or 'humane'...product". He therefore "preferred the handpress to the machine, handmade to machine-made paper, and handset founder's type to the products of typesetting machines."

Pepler met Edward Johnston and Eric Gill while living in Hammersmith; Pepler and his family would eventually move to Ditchling to join Gill, who was one of the most important artists to provide illustrations for the St. Dominic's Press. Other artists who provided illustrations included David Jones, Desmond Chute, Philip Hagreen, and Thomas Derrick, among others.

This a fascinating association copy: inscribed in the year of publication by Bede Jarrett OP "an English Dominican friar and Catholic priest who was a noted historian and author...[who] formally reinstated the Dominican order at the University of Oxford for the first time since the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII." Fr. Jarrett inscribed the volume in the front free endpaper: "For Mother Prioress O.P. / on / Sept. 8: 1930, her silver / Jubilee / from / F. Bede Jarrett O.P.". The Mother Prioress (according to an inked notation next to the inscripton) is Sr. M. Hyacinth Graham O.P. (of whom, alas, we were unable to find any additional information).

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in quarter black cloth over paper covered boards, title in gilt on the spine, Ex-Libris of the Dominican Nuns, St. Dominic's Priory, Carisbrooke, Isle of Wight, on the front pastedown, to which order presumably Sr. Graham belonged, inscription on the front free endpaper as described above, black and white reproduction of a portrait of Fr. McNabb by Kenneth Green on blue paper as the frontispiece, title page with the press device of Eric Gill, three wood engraved illustrations by Thomas Derrick throughout (St. Dominic, p. 4; Mary as Queen of Heaven, p. 12; and Christ Crucified, p. 37); octavo size (8 3/4" by 6"), pagination: [i-vi] 1-39.

___CONDITION: Very good, with clean boards, the top corners lightly bumped (the bottom corners straight) all without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, the sole prior owner markings we see the Ex-Libris and inscription, both as described above; we had a professional (name available upon request) repair a split joint and the head and tail of spine, very slight indentation to the top of both boards, light residue at the tail of the spine (presumably from a former library label); please note this copy is missing the tipped-in errata slip called for in the bibliography.

___CITATION: Saint Dominic's Press Bibliography, no. A188.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

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