Life Work of Dard Hunter; A Progressive Illustrated Assemblage of His Works as Artist, Craftsman, Author, Papermaker, and Printer

Chillicothe, Ohio: Mountain House Press, 1983. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Two volumes (complete), one of 150 copies, elephant folio size, 346 pp. plus a section of paper samples, with cases and prospectus, both volumes signed by author. William Joseph "Dard" Hunter (1883-1966) accomplished that which, in his day, no American printer had thus far done: making books entirely by his own hand, printed on paper he himself had made by hand. However, his interests exanded far beyond paper; he worked in pottery, furniture, and stained-glass.

Hunter came from a family of printers (his father had a print shop and published a gazette) (truncated) and studied at the old Royal Austrian School of Printing (Vienna). He was profoundly influenced by William Morris and his Arts & Crafts movement and worked for a time with Elbert Hubbard at Roycroft. There he had the position of Director of Art and designed, and oversaw the production of, more than 100 items (which are reproduced in Volume I).

His true passion, though, became the making of paper by hand; in 1913 "he built a small water-powered mill and began making paper" in his home in New York. At this time, there was no person or firm making paper by hand in America; it had to be purchased from Britain or Europe. Hunter chose to use appliances that were three centuries old, operated by a wooden water wheel (n.b., info from "My Life With Paper" and Wiki).

This impressive two-volume set is "devoted pictorially with [Hunter's] various accomplishments over a period of almost fifty years" (n.b., from prospectus). The first volume follows Hunter's progress in both his education and work with other masters of the craft, and delves into his own work with various art forms, with the second volume is devoted more to papemaking and typography. Words truly fail to describe the enormity of this work, showcasing the depth and breadth of the decades of work by Dard Hunter.

Uncommon in the marketplace, as of this writing we see only one other set offered online. Our search of OCLC locates almost seventy copies with institutions, leaving only about half of the edition available to private collectors.

___DESCRIPTION: Volumes bound in half leather over patterned paper boards (the traditional pink rose and green leaf motifs characteristic of Hunter's drawing), gilt lettering and rules on the spines, sewn handbands, leather hinges, all edges uncut, frontis in Volume I a mounted full-colour reproduction of Hunter after an oil painting by Walter Sherwood, frontis in Volume II a black-and-white reproduction of a photograph of a bronze bust of Hunter sculptured by George Moore, limitation statement and signature of Dard Hunter, Jr., on the verso of the dedication pages in both volumes, the Introduction in Volume I with Dard Hunter's device in red, the volumes replete with reproductions or tipped-in (or mounted) samples of Hunter's work, paper samples, and reproductions of photographs of places and people important in Hunter's life story; printed with the hand-cut and cast type made by Dard Hunter II on handmade 34 pound paper made by the Hodgkinson Mill (Somerset, UK) on Hunter's personal watermarked laid moulds, binding is elephant folio size (17 3/8" by 12 1/2"), pagination: Volume I, [8] [1] 2-198; Volume II (paginated with the even pages on the rectos and the odd pages on the versos), [9] [1-2] 3-130 [1, "In Retrospect"], note that contained within Volume II is a section of paper samples not included in the pagination. Both volumes one of the 100 standard copies (numbered 11 and 96, respectively); there were also 50 special copies. Each volume contained within its own drop-back box covered with natural linen and with two leather spine labels. Loosely laid into Voume I is the prospectus, a single sheet folded once to four pages, mounted on page 3 is a letterhead designed by Hunter in 1911.

___CONDITION: Volumes fine, the leather smooth and supple, the boards clean, straight corners without rubbing, strong, square text blocks with solid hinges, the interiors clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; both appear as new, clean and crisp. The boxes fine overall, clean, without wear other than a very short (less than a half-inch) tear in the linen covering at the top joint of the case for Volume II. Prospectus also fine overall, clean and without wear, with only some light offsetting along one side (likely from being next to the leather hinge). Overall a stunning set.

___POSTAGE: Please note that this set is quite large and heavy, and additional postage will apply; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help. (Inventory #: 24120401)