Early Lithographed Books: a study of the design and production of improper books in the age of the hand press

Williamsburg Virginia / London: The Book Press, Ltd. / Farrand Press & Private Libraries Association, 1990. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. 8vo 8" - 9" tall. The presence of the original publisher's glassine wrap (removed just now) has greatly added to the look of this fine book, with only slight sunning to the bottom edge thereof, published in association between Farrand Press & Private Libraries Association, London, in First Edition state. Gilt lettering to cover and of cover device, bound in overlarge octavo format, at [9], 10-374 pp. in length. Very large number of gorgeous illustrations. From the Introduction: "This book is about books produced by lithography in Europe in the age of the hand press. The period it covers corresponds roughly with the first half of the nineteenth century, but since the hand press continued to be used for lithography long after this, even on a commercial basis, I have allowed myself some chronological license. To my knowledge very little of any consequence has been published about such books by those who wrote on lithographic subjects at the time, and nothing at all since then. This book's main aim, therefore, is to introduce a little-known area of book design and production; but I hope that it will also contribute to our understanding of the overall picture of printing and publishing history." Fine discussions of lithographic incunables; military manuals; the presses at Chatham and Metz; lithographic publications of Sir Thomas Phillipps; Books on accounting and other 'difficult composition'; Music method books; Non-latin scripts; Lithography and phonography: the books of Isaac Pitman; and etc.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.