The History of The Times

Beskrivning

Printing House Square, London. 1935-52. Deluxe presentation edition, four volumes bound in five. Limited to 125 numbered sets, this is no. 80. Ca. 3300 pages. Volume I: ’The Thunderer’ in the Making, 1785-1841. Volume II: The Tradition Established, 1841-1884. Volume III: The Twentieth Century Test, 1884-1912. Volume IV. 1-2: The 150th Anniversary & Beyond, 1912-1948. Part I: 1912-1920. Part II: 1921-1948. Large 4to (34 x 24 cm). All volumes bound with green buckram sides, green morocco spines, raised bands, titles in gilt, top edges gilt, others uncut. (Bound by W. H. Smith & Son Ltd.). Spines of vol. 2 and 4:2 faded, otherwise an excellent set! Provenance Lars Hall (1938-2018) who was a prominent Swedish art director, graphic designer and a vivid book collector.

Edited, and the greater part written by Stanley Morison, anonymously. The typographic layout was largely his work. Following publication of the first volume, Morison was given sole responsibility for the remaining volumes.

A galaxy of specially printed illustrations (wood engravings, gravure and collotype) in black & white and colour,were prepared for this entirely reset extra-illustrated presentation edition. Volumes 1 & 2 were printed on Portal’s handmade paper at the University Press, Cambridhe; the collotypes at the University Press, Oxford; and colour plates at the Chiswick Press, London. Volume 3 was printed on Spicer’s mouldmade paper in the Office at Printing House Square, with collotypes at the Chiswick Press, and photogravures by Emery Walker Ltd. Volumes 4 & 5, on Spicer’s mouldmade, were printed by Lund, Humphries & Co. Ltd.; photogravures by Emery Walker and Thomas Ross, and collotypes by the Chiswick Press.

”The limited deluxe edition was probably the finest book produced for, and even partly by, a commercial institution in the first half of the twentieth century.” (The Times House Journal, May 1960). This is indeed a formidable piece of book production – a Morison extravaganza. (Appleton 137a).