Afterlife and Inspiration
The Daniel Press has had a rich and varied afterlife. The Albion press has had a literal afterlife as a book arts press at the Bodleian Library, where it was donated by Emily Daniel in 1919. Daniel’s adoption of the Fell types in the 1870s helped spark the ‘Fell Revival,’ which lasted well into the twentieth century, inspiring printers and scholars alike. His tasteful choices in literary texts, combined with the subtle elegance of his productions, inspired commercial publishers such as Blackwell’s, Elkin Mathews, and, most famously, Thomas B. Mosher, to produce loosely imitative reprints or new works by the same poets. Finally, Daniel’s work has had a significant influence on later generations of collectors and printers, as the examples in this case show.
Stanley Morison (1889-1967). John Fell, the University Press and the 'Fell' Types. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967.
The revival of interest in the Fell types that Daniel inspired continued throughout the first half of the twentieth century, culminating in this masterfully researched work by Stanley Morison. It is composed throughout in Fell types cast and set by hand.
Gift of Stanley Morison, 1967
Vivian Ridler (1913-2009). A Specimen of the Types Attributable to Peter de Walpergen Cut for the University of Oxford, 1676-1702. [Oxford, between 1958 and 1978].
Vivian Ridler, Printer to Oxford University from 1958 to 1978, printed this broadside from the Fell punches and matrices cut by Peter de Walpergen. Walpergen, a German punchcutter formerly employed by the Dutch East India Company, was brought to Oxford by the Rev. John Fell in 1676.
Gift of George McKay, 1989
Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682). A Letter to a Friend upon the Occasion of the Death of his Intimate Friend; edited with a postscript by Geoffrey Keynes. Boston: D.R. Godine, 1971. Edition of 750.
After a period of revival of the Fell types at the Oxford University Press in the first half of 20th century, interest began to wane. David Godine’s 1971 edition of Sir Thomas Browne’s Letter to a Friend may be the last book from the Press to use Fell cast from the original matrices. It was set by hand and printed by Vivian Ridler, printer to the University. Fell was used occasionally thereafter for ephemeral pieces until the printing house closed in 1989.
Purchased 2019
Mosher Press “Reprints”
Thomas Bird Mosher (1852-1923) was an American commercial publisher known for issuing attractive and well-produced books that were also affordable. He was inspired by the English private press movement and had a particular fondness for the modest elegance of Daniel Press books. Between 1894 and 1922, he issued several “reprints” of texts from Daniel Press editions in a style loosely imitative of their format and aesthetic. (The most famous of these reprints, the Mosher Garland of Rachel, is in the Garland section here.)
Mosher typically reprinted literary texts that were little-known, out-of-print, or issued in such limited editions that they were difficult to acquire by the American reading public. He rarely secured permission from the original authors and printers, leading Mosher scholar, Philip R. Bishop, to dub him the “pirate prince of publishers.” Bishop generously donated all but one of the Mosher works shown in the present exhibition.
Robert Bridges (1844-1930). The Growth of Love. Portland, Maine: T.B. Mosher, 1913. Edition of 450.
One of two Mosher reprints of the 1890 Daniel Press edition (the first was published in 1894). This edition contains an added portrait frontispiece of Bridges and is bound in attractive Italian decorated paper boards.
Gift of Bob and Marjorie Graff, 1978
Mary E. Coleridge (1861-1907). Fancy’s Following, by Anodos. Portland, Maine: T. B. Mosher, 1900. Edition of 50.
Although the text and general format of this work imitate the original Daniel Press publication of 1896, its outward appearance is quite different due to the beautiful Art Nouveau cover designed by Miss Isadore B. Paine. This copy is from the special edition of 50 printed and bound in Japan vellum.
Gift of Philip R. Bishop, 2021
John Keats (1795-1821). Odes, Sonnets & Lyrics of John Keats. Portland, Maine: T.B. Mosher, 1922.
Reprint of the 1895 Daniel Press edition with additional poems. The floral Art Nouveau design on the covers is by George Auriol, French poet, type designer, and graphic artist.
Gift of Philip R. Bishop, 2020
C.H.O. Daniel vs. Thomas B. Mosher: A Letter from F. Madan to R.W. Rogers. [Piedmont, Calif.?]: Nova Press, [1983]. Edition of 150.
In this letter dated November 8, 1922, Falconer Madan thanks a friend for his gift of the Mosher edition of Keats’s Odes. Madan, an avid Daniel Press collector, confesses to an aversion to “old Moshwig and his odious ways,” but acknowledges the attractiveness of the edition. The letter was printed at the Nova Press by another Daniel Press collector, William P. Barlow, Jr. (1954-2021), as a Keepsake for the meeting of the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco on May 17, 1983.
Gift of Philip R. Bishop, 2020
Colin Franklin (1923-2020). Poets of the Daniel Press. Cambridge, England: Rampant Lions Press, 1988. Edition of 45.
Colin Franklin, scholar, antiquarian bookseller, and book collector was an ardent admirer of the Daniel Press. While most studies of the Press have focused on its printing history, Franklin’s essay concentrates on the work of the Oxford poets in Daniel’s circle. He promises to “recall a few poets who are seldom read” while mentioning the Fell types “as little as possible.” This copy was printed on handmade paper at Sebastian Carter’s Rampant Lions Press.
Gift of Colin Franklin, 1995
Robert Jones (active 1597-1615). The Muses Gardin for Delights, or, The Fift Booke of Ayres, Onely for the Lute, the Base-Vyoll and the Voice. Oxford: B.H. Blackwell, 1901. Edition of 350.
In 1901, Daniel produced a reprint of this very rare Elizabethan song book in an edition of 130 copies, shown in the Printing & Production section. The same year, Blackwell’s of Oxford issued this facsimile of Daniel’s edition to satisfy public demand. It was printed at the Clarendon Press in an edition of 350 copies and is striking for its bright green paper covers.
Purchased 2019
Laurence Binyon (1869-1943). First Book of London Visions. London: Elkin Mathews, 1896. “Shilling Garland” no. 1.
The ten booklets of contemporary poetry comprising the “Shilling Garland” series was published by Elkin Mathews between December 1895 and December 1898. Daniel Press poet Laurence Binyon conceived the project and recruited other Daniel authors, including Robert Bridges, Mary E. Coleridge, Richard Watson Dixon, and Margaret Woods. Binyon shared Daniel’s goal of introducing the work of new poets in attractive, well-designed editions, but he also aimed for wide commercial availability and affordability.
Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press
Henry M. Daniel. His Majesty's Valiants: Being a Short Account of Valiant Deeds Accomplished by the King's and Queen's Ships of that Name Between the Years 1759 and 1922. Execudabat Henricus Danielus nauta, 1923.
This small book, produced by Henry Daniel’s nephew, Henry Martin Daniel, a naval officer, represents a curious episode in the afterlife of the Daniel Press. It was made on the same table press used by Daniel and his brothers at Frome, and elsewhere the younger Daniel refers to it as “the first production of the new Daniel Press.” Emily Daniel was dismissive of the venture and sought to distance it from the ‘real’ Daniel Press. Henry M. Daniel abandoned his printing activities five years later after receiving a court martial and moving to South Africa.
Purchased 2021
Bodleian Press. Tragoedie of Cordila, reprinted from The First Parte of Mirour for Magistrates. Imprinted at London by Thomas Marshe, Anno 1575. Oxford: Over against the King’s Arms, 1967.
The Daniels’ Albion press has resided at the Bodleian Library since 1919, where it is used for teaching and fine printing. The colophon to this work informs us that it was printed by students in Michaelmas Term 1967.
Purchased 2020
Richard Webb (i.e. John Windle). Six Poems. Islington: The Belmont Press, 1968. Edition of 25 copies printed on handmade paper signed by “Webb” and by the printer John Windle.
These two works were printed by John Windle, Club member and antiquarian bookseller, on a table press while he was working at Quaritch in the late 1960s. Inspired by the Daniel Press booklets that regularly came into the shop, Windle emulated their subdued typography, spacious mise-en-page, and color paper covers. Also like Daniel, he printed works by living poets known personally to him.
AND:
Diana Sheedy. Journey Man. London: The Fordie Pess, 1970. Edition of 50 copies. Printed by Adrian Langinger and John Windle.
Generously lent by John Windle
Robert Bridges (1844-1930). Prometheus: The Firegiver. Oxford: Printed at the private press of H. Daniel, 1883. Edition of 100. Bookplate of Roger Senhouse.
This play “on the Greek model” was the first work by Robert Bridges that Daniel printed, and it would lead to several more collaborations between poet and printer. This copy has been embellished by an unidentified artist with four marginal pen and ink drawings in a style reminiscent of William Blake illustrating scenes from the play’s prologue. It is accompanied by preparatory sketches on stationery from “Adbury House, Newbury,” the home of British musicologist Godfrey E.P. Arkwright (1864-1944). Arkwright was both a friend of Bridges, sharing his interest in early church music, and a collector of Daniel Press books. The copy was later owned by Roger Senhouse (1899-1970), lover of Lytton Strachey of the Bloomsbury Group.
Purchased 2019