GILL, Eric

Eric Gill ‘Eve in the Garden’ ex-libris plate for Jacob Weiss

Description

A rare Eric Gill proof wood engraving printed on hand made fine japon paper. Designed as an ex-libris plate for Jacob Weiss  it is also titled ‘Eve in the Garden‘.  Scarce. This is a rare proof printed before Gill engraved his initials into the lower right margin of the block. This print was never reissued or published in book form unlike some of Eric Gill’s work and only a few proofs have survived. In good  perfect condition.

Plate size 100 x 65 mm   (4 x 2.5 inches)
Sheet size 185 x 140 mm   (7 x 5.5 inches)

Provenance: Residue of the Golden Cockerel collection. Purchased at Bonham’s, Sale no. 20751, Lot 212 in 2013.

Item details

Reference: Physick 885, Edition size not known, but small.

On the British Museum web site, Martin Hopkinson (2010) suggests that this bookplate may be for the historian Jacob Weiss.

Gill’s “Eve” created for Jacob Weiss is a beautiful piece that exemplifies his themes of sensuality and religion. This bookplate was item number 198 of the retrospective of Gill’s engraved work shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1963. The TLS discusses the Weiss bookplate and its delay as a result of printer/bookseller Douglas Cleverdon’s non-payment, his having recently “started a small printing press,” and for his having “always been a bad correspondent, and I am afraid his affairs are none too straight.” He thanks Radin for his interest in his work and looks forward to creating another bookplate for a Mr. Kahn.