#joseph the king james version of a well-loved tale

Typography Tuesday

Last week we presented wood engravings by the English-American artist Nora S. Unwin (1907-1982) from Joseph; the King James Version of a Well-loved Tale, arranged with an introduction by her friend and frequent collaborator Elizabeth Yates, and printed and bound by the Plimpton Press in 1947 for Alfred A. Knopf in America and the Ryerson Press in Canada. 

Today we present Unwin’s fine wood-engraved historiated initials for the chapter openings of the book. The initials mesh well with the solid stateliness and deep color of Stanley Morison’s Poliphilus typeface (released by Monotype in 1923), and integrates uniformly with Unwin’s engraved illustrations, creating a harmonious and holistic presentation to the entire production. This copy is another gift from our friend and benefactor Jerry Buff.

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Wood Engraving Wednesday

NORA S. UNWIN

English-American artist Nora S. Unwin (1907-1982) is remembered most as a prolific children’s book illustrator and author. Her illustrations for her American friend and collaborator Elizabeth Yates’sAmos Fortune, Free Man won the 1951 Newbery Medal. However, Unwin, who was a member of the renowned publishing family of Allen & Unwin, was also a highly-accomplished wood engraver, having received her training at Leon Underwood’s prestigious London art school, the Kingston School of Art, and finally the Royal College of Art where she received a diploma in design in 1932. She met her lifelong friend Elizabeth Yates in England in 1937 and followed her back to America in 1946, where she remained for the rest of her life, illustrating well over 100 books and writing and illustrating twelve books of her own.

The engravings shown here are from Joseph; the King James Version of a Well-loved Tale, arranged with an introduction by Elizabeth Yates, and printed and bound by the Plimpton Press in 1947 for Alfred A. Knopf in America and the Ryerson Press in Canada. Our copy is another gift from our friend Jerry Buff.

View more posts with women wood engravers.

Viewmore posts with wood engravings!