Doves Press

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Title page The English Bible (1903–1905)

The Doves Press was one of the most important English private presses . It was founded in 1900 by Emery Walker and Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson in the London borough of Hammersmith and existed until 1916. Its foundation and book artistic achievements are closely related to William Morris , the English book art reform, the Arts & Crafts movement and the private sector Press Movement . The books of the press were trend-setting in their typographical design.

Walker and Cobden-Sanderson's collaboration ended in 1909 due to differences of opinion. Both represented different theoretical views in the creative implementation of their printed works.

After studying theology and law, Cobden-Sanderson completed an apprenticeship as a bookbinder in 1884 and founded the Doves Bindery in 1893 . It wasn't until five years later that he decided to found his own press. Walker and Cobden-Sanderson had previously worked for the Kelmscott Press and were well acquainted with William Morris. Walker had already proven his typographical skills and knowledge here and also worked for the Ashendene Press .

Between 1899 and 1900 he developed his own type for the Doves Press , the Doves-Type . Walker had a predilection for the Antiqua and sought perfection through balanced proportions in the prints of the Doves Press . As with the Golden Type by Morris, the Pliny edition by Nicolas Jenson and the edition of the Historia Florentina by Jacobus Rubeus served as models .

A characteristic of the editions of the Doves Press , in contrast to the Kelmscott Press, was the absence of any illustrations and decorative book decorations. A uniform appearance of the publications was achieved through an elegant and typographical design of the works. In contrast to Walker, Cobden Sanderson had no technical interest and put the content of the books above their elaboration. For him, the design of a book had the task of conveying the literature in a legible and understandable manner. He gave the design of a book a higher priority and even saw it as an “act of creation”, because only the design could adequately promote and support the essential, the literature. Cobden-Sanderson strove for the "harmony of content and form, content and form, with which the poet can creatively shape the book into a whole for the same reason."

Cobden-Sanderson published his book aesthetic program The Ideal Book or Book Beautiful in 1901. It was also he who determined the literature of the editions of the Doves Press . The works of important poets such as John Milton , William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe have been published. Between 1903-1905 the press published The English Bible in five volumes. This monumental work is now considered the masterpiece of the Doves Press.

Cobden-Sanderson continued the press from 1909 without Walker, who granted him the right to use the Doves-Type . The dealings ended in a lawsuit that went beyond the end of the Doves Press, over ownership of the guys and share of the profits. The contract stipulated that the guys would revert to Walker after Cobden-Sanderson died. But contrary to the deal with Walker, after the press closed in 1916, he sank several fonts in the Thames to prevent Walker from continuing to use them.

Both the bindery and Dove's print shop workers were paid higher than usual wages. They worked a 48-hour week, got 14 days of paid vacation, and the Christmas holidays were paid too.

There is a close artistic connection between the Doves Press and the German Bremer Presse . The Bremen press orientated itself to Cobden-Sanderson's book aesthetic program as well as to the typographical achievements of Walker.

Some prints from the Doves Press are on display in the Klingspor Museum in Offenbach , including the first print from the Doves Press, Tacitus , and a two-volume edition of Goethe's Faust . Both are among the highlights of the museum.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedrich Adolf Schmidt Künsemüller: William Morris and the newer book art . P. 54
  2. ↑ Friedrich Adolf Schmidt Künsemüller: William Morris and the newer book art . P. 52
  3. ↑ Review of M. Tidcombe's standard work on the Doves Press

literature

  • Colin Franklin (Ed.): Doves Press. A start of a worry . Bridwell Library, Dallas, Tx. 1983.
  • Alfred W. Pollard: The Doves Press. On the 10th anniversary of TJ Cobden-Sanderson's death . Verlag Reichner, Vienna 1932 (reprint of the Philobiblon magazine ).
  • Alfred W. Pollard, Edward Johnston et al. a .: Cobden-Sanderson and the Doves Press. The history of the press and the story of its types . Nash, San Francisco, Calif. 1929
  • Marianne Tidcombe: The Doves Press . British Library, London 2002, ISBN 0-7123-4708-9 .
  • Michaela Braesel: The "Private Press Movement" . In: Gutenberg Museum (Hrsg.): In search of the ideal book. William Morris and the 1896 Chaucer edition of Kelmscott Press . Mainz 1996, pp. 61-74
  • Friedrich Adolf Schmidt-Künsemüller: William Morris and the newer book art . Wiesbaden 1955 (Contributions to Books and Libraries, Vol. 4), pp. 46–54

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