Dorset: The Isle of Purbeck.
Tarrant Monkton and Stanbridge, Wimborne Minster: The Workshop Press and The Dovecote Press, 1969 and 2016. Folio. 3 volumes. 1 & 2: Original stapled, lithographic paper covers with cloth spines. Printed on Precision Offset paper and Ivorex board on a Gestelith 201 Press. Type hand-set in 12 point Gill Sans Serif at the Workshop Press, The Thatch Cottage, Tarrant Monkton, Blandford Forum, Dorset. 3: Original flapped paperback. 'A reproduction of an original copy at about 84% of the original size'. Illustrated throughout in colour from hand-drawn lithographic plates. 1. Clear tape has been stuck to the cloth spine and down both joints. Otherwise this is a near fine copy of the first state with black lettering for the place names in the sea inside the front cover; 2. The second state with white lettering for place names in the sea. The cloth spine is faded and a little rubbed at both ends. The inside front cover has some staining along the leading edge. The back cover is also stained and the tops of the last few pages appear to have been damp in the past (clearest on the Tyneham spread [p.83]); 3. As new. Item #8507
'The illustrations in this book are from drawings made directly onto lithographic aluminium plates. They are therefore originals and not reproductions of drawings made on paper.' Rena Gardiner (1929-1999) dedicated her life to her art, doing so alone in a thatched cottage in the heart of Dorset. Following in the great tradition of British topographic artists and influenced by the rich flowering of autolithography in the 1940s and 1950s, she created her own very personal and individual style. An unsung heroine of printmaking, uninterested in publicity or fame, she left an artistic legacy that is instantly recognisable for its exuberant use of colour and texture.
An opportunity to compare both versions of her original printing of The Isle of Purbeck, the largest and best-loved of her trilogy celebrating Dorset, together with The Dovecote Press reproduction. The colouring of the plates varies enormously and confirms that each print was an original work of art.
Price: £300.00