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This charming engraving is by Thomas Bewick for A History of Quadropeds.
Bewick is famous for his tail-pieces (illustrations at the ends of chapters), almost all of them whimsical. Your unirdg-collections Tumblrer has only just discovered we had a copy in our Special Collections, so BRACE yourselves for many more in the near future!
One of my favourite collections of books here at the library is the Gibbings Collection. Robert Gibbings (1889-1959) was a wood engraver, artist and author. He founded the Society of Wood Engravers in 1919 and took over the Golden Cockerel Press at Waltham St. Lawrence, Berkshire from 1924-1933. In 1936 he became a senior lecturer in the Typography Department here at the University of Reading.
The collection comprises 300 books written and/or illustrated by Robert Gibbings. There are some books printed at the Golden Cockerel Press and others at the University of Reading, School of Fine Art.
In 1939 Robert built a little boat and sailed down the River Thames. On the way he stopped at nearby public houses; talking and engraving as he went. This book, documenting his journey, was very popular in the 1940s among people who wanted to escape the harsh reality of England at the time.
I am drawn to these images as I live by the Thames and my favourite haunt is the Bull at Sonning and I am sure Robert Gibbings would have enjoyed the Beer and the company there.
Helen is a Library Assistant for the University of Reading Special Collections and Museum of English Rural Life. Follow her blog Living, Libraries and [Dead] Languages or her tumblr: helenwesthrop!
A request from the library - Patricia Jaffe
This week I post an image of a wood engraving by Patricia Jaffe. It was from a back-dated journal of the Society of Wood Engravers, Multiples. It was, I believe, an illustration in a book by Hilaire Belloc called the Bad child’s book of beasts; I hoped to find a copy, if not in the library, then somewhere. But I hit a brick wall. Does the book exist? I would like to find out. There is at least one other edition with another illustrator, but if the frog is anything to go by this one will be lovely!
So, no snapshot this week, just a request and a frog by Patricia Jaffe from Multiples dated late 1980s.
Helen is a Library Assistant for the University of Reading Special Collections and Museum of English Rural Life. Follow her blog Living, Libraries and [Dead] Languages or her tumblr: helenwesthrop!
