The English Bible: containing the Old Testament & the New. Hammersmith: Doves Press, 1903-05. Vol. 1 of 5 displayed.
The Doves Press was established by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson and Emery Walker in 1900, the third of the great early English private presses along with the Kelmscott and Ashendene presses. The Doves Bible is a masterwork in layout and design. Its stark austerity shows remarkable restraint, meticulous craftsmanship, and a subtle beauty in its simplicity. The elongated initial letter and bold red lettering for ‘IN THE BEGINNING’ in volume one is noted by Sebastian Carter of The Rampant Lions Press as being ‘one of the most striking openings in the history of printing’.
The Doves Bible was produced one volume at a time in a run of 500 copies for subscribers who paid in advance and committed to buying all five volumes. Like all other Doves editions, the final volume was sold out the day it was issued.
When the partnership ended, Cobden-Sanderson famously threw the Doves type into the Thames, making over 100 trips to the river in 1916, so determined was he to keep it from Walker.
The English Bible: containing the Old Testament & the New. Hammersmith: Doves Press, 1903-05. Vol. 1 of 5 displayed.
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