Overview

Together with a newly commissioned introduction, this book includes a facsimile of one of Eric Ravilious's finest illustrated works, first published by the Golden Cockerel Press in 1932 in a limited print run and now considered a masterpiece of typography and illustration. Artist and illustrator Eric Ravilious was fascinated with Elizabethan and Jacobean poetry and drama, both as literature and as visual inspiration. His playful wood engravings depict characters such as Viola, Sebastian, Sir Toby Belch and Malvolio in period costume on imaginary stages or in garden scenes. Decorative borders and vignettes enliven the pages. The Golden Cockerel Press, owned by Robert Gibbings, himself an engraver, was famous for limited-edition, hand-printed books that benefited from the revival of wood engraving after the First World War. The introduction by Alan Powers tells how this edition, growing out of a wider Shakespeare revival, was nearly derailed by the consequences of the economic Depression and how the resourcefulness and determination of those involved with the Press brought about this extraordinary version of Shakespeare's much-loved comedy. 'In this beautifully produced edition, the play's bittersweet mood is perfectly expressed in the texture and form of Ravilious's wood engravings. His colored images bring just the right tinge of melancholy to the comedy.' Emma Smith, author of The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio

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9781851246243

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Reviews

""In this beautifully produced edition, the play's bittersweet mood is perfectly expressed in the texture and form of Ravilious's wood engravings. His colored images bring just the right tinge of melancholy to the comedy.""--Emma Smith author of ""The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio"" ""Among the various fine achievements of Eric Ravilious's war-abbreviated life (1903-42), one of the finest was his set of engravings for the edition of Twelfth Night published by the Golden Cockerel Press in 1932. You'll find copies of this notable productions of the private press movement offered by rare book dealers for large sums. Fortunately, a facsimile Twelfth Night has just been published. It comes with an introduction by Alan Powers, tracing Ravilious's development as an engraver and the peril in which Robert Gibbing's press found itself as this project got under way.""-- ""The Times Literary Supplement""

This stunning clothbound reproduction, which includes an introduction by Alan Powers, illustrates Ravilious’ virtuoso skills as a wood engraver and his fascination with Elizabethan poetry. -- Angela Wintle * Book of the Month * This stunning clothbound reproduction, which includes an introduction by Alan Powers, illustrates Ravilious’ virtuoso skills as a wood engraver and his fascination with Elizabethan poetry. -- Angela Wintle * Book of the Month *

"""In this beautifully produced edition, the play's bittersweet mood is perfectly expressed in the texture and form of Ravilious's wood engravings. His colored images bring just the right tinge of melancholy to the comedy.""--Emma Smith author of ""The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio"""

Author Information

Eric Ravilious (1903-42) was a British painter, book illustrator and designer. He is known for his depictions of south-east England and also of urban scenes of the interwar period, and was an outstanding wood engraver. He died in the Second World War. Alan Powers has published widely on twentieth-century design and architecture. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including an exhibition on Ravilious at the Imperial War Museum in 2003. He is the author of Eric Ravilious: Imagined Realities (2003) and Eric Ravilious, Artist and Designer (2013).

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