The Book of the Machine (1934)

San Francisco, The Windsor Press, 1934. 8.75" x 6.25" (16x22cm). Title printed red with vignette in three colors, each of the nine chapters has the title printed in red, Illustrated with 9 head-piece vignettes printed in 8 different colors. Original black cloth with decorative paper cover label. Scarce copy and in FINE condition Constructivist influenced and beautifully produced. In contrast with the view put forward by Samuel Butler in 'Erewhon', the Johnsons contend that 'reality imposes on us an obligation to nurture and defend the machine from all assaults against its development and ultimate triumph' (limitation leaf). The Windsor Press was established in San Francisco in 1926 by the Australian brothers, Cecil and James Sydney Johnson (b. Sydney, Australia in 1897). The brothers often prepared the illustrations for their own publications. "The credo of the Johnson brothers in establishing the Windsor Press rings true and the books bear witness to a faithful endeavor "to print the beautiful book, to create the symphony in type, to handle the tools of his calling with that divine grace reserved only for the lover of his craft; and to find inspiration and guidance and an abiding reverence in these monuments of the old masters. A new love, a new life--this is the soul of the new Renaissance." It is a high note, one that will require time as well as aspiration to reach full volume and clarity, yet there is every indication that time is the only missing ingredient. There is fundamental soundness in their books, and painstaking attention to those infinite details that are apparent more in the elusive, intangible atmosphere of a volume than in their own entities.' from: Will Ransom "Private Presses and Their Books"

Product Info

Publisher: The Windsor Press

Year: 1934

Type: Used

Binding: Hardcover

First Edition

Seller Info

HonoluluRareBooks

Address: 2998 Pacific Heights Road Honolulu, Hawaii

Website: https://www.rarebookshonolulu.com

Country: United States