Paper and Press Illustrated Monthly, July-December 1894

A MAGAZINE OF CURRENT LITERATURE, SUGGESTIVE ART AND CRITICISM, MECHANICAL DEVICES, PROCESSES AND MATERIALS RELATING TO PRINTERDOM

Hardcover quarto bound in half leather with pebbled cloth boards, gilt-stamped spine. Contents begin with a color plate, then paginated 1 to 720p, with intermittent unpaginated specialty prints and ads; original covers not bound in. A hefty volume with strain to the joints, leather dry and cracking with shallow loss at the corners and spine ends. Good to Very Good: Leaf 527-528 excised; the August issue has sustained damage from water exposure including tearing and abrasion where pages were stuck together, affecting the first 30 or so leaves in that issue. Occasional fingersoil and edge tears consistent with frequent handling. W. S. Johnston of Toronto bookbinder's ticket and bookplate of R. H. Hartley of the Pittsburgh and East Liberty Passenger Railway Company to the front pastedown. Otherwise appears clean and complete with expected light soil and handling wear. Fitted in mylar jacket for protection. 

Bound run of 6 issues (July, August, September, October, November, December 1894) of the rare trade publication produced by prominent Philadelphia printer William M. Patton. The monthly journal reflected the high ideals of traditional craft promoted by the Arts and Crafts movement alongside modern considerations for printing practices and technology. New typefaces, print processes and machinery are featured among articles that provide historical reference and information, some incorporating Japanese, German and French practices. Articles include a series by Otto Zahn, “Application of Historic Styles in Ornamental Art to Modern Bookbinding,” regular contributions by halftone printing pioneer Max Levy on developments in process printing, a series by Bosquet, “Bookbinding: Study of a Practical French Bookbinder.” Additional contributors include Paul Adam, H. M. Duncan, William P. Smith, W. B. MacKellar, W. W. Pasko, A. M. Villon, and Dr. Bruno Meyer, amongst a stunning roster of innovators in the fields of paper, printing and bookbinding

Printed with a variety of treatments, including two-tone ads and a few specialty print specimens bound in. Some early Art Nouveau flair, great illustrations of machinery, plus photographs and process diagrams, and typographic ads to swoon over. An absolute celebration of the printing arts at the nexus of tradition and innovation. Desirable and rare, this copy is accessibly priced for its defects, an important publication in the history of modern design.