[1], 268, [3] pp. With 65 wood-engraved illustrations, headpieces, and initials by Eric Gill (Folio) 33.4 x 23.5 cm (12¾x9¼"), finely bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in half-pigskin over cloth, spine lettered in gilt, raised bands, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, presented in clamshell box with gilt morocco lettering piece. Printed by Robert and Moira Gibbings. No. 142 of an edition limited to 500 copies. First Edition. One of the towering achievements of the twentieth century Private Press in typography and illustration, Eric Gill's The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ ranks with T.J. Cobden-Sanderson's Doves Bible as one of the finest Bibles ever produced. "The Four Gospels goes back into the history of printed books and manuscripts, joining two arts with unique success. That is the balance he achieved, greater than the even weight of engraving and type. In early illumination, one finds no frontier between decoration and illustration. The work of the artist surrounded the text, explained and ornamented it - sometimes within scrolls and borders, sometimes in historiated initials; and as calligraphy is itself a kind of illustration to explain meaning, text and picture formed one thing" (Franklin The Private Presses, p 142).
[1], 268, [3] pp. With 65 wood-engraved illustrations, headpieces, and initials by Eric Gill (Folio) 33.4 x 23.5 cm (12¾x9¼"), finely bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in half-pigskin over cloth, spine lettered in gilt, raised bands, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, presented in clamshell box with gilt morocco lettering piece. Printed by Robert and Moira Gibbings. No. 142 of an edition limited to 500 copies. First Edition. One of the towering achievements of the twentieth century Private Press in typography and illustration, Eric Gill's The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ ranks with T.J. Cobden-Sanderson's Doves Bible as one of the finest Bibles ever produced. "The Four Gospels goes back into the history of printed books and manuscripts, joining two arts with unique success. That is the balance he achieved, greater than the even weight of engraving and type. In early illumination, one finds no frontier between decoration and illustration. The work of the artist surrounded the text, explained and ornamented it - sometimes within scrolls and borders, sometimes in historiated initials; and as calligraphy is itself a kind of illustration to explain meaning, text and picture formed one thing" (Franklin The Private Presses, p 142).
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