Lot 42 : WRIGHT, Frank Lloyd (1869-1959), printer and illustrator. -- John KEATS (1795-1821). The Eve of St. Agnes... with an appreciation by Leigh Hunt . [River Forest, Illinois]: The Auvergne Press by William H. Winslow and Chauncey L. Williams, 1896.

Frank Lloyd Wright - 1869-1959

Auction Location: United States of America - 2008
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Title:

WRIGHT, Frank Lloyd (1869-1959), printer and illustrator. -- John KEATS (1795-1821). The Eve of St. Agnes... with an appreciation by Leigh Hunt . [River Forest, Illinois]: The Auvergne Press by William H. Winslow and Chauncey L. Williams, 1896.

Description:

WRIGHT, Frank Lloyd (1869-1959), printer and illustrator. -- John KEATS (1795-1821). The Eve of St. Agnes... with an appreciation by Leigh Hunt. [River Forest, Illinois]: The Auvergne Press by William H. Winslow and Chauncey L. Williams, 1896.

8o (198 x 120 mm). Title-page printed in red and black designed by Wright (loose). Original red cloth gilt, top edges gilt, others uncut (head and foot of the spine just touched). Provenance: Sophie [Winslow?] (presentation inscription from William Herman Winslow; bookplate).

LIMITED ISSUE, number 36 of 65 numbered copies, INSCRIBED on the front free endpaper from one of the publishers of the book William Herman Winslow: "Sophie with Christmas Greetings. Herman. Dec. 24/96." Winslow, a prosperous Chicago businessman, lived near his neighbor and fellow publisher bibliophile Chauncey L. Williams, in River Forest, Illinois. Both commissioned houses by Wright, Winslow's built in 1894 was his first independent commission, Williams's was built the following year in 1895. The Chicago Evening Post published an announcement on 23 January 1897 by Winslow and Williams: "While the typographical perfection of this volume has been much praised, the proprietors of the Auvergne Press modestly declare it to be practically experimental, and have other books in preparation by which they prefer to have their craftsmanship judged." Their next and last art-house publication was Gannett's The House Beautiful 1896-1897. Sweeney 22.

[With:] WRIGHT, Frank Lloyd and GANNETT, William Channing. A leaf from The House Beautiful [River Forest, Illinois: The Auvergne Press, 1896-1897]. 4 pages (340 x 575 mm). Pages [29-32] of the LIMITED ISSUE, one of 90 copies distributed to friends, printed on heavy wove paper. The text beginning [...like Solo]mon's "Wisdom,"... [to] A certain sentence, only eight words long, did me great" surrounded by Wright's intricate and sumptuous designs. The second and last endeavor from the Auvergne Press, and the last artistic collaboration between Wright and Winslow reprinted a sermon by the Unitarian minister William C. Gannett, "the text articulated the Arts and Crafts philosophy, calling for simplicity, truthfulness, and the influence of nature, literature, and art in ornament" (Fowler).. A facsimile edition of 1000 copies was published by the Prairie House Press in 1963, and printed on laid paper watermarked "Hamilton Andorra." Fowler, Frank Lloyd Wright, pages 15-22; Sweeney 18. (2)