The Book Cover E-Book

Paul Dimond

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 265

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

This rich treasure trove of twentieth century Batsford book covers showcases the very best of this venerable publisher's design heritage. Founded by Bradley Thomas Batsford in 1843, Batsford has forged a strong reputation for niche publishing, in subjects such as textile art, practical art and craft, architecture and design, heritage and chess. Batsford books are both accessible and beautiful, and their quality means they sell for years, often decades. The covers in this beautiful book have been chosen from the extensive collection of book collector Paul Dimond. The collection includes the iconic covers of Brian Cook, which are recognised and collected worldwide, as well as beautifully tooled cloth bindings, Art Deco gems, mid-century architecture titles and quirky designs from the 60s and 70s. Rich with stunning photographs of these iconic jackets, The Book Cover explores the development of book cover design over the twentieth century. This book is a labour of love that showcases the very best of Batsford's design heritage and will delight book collectors and design enthusiasts alike.

Leseprobe

Description

At the top left, Remembrance of Things Past by H.J. Massingham features a stylized, serene landscape with waves and a tree, invoking nostalgia. Next is Music Through the Dance, which depicts a woman in motion, set against bold, geometric text—conveying rhythm and movement. London: Historic Buildings presents an illustration of London landmarks, including Big Ben, with architectural precision and muted tones. English Fairs and Markets by William Addison features a cow and bold lettering, giving a rural and traditional feel. The Childhood Land by William Glynne-Jones shows children playing in an orange-toned urban setting, reflecting youthful energy and warmth. On the second row, Wild Birds in Britain by Seton Gordon is adorned with soft watercolor-like depictions of birds in natural settings, evoking peaceful countryside imagery. The Cottages of England by Basil Oliver presents an idyllic English village in soft greens and yellows, with sloping rooftops and rolling hills. An Indian Album by Cecil Beaton stands out with its ornate red background and symmetrical blue floral motifs, evoking exotic elegance. The English Country House by Ralph Dutton features a manor house behind iron gates, rendered in pastels that suggest refinement and aristocracy. The bottom row includes Curiosities of Town and Countryside by Edmund Vale, featuring an illustration of a classical archway. Everyday Life in Old Testament Times by E.W. Heaton shows a series of stylized human figures in rows, suggestive of storytelling and biblical scenes. Houses & History by Rosemary Sutcliff has a classical feel with two draped figures against a teal backdrop, hinting at historical narrative. Lastly, Alphabets by Laurence Scarfe features playful, modernist typography on a textured background, celebrating letterforms as art.

The Book Cover

150 Years of Batsford Design

Paul Dimond

Description

A grid of 16 vintage book covers is arranged in four rows and four columns, each showcasing distinct designs and typography that reflect the book’s theme. In the first row, Practical Craftwork Design by Winifred M. Clarke displays craft illustrations with stylized text; Romeo and Juliet presents a sketch of a historical figure holding a fruit-bearing tree; The Art of Sign Writing by B. Hearn includes ornate text and decorative motifs; The Cheap Cottage and Small House by Gordon Allen features a detailed illustration of a cottage. In the second row, Haunted England by Christina Hole shows a ghostly figure in a dramatic illustration; The Plantagenets by John Harvey incorporates medieval imagery; Composition: An Analysis of Pictorial Design by Cyril Pearce has a minimal layout with a small circular image; English Popular Art by Margaret Lambert and Enid Marx includes a ship illustration in a dynamic composition. The third row begins with European Brasses by A.C. Bouquet, which depicts brass figures; London: Historic Buildings highlights Big Ben and a statue; Decorative Flower Studies by J. Foord showcases delicate floral motifs; Contemporary Embroidery Design by Joan Nicholson features embroidery patterns. In the fourth row, Lettering for Architects and Designers has clean text-based design; Children in the Close by Geraldine Symons includes an illustration of children near a cathedral; The English Country House by Ralph Dutton portrays a house with a garden; and Battles and Battlefields by David Scott Daniell shows medieval knights in armor.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

The Books

Index

Acknowledgements

Description

Two vintage book covers published by B.T. Batsford Ltd., a British publishing company. The cover on the left is titled A Catalogue of Books and features a colorful illustration of a quaint English village. The scene includes rows of houses with red and brown roofs, a church with a tall tower, and surrounding greenery, all rendered in a soft, pastel color palette. The title is displayed in bold, black text within a rectangular frame at the top of the cover. The cover on the right is titled A Catalogue of Illustrated Books on Houses and Gardens, Decoration, Art, and Building. It has a more ornate and traditional design, with intricate black floral patterns framing the orange central panel. The title is written in an elegant serif font, and the publisher's address, 94 High Holborn, London, is included at the bottom. The publisher's logo, a circular monogram with the initials BB, is prominently displayed near the bottom center.

Foreword

Polly Powell, Batsford’s current custodian

The book publisher B. T. Batsford has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1843, when Queen Victoria was on the throne and Italy hadn’t even yet achieved unification, the company’s early beginnings in the middle of the 19th century must have been thrilling and precarious in equal measure. Publishing books, at the best of times, involves a certain amount of gamble and the conviction of those early publishers paid dividends.

The company steadily built up a reputation for publishing good books that made commercial sense. In due course, the success of its publishing programme allowed it to buy its own headquarters located in a Georgian townhouse off Manchester Square in London and to open its own bookshop. Uniquely, it has managed to stay in business, through various challenging times, to the present day. This is quite some achievement – it is now the oldest independent trade (niche) publisher in the UK.

I have been involved with Batsford for 20 years, a mere weekend during the years of its long and distinguished history. During that short time, we have sought to retain the best things about Batsford, not least its reputation for innovative design and outstanding book jackets and covers. And, it is good to know that we have carried on creating good books that sell well. The colouring books by Millie Marotta, first published in 2013, have now sold over 10,000,000 copies worldwide, bringing the Batsford name once again to the fore. This success has also facilitated the purchase of a Georgian townhouse in Bloomsbury, London, as the company’s headquarters, as well as a shop and gallery in Hackney, in order to ensure Batsford’s future.

Today, no serious collector of book design could be without a good example of a 1930s jacket by Brian Cook, perhaps Cathedrals of England or Landscapes of England. But there is only one person who has collected an astonishing library of the very best of Batsford design and that is Paul Dimond. While he may have underplayed his introduction of the collection to us, we were to discover that it was enormous and ravishing, assembled over four decades with his international perspective recognising our unique craft in the heritage of British book making. This book celebrates Paul’s collection and the talented people who have over the years contributed to the beauty and longevity of Batsford books.

A selection of Batsford book covers from the last 20 years, showcasing Batsford’s ongoing commitment to beautiful book design

Description

A grid of 15 book covers, each with unique designs and themes. The books are arranged in three rows of five. Top Row: 1. Building Utopia: The Barbican Centre features an orange cover with an image of the Barbican Centre in a modern architectural style. 2. Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti has a vibrant floral illustration with bold colors. 3. 100 Poems to Help You Sleep has a minimalist design with a light blue background and yellow and white text. 4. Tom Eckersley showcases a colorful toucan illustration on a green background. Middle Row: 1. In the Footsteps of the East London Group features a painting of a street scene with pastel-colored buildings. 2. Britain by Bike has a vintage-style illustration of cyclists in a countryside setting. 3. Traditional Woodland Crafts displays a green and white illustration of trees and tools. 4. A Cloud a Day features a painting of a cloud-filled sky in soft pastel tones. Bottom Row: 1. The History of Witches has a purple cover with gold accents and an illustration of a witch. 2. Maps of London & Beyond by Adam Dant features a detailed, colorful map illustration. 3. Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom is a coloring book with intricate black-and-white animal and plant designs. 4. Wild Yarn has a brown cover with a photograph of natural fibers and tools. 5. The Spirit of VW features a green cover with a minimalist illustration of a Volkswagen car. 6. Calm Your Mind has a serene painting of a seascape in soft blues and purples. 7. South Bank showcases a yellow modernist building against a blue sky.

Introduction

Eoghan O’Brien, Batsford’s Art Director

Since 1843, the world has transformed beyond recognition – generation after generation, time and time again, on an unimaginable scale. Yet, throughout these 182 years, Batsford has stood as a remarkable record, capturing the spirit of creativity that defines each era and moment in time.

Over the years, the essential function of a book’s cover has not really changed much. From a leather-bound tome to an airport paperback, a cover’s primary job is simple: paper is relatively delicate and pages need to be kept in order. From a practical perspective, some sort of cover and binding is required.

So how did the modern book cover emerge? Up until the early 19th century, it wasn’t uncommon for books to be issued as unbound sheets, for which customers would commission their own bindings in a style that suited their personal libraries. But in the decades that followed, publishers would bind their own books for sale and cases were decorated with foil stamping, embossing and other hand-tooled binding techniques, covered in paper wrappers.

Before printing, bindings were decorated with hand-tooled foil stamping and embossing

Description

The red hardcover book shows intricate gold embossing on the cover. The central design is a circular emblem featuring a standing figure with outstretched arms, flanked by two animals, possibly deer. Above the emblem is a small gold illustration of a stag's head with antlers. Below the central emblem are two smaller circular designs, each containing detailed patterns or symbols. The book's cover has a textured surface with a decorative border embossed around the edges.

By the early 20th century, dust jackets were commonplace, though their purpose was primarily to protect the ornate bindings underneath. As design tastes evolved and, crucially, printing technology advanced, book covers became more sophisticated, transforming from purely functional protective layers into a new marketing tool.

In this way, the book cover quickly became an art form in itself – one that balanced aesthetics with practical purpose, through the medium of printing. The cover not only needed to protect the book but also had to catch the eye of potential readers and convey the essence of the material within. Thus, the book cover as we know it was born.

A rare Batsford plain glassine jacket, designed to protect the cover from dust and fingerprints

Early printed covers often featured typographic designs with simple decorative elements in one or two colours, limited by the printing processes available. However, by the 1920s, new technologies were emerging and with them new possibilities for design. At Batsford, Brian Cook (see pages 164–173) was pioneering the Jean Berté watercolour printing process, which allowed for up to 14 colours to be reproduced. This led to a striking style of illustration unmatched in its vibrancy at the time.

An example of a one-colour printed illustrated dust jacket from 1919

Description

The cover features an illustration of a quaint countryside scene, drawn in green ink on a beige background. The central focus is a small, charming cottage with a sloped roof, a chimney, and a front garden surrounded by a low fence. The garden includes shrubs and a pathway leading to the cottage. In the foreground, tall trees frame the scene, their branches arching over the illustration. The title of the book is prominently displayed in stylized text below the illustration, with the author's name written in smaller text beneath it.

Here, three-colour screenprinting (black, blue, pink) techniques allow a fourth colour (purple) to be achieved

Description

The title is prominently displayed in bold, uppercase letters, with Music at the top and Dance at the bottom, both in blue. The words Through the are smaller and positioned in the center, between the larger text. A stylized illustration of a woman in a flowing dress occupies the center of the cover. She is depicted mid-dance, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a long-sleeved blouse with ruffled cuffs, and a layered skirt in shades of pink and black. Her pose suggests movement, with one arm extended and the other bent. A large pink treble clef symbol is faintly visible in the background.

Four translucent, watercolour inks are used in the Jean Berté process to produce up to 14 colours

Description

The design features a vibrant illustration of a large, elegant country house with a pale yellow facade, steeply pitched roofs, and multiple windows. The house is partially obscured by tall trees and an ornate black wrought-iron gate in the foreground. The gate has intricate patterns and is flanked by stone pillars. The title is displayed prominently at the top in bold black text on a white background with a pink border. The author's name appears at the bottom in bold black text, also on a white background with a pink border.

Offset printing introduced even more colour and detail and soon it was common to print directly onto a book’s hardback case, with no need for a dust jacket at all. Today, modern printing and digital tools are revolutionising book cover design once again, giving a book an identity beyond the printed form.

Printing high quality photography directly onto a book’s case and embossing can now be achieved on a single machine, as seen here on Batsford’s award winning Sea Pools, 2023

Description

The main visual element is an aerial view of a sea pool with clear turquoise water. Swimmers are visible in the pool, creating a sense of activity and leisure. The pool is bordered by a wooden deck on one side and natural rocky terrain on the other, blending human-made and natural elements. The title is prominently displayed in large white text on the lower left corner of the cover, set against a beige vertical border that runs along the left side. Smaller text at the top left corner provides additional details about the book, though the exact wording is not fully legible.

Yet the art of the cover remains as captivating as ever, a canvas for the contemporary, providing all manner of artists, illustrators, photographers and designers the opportunity to collaborate with writers and editors and continue that irrepressible spirit of creativity into the 21st century.

The Books

No fan of Batsford history can ignore as a source the definitive A Batsford Century: The Record of a Hundred Years of Publishing and Bookselling 1843–1943, edited by Hector Bolitho and published in 1943, with Rex Whistler’s jacket. In his foreword to this chronicle in June 1943, Harry Batsford writes that ‘if our story is set deep in the soil, it is equally rooted in craftsmanship’. He continues ‘We have thus been rooted in England and English life, even if we have accepted books from abroad, illustrated the work of many countries and sent our products all over the world’. He also wrote that back in 1917 after Herbert Batsford died, his uncle’s friend Professor A E Richardson wrote of him that as well as his delight in books he was ‘more than an ordinary publisher, he was primarily a patron of the arts and did more than most men to strengthen the position of architects with the public’.

Most of Bolitho’s book is built in direct quotation from notes given to him about the firm’s history, officers and authors by Directors Harry Batsford, William Hanneford-Smith and Charles Fry. These notes are candid, atmospheric and entertaining reading and convey an air akin to an informal but revealing oral history. A chapter of Bolitho’s book is dedicated to recording the friendships the firm developed with so many of their authors.

A Batsford Century

edited by Hector Bolitho, 1943

Description

The cover of a book titled A Batsford Century. The design is highly ornate, with a central oval frame containing the title in elegant script. Surrounding the frame are intricate illustrations of classical architectural elements, such as columns, scrolls, and decorative flourishes. At the bottom, there is a collection of artistic tools, including a palette, brushes, compasses, and rolled papers. A bust of a bearded figure is prominently displayed among the tools. In the background, a library scene is depicted, showing tall bookshelves and figures engaged in conversation or study.

Gothick Architecture (new edition)

Raphael and Arthur Brandon, 1849

Description

Centered on the front is a decorative gold emblem featuring a symmetrical design of fleur-de-lis motifs arranged in a circular pattern. Inside the emblem, the title is written in an elegant serif font, with the author's name is displayed below. The book's design reflects a classic and ornate style.

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This work of two volumes was originally published by David Bogue but was sold by Bradley Thomas Batsford from the new shop at 52 High Holborn. At that time, Holborn was the booksellers’ quarter of London. Raphael was a Gothic Revival architect and writer who collaborated with his brother, Arthur.

Details of Gothic Architecture

James Kellaway Colling, 1856

Description

The title is prominently displayed in the center within a circular decorative frame. Surrounding the title are intricate gold embellishments, including symmetrical floral and geometric patterns. The book's spine also features gold detailing, though the text on the spine is not fully visible.

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In his preface to this work, Colling states that rather than ‘interfere’ with the Brandons’ earlier work he would endeavour to elucidate such features as were only partially developed by them. Harry Batsford described Colling’s work as of a ‘good, solid standard’. At the turn of the century, Colling was ‘a frail little old bent figure almost at the end of his resources’, and Harry Batsford’s uncle Herbert induced RIBA to open a fund for Colling and purchase his delightful sketchbooks.

Ephesus and the Temple of Diana

Edward Falkener, 1862

Description

The red hardcover book shows intricate gold embossing on the cover. The central design is a circular emblem featuring a standing figure with outstretched arms, flanked by two animals, possibly deer. Above the emblem is a small gold illustration of a stag's head with antlers. Below the central emblem are two smaller circular designs, each containing detailed patterns or symbols. The book's cover has a textured surface with a decorative border embossed around the edges.

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In the early 1860s, Batsford were selling books mainly on architecture, civil, military and naval engineering, chemistry, geology, mathematics and mining. This book was published by Day & Son of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, lithographers to the Queen, and was bound by Bone & Son of Fleet Street. A green sticker inside the cover shows Batsford as scientific booksellers.

Examples of Decorative Wrought Ironwork of the 17th and 18th Centuries

Daniel John Ebbetts, 1879

Description

The cover of a vintage book titled Examples of Decorative Wrought Ironwork of the 17th and 18th Centuries by D.J. Ebbetts. The cover has a muted gray background with a red spine. The title is prominently displayed in decorative serif font at the top, surrounded by small ornamental symbols. Below the title, there is a description of the book's contents, mentioning historical ironwork designs, gates, railings, and other architectural elements. The text is framed by two illustrated columns with intricate detailing, adding to the classical aesthetic. At the bottom, the publisher's information is printed: London: B.T. Batsford, 52 High Holborn, 1879. The cover shows signs of wear, with slight discoloration and frayed edges.

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Ebbetts’ introduction refers to the exuberance of invention displayed then in the design of wrought ironwork, with gracefulness and lightness of detail. Among the 16 plates of his drawings, photo-lithographed by C F Kell of Holborn, are screens of St Paul’s Cathedral, the gates at Westminster Abbey and Hampton Court Palace and a panel from Great Ormond Street.

Description

A dark brown hardcover book with a textured surface. The title is embossed in gold at the top center of the cover, followed by the author's name also in gold. Below the text, there is a small circular embossed emblem in the center of the cover, featuring a decorative design. The book has a simple and classic design, with no additional illustrations or patterns on the cover.

Model Houses for the Industrial Classes (second edition)

Professor Banister Fletcher, 1877

Description

The open book shows two visible pages. The left page features a detailed architectural illustration of a multi-story building with ornate details, including bay windows, decorative moldings, and a symmetrical facade. The right page contains the title and publication details of the book. The title is followed by a subtitle explaining the book's content, which includes a review of existing model lodging houses, registered designs for adapting dwellings into flats, and practical advice on house management and health. The author is listed as Banister Fletcher, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The edition is noted as the second, with an added section titled Sanitary Hints, or How to Keep Your Home Healthy. The book was published in London by B.T. Batsford in 1877.

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Banister Fletcher’s Model Houses was first published in 1871. This edition had an extra section added entitled ‘Sanitary Hints, or How to Keep your Home Healthy’.

Horticultural Buildings

Frank Attfield Fawkes, 1881

Description

The title is displayed in an ornate rectangular frame at the top center of the cover, with the author's name written below in bold, uppercase letters. Beneath the text is a detailed illustration of a greenhouse, complete with a pitched roof, multiple glass panels, and a central door. The illustration is surrounded by decorative floral elements, adding an elegant touch to the design. The book's spine is visible on the left, with the title and author's name printed vertically in gold lettering.

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This was published jointly with the Journal of Horticulture. Fawkes was originally an electrical engineer, joining a Chelmsford business run by Colonel Rookes Crompton, adjacent to horticultural builder T H P Dennis. Their glasshouse services were advertised as ‘art with economy’. Fawkes returned to Batsford in 1896 with Architect’s Joinery and its Ornamentation, a revised and enlarged edition of his joinery catalogues, including numerous testimonials and 82 plates. In 1901, he tipped in a slip announcing a 10 per cent price increase to all mouldings.

The Towers and Steeples Designed by Sir Christopher Wren

Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor, 1881

Description

The book cover is designed in a highly ornate, black-and-white style, with intricate illustrations and decorative typography. The title is prominently displayed in a mix of bold and elegant fonts. A diagonal banner across the lower half of the cover reads Sir Christopher Wren in capitalized, serif lettering. The upper portion of the cover features detailed architectural motifs, including arches, columns, and geometric patterns, reflecting the classical design elements associated with Wren's work. At the center left, there is a depiction of a classical statue framed by an arched niche. Surrounding the text are additional ornamental details, such as floral patterns, scrollwork, and symmetrical designs. The spine of the book is a deep maroon color, contrasting with the black-and-white design of the front cover.

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This book won architect Taylor a second RIBA Medal. In 1883 he moved to practise architecture in Montreal, where he worked on buildings for McGill University, before returning to London on retirement in 1904. There, he moved into politics as a London Councillor and chaired the Slade Committee at UCL 1911–37, where Batsford author Roger Fry taught art history and Rex Whistler was a student.

Modern Ornamentation

Christopher Dresser, 1886

Description

The book cover has a rich brown leather or cloth binding with intricate gold stamping. The cover design includes multiple decorative borders with geometric patterns, stylized corner flourishes with spiral motifs, and repeating triangular or arrow-like patterns around the edges. At the top center is a small crown symbol. The title and author information are presented in elegant gold lettering within nested rectangular frames. It was published by B.T. Batsford of High Holborn, London.

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Born in Scotland in 1834, Dresser was an influential 19th-century industrial designer and theorist. In 1862, he published The Art of Decorative Design and was well on his way to influencing the Aesthetic Movement. He was affiliated with Japonisme and undertook an extensive tour of Japan in 1876–77 in partnership with Charles Holme. As Dresser and Holme, they imported Japanese products and Dresser became an influential ceramics designer. This book comprises his original designs for textile fabrics and ornamentation in wood, metal and pottery and for wall and ceiling decoration.

Handbook of Coloured Ornament

1890

Description

The book cover has a rich red fabric cover with gold lettering and decorative elements. The title is arranged in three lines with decorative initial letters - a ornate H beginning Handbook and an elaborate O starting Ornament. The corners of the cover are adorned with delicate black filigree designs featuring scrollwork and vine-like patterns that curve inward from each corner.

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A listed but unedited collection of 36 colour plates of ornament, from Egyptian to Renaissance, ‘printed in colours and gold’.

Stable Building and Stable Fitting

Byng Giraud, 1891

Description

The title is prominently displayed in the center of the cover, with the author's name written below in smaller gold text. The book's cover has a rectangular embossed border framing the text, adding a subtle decorative element. The spine of the book is partially visible on the left side, showing similar maroon coloring and gold text. The book appears to be an older publication, with slight wear visible on the edges and corners of the cover.

—

A handbook for architects, builders and horse owners, with trade advertisements.

Taste and Economy in Decoration and Furniture

E Knight, 1893

Description

The hand-drawn illustration of an interior design concept. At the center is a seating area with a cushioned bench framed by a wooden structure with intricate latticework. Yellow curtains hang on either side of the bench, partially drawn back to reveal the seating area. To the left, there is a small round table with a potted plant featuring large, leafy fronds. On the right, a tall, narrow table holds a small decorative object. The background includes additional decorative elements, such as patterned panels and draped fabric. Above the seating area, the title is visible.

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The author was a partner in the firm of Cooper and Holt, Upholsterers and Decorators, in Bunhill Row London. Their advertisements are on two of the seven advertising pages at the rear. It would appear that the book was commissioned by them, with their name on colour page illustrations of room settings done by Cassell & Company.

A Handbook of Ornament (third English edition)

Franz Sales Meyer, 1894

Description

The book cover has a textured surface with embossed decorative patterns, including rectangular borders and a small floral motif in the upper left corner. The title is prominently displayed in gold lettering in the center, with the author's name written below in smaller gold text. The overall design is ornate and classic, reflecting the subject matter of the book. The spine of the book is partially visible on the left.

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The author was a professor at the School of Applied Art in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Decorative Flower Studies

Jeanie Foord, 1901

Description

The title is written in gold uppercase letters, centered on the cover. The background is a light green fabric with a textured appearance. The cover is adorned with intricate floral and botanical patterns in gold and red, including branches, leaves, and pinecones, which extend diagonally across the surface. The design has an elegant and vintage aesthetic, reflecting the book's focus on decorative floral art. The author's name is positioned below the title in smaller gold text.

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This was the first of two series of colour plant and flower studies by Scottish artist Jeanie Foord, who included full commentary on all her studies. In her preface to the first volume, she wrote that she had treated the subjects from the artist’s point of view, rather than the botanist’s or the horticulturalist’s, while endeavouring to keep to botanical accuracy and a purely naturalistic line. Introducing Foord’s later volume in 1906, Lewis F Day (an artist, industrial designer and fellow Batsford author), praised the author’s drawings as nearer to what he wanted as a designer than other prints, which were often too pictorial or vague or lacked information. Foord’s prints in both volumes were reproduced in Paris by the pochoir process, in which hand cut stencils are used to build up layers of colour and texture, giving the artist total control. The prints reflected the Japonisme and Art Nouveau styles of the period. In turn, Foord’s prints would have influenced designers in stained glass and other applications.

Lewis F Day

Decorative artist and designer Lewis Foreman Day was an important figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement. His own first craft was glass painting, before he set up his design studio in 1873. He was a prolific writer on design and ornament, and was a council member of the RSA from 1877 until his death in 1910. Batsford published some 20 of Day’s books. The long relationship between Day and Batsford that developed was described by Day’s biographer as ‘one of the most important relationships in his professional life’.* The bond between the two was described by Hector Bolitho as ‘the beginning of a tradition. It is a strange relationship that grows up between author and publisher: a relationship of temperament and quarrel, loyalty and sentiment’.** Harry Batsford himself wrote in A Batsford Century: ‘The relations between Day and my family were of the happiest. They never had a word of written agreement, and Day paid a tribute to that relationship by designing a special endpaper, with the cyphers LFD, his own initials, and BTB, my grandfather’s, interlaced and continuously repeated. We used the design as an endpaper to all his books, as a symbol of the spirit which should, and which often does, guide the work that author and publisher do together’.

*Lewis Foreman Day (1845–1910) by Joan Maria Hansen, 2007

**A Batsford Century, 1943

Instances of Accessory Art

Lewis F Day, 1880

Description

The cover design features a rich green background with intricate gold and black detailing. The title is prominently displayed in stylized, decorative lettering at the top, with the author's name and the publisher's information, London, B. Batsford, 52 High Holborn, written in a rectangular gold-bordered section near the bottom. A large, elegant feather-like motif extends upward from the lower left corner. The border of the cover is adorned with geometric patterns and small rectangular accents.

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With colour photolithographs by the proprietors of The British Architect, Day’s work shows his original designs and suggestive examples of ornament, with practical and critical notes. Two of the 30 sections of the book are on Japanese drawing and Japanese design, reflecting the strong influence of Japonisme at the time.

Every-Day Art

Lewis F Day, 1882

Description

The book cover showcases an intricate rectangular panel filled with dense ornamental foliage and swirling patterns. Within the design, the word “ART” appears horizontally, while “EVERYDAY” is arranged vertically, sharing the letter “R” at their intersection.

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Following Instances of Accessory Art, this was a series of essays on ‘the arts not fine’, subjects including ornament, taste, ‘The Art of the Fashion-monger’ and ‘Ladies and Amateurs’, profusely illustrated by the author.

Nature in Ornament (third edition)

Lewis F Day, 1896

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This book has 123 plates and 192 illustrations.

Ornamental Design (fourth edition)

Lewis F Day, 1897

Description