The Folio Society Miniature Poetry Book Collection

The complete set of seven delightful miniature poetry books published by The Folio Society in series between 1991 and 1997, all sized around 12 x 8.5 cm, printed letterpress on high-quality paper, bound uniformly in shimmering moiré silk in different colours, and each housed in thin gold slipcases. Each miniature book is illustrated with exquisite wood engravings from leading contemporary artists, including Howard Phipps, John Lawrence, Harry Brockway, Jane Lydbury, George Tute, Peter Forster, and Simon Brett. All are first printings thus.

Condition-wise, this is the best set we have handled. The volumes are tightly bound with all pages clean and uninscribed, and they are externally vibrant and completely unfaded, with just the the spine tips of the 'Love Poems' volume ever-so-slightly crushed. They are housed in their slipcases which are a tad worn, but all structurally sound. A really lovely set that has managed to escape the dreaded discolouration.

The volumes are:

1. TENNYSON, Alfred (Lord).The Lady of Shalott. London: The Folio Society, 1991. [wood-] engravings by Howard Phipps. 116 × 83 × 8 mm. Pp. [1–32]. Type: Ehrhardt. Typeset by Gloucester Typesetting, printed by the Bath Press. Bound by Hunter and Foulis in full dark red artificial moiré silk, lettered in gold on a black panel; dark red endleaves with a repeat pattern in gold by Phipps. Gold slip case. There are five small wood-engravings by Phipps. This was the first of a new series of miniature poetry books, each illustrated with wood-engravings, and with a typographical border on the title-page. They were issued in a uniform binding of artificial moiré silk, with patterned end leaves and a gold slip case.
2. BROWNING, Robert. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. London: The Folio Society, 1992.  [wood-] engravings by John Lawrence. 116 × 85 × 7 mm. Pp. [1–32]. Type: Blado. Typeset by Gloucester Typesetting, printed by the Bath Press. Bound by Hunter and Foulis in dark brown series binding; dark red endleaves. There are six small wood-engravings by Lawrence printed in the text. A problem with blocking the cover decoration meant that the first copies were delivered in October 1992, while the remainder were bound later, using a different brass, and were not completed until December.
3. MARVELL, Andrew. The Garden & Other Poems. London: The Folio Society, 1993. Andrew Marvell, the garden & other poems, [wood-] engravings by Harry Brockway. 115 × 85 × 7 mm. Pp. [1–32]. Type: Fournier. Typeset by Gloucester Typesetting, printed by the Bath Press. Bound by Hunter and Foulis in blue-green series binding; dark green endleaves. There are nine small wood-engravings by Brockway. This book had the honour to be chosen by Designer Bookbinders for their 1994 exhibition, staged to mark the centenary of the 1894 Tregaskis exhibition at which William Morris’s translation of The tale of King Florus & the fair Jehane, published by the Kelmscott Press, was the set book.
4. Sir Patrick Spens & Other Ballads. London: The Folio Society, 1994. [wood-] engravings by Jane Lydbury. 117 × 86 × 8 mm. Pp. [1–6] 7–32. Type: Joanna italic. Typeset by Gloucester Typesetting, printed and bound by Mandarin Offset. Dark blue series binding; dark blue endleaves. There are five small wood-engravings by Lydbury. When exposed to sunlight the binding cloth fades to purple.
5. POE, Edgar Allan. The Raven. London: The Folio Society, 1995. [wood-] engravings by George Tute. 117 × 85 × 7 mm. Pp. [1–32]. Type: Bulmer. Typeset by Gloucester Typesetting, printed and bound by Mandarin Offset. Black series binding; black endleaves. There are seven small wood-engravings by Tute. When exposed to light, the binding cloth fades to grey.
6. Fifty Folio Epigrams. London: The Folio Society, 1996.  [wood-] engravings by Peter Forster. Edited by Sue Bradbury. 117 × 86 × 7 mm. Pp. [1–32]. Type: Baskerville. Typeset by Gloucester Typesetting, printed in yellow and black by BAS Printers. Bound by Hunter and Foulis in yellow series binding; black endleaves. There are 18 small wood-engravings by Forster, in his usual thrilling style. This book was chosen by Designer Bookbinders for their 1997 competition.
7. Fifty Folio Love Poems. London: The Folio Society, 1997.  [wood-] engravings by Simon Brett. Edited by Sue Bradbury. 116 × 84 × 8 mm. Pp. [1–64]. Type: Van Dijck italic. Typeset by Gloucester Typesetting, printed by the Burlington Press. Bound by Hunter and Foulis in cream series binding; red endleaves. There are 32 small wood-engravings by Brett, one being repeated.