Fine Books & Manuscripts

[CAXTON CLUB CHICAGO BY THE BOOK]. ELLENPORT, Sam, binder (proprietor of Harcourt Bindery). Chicago by the Book: 101 Publications that Shaped the City and its Image. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, [2018]. Small 4to. Illustrated from photographs. Original full Presidential Blue morocco with a central gilt roundel within a gilt frame, raised bands, gilt titling in compartments, top edge gilt, silk moiré endpapers, with binder’s ticket by Sam Ellenport; custom morocco–backed folding box lined with printed plat map of downtown Chicago “where many publishing decisions were made”. “The choice of leather, paper, and a simple bi-lateral cover design echoes those higher quality leather bindings which were the standard a century ago. Most binders working with leather a century ago were unimaginative in regard to design, emphasizing instead the quality of the workmanship. Many such bindings had a large central lozenge on the front cover, often a logo, line drawing, or seal. For this binding I used the letter C in a typeface from that era, Goudy Old Style. The C represents the Caxton Club as well as Chicago. By rotating the C through 360 degrees, the overall design appears to be the hub of a wheel, representing the role Chicago had in our nation’s publishing history. Whether noticed or not, the slightly heavier line weight in the vertical C acts as an anchor for the eye and is more visible with a raked light. The book represents the tradition and quality found in the higher echelons of publishing, while the front cover lozenge gives a tip of the hat to a more modern and promiscuous use of a standard letter form (Ellenport).”