Typographical Antiquities. Origin and History of the Art of Printing, Foreign and Domestic, Including among a variety of curious and interesting matter, chronological lists of eminent printers in England, Scotland, and Ireland; a curious dissertation on the origin and use of paper; a complete history of engraving on wood and copper; and a catalogue of remarkable Bibles and Common Prayers; from the Infancy of Printing, to the end of the Eighteenth Century. Extracted from the best Authorities by a late Bibliopolist.
London: J. Bumpus, 1813. 12mo. 'Second Edition, corrected and enlarged by T. A. of the Inner Temple'. Rebound by Eric Sweet in 1993 in quarter brown goatskin, leather label, gilt, to spine, over paper boards with printed paper labels to both boards. Marbled endpapers. All edges saffron coloured. With 'A Sketch of the History of Printing' [c.1845] in sewn paper covers. Housed in a brown cloth folder and matching slipcase. Fine. Item #8612
A mouthful and an oddity. An anonymous compilation from various sources. Lemoine's The History and Origin of the Art of Printing is followed by An Inquiry into the Origin and Invention of Paper; A Succinct Account of the most remarkable Editions of the Holy Bible and the Common Prayer; and A Poem on the Invention of Letters, and the Art of Printing, addressed to Mr. Richardson, the Author and Printer of Sir Charles Grandison 'rescued from the oblivion of a provincial magazine' in which it was printed in 1758 and by a gentleman settled in Maryland. Eric Sweet has separated the Sketch of the History of Printing from the book but kept everything together in the folder and slipcase that he made.
From the collection of Eric Sweet (1929-2024) a keen collector of Fable and Private Press books from his youngest years until his 90s, and a lifelong student of the book arts: paper, type, illustration and bookbinding. His career began at Brighton College of Art in the 1950s. He then spent some years in London as a lettering artist and typographer for various advertising agencies before a move to Birmingham where he became head of the Birmingham School of Printing.
Price: £350.00