The Odyssey, a publisher's presentation copy, warmly inscribed by Emery Walker three months before his death as a birthday gift to the renowned musician and cultural figure Violet Gordon Woodhouse, accompanied by the original publisher’s prospectus, and housed in the original slipcase.
London: Printed and published by Sir Emery Walker, Wilfred Merton and Bruce Rogers, 1932. First and Limited Edition. Full leather. This is a particularly compelling copy of one of the twentieth century’s most compelling books. This copy is not only still housed in its original slipcase and accompanied by the original publisher’s prospectus, but also inscribed by the printer, Sir Emery Walker, to musical prodigy and decidedly unconventional prominent cultural figure Violet Gordon Woodhouse.
The inscription is inked in six lines in Walker’s unsteady hand on the upper right recto of the blank preceding the title page: “to Violet Gordon Woodhouse | from her affectionate friend | Emery Walker; for her birth-Day | April 23.1933; and in remem- | brance of April 14.” Violet was turning 62 years old. Emery, already 82, would not see another birthday; he inscribed this book just three months before his death.
The book approaches near fine condition. The binding is square, clean and unfaded, with sharp corners. Minor scuffs are primarily confined to the hinge extremities and corners. The contents are lovely, clean and bright with no spotting or soiling. We note only perimeter browning to the endpapers from contact with the turn-ins. The gilt top edge remains bright except for some dulling immediately adjacent to the spine. The untrimmed fore and bottom edges look immaculate.
Laid in is the original publisher’s prospectus, an elusive and collectible item on its own. The prospectus is clean and complete, with a single horizontal fold. The publisher’s original slipcase, in plain black paper-covered card, is intact, though significantly scuffed. The book was purchased a quarter of a century ago from the venerable London firm of Maggs Bros. Ltd. and we will include their sales receipt.
In 1932, T. E. Lawrence “of Arabia” (1888-1935) published a translation of Homer’s The Odyssey designed by celebrated American typographer and book designer Bruce Rogers (1870-1957). Lawrence’s & Rogers’s Odyssey was a masterpiece, an aesthetically magnificent book and a highly regarded translation. Distinguished printing historian and fine-press printer Joseph Blumenthal said “I believe that the Bruce Rogers Odyssey is indisputably among the most beautiful books ever produced.”
Rogers designed the book and Lawrence provided the translation. It owes its physical existence to the printer, Sir Emery Walker (1851-1933). “Emery Walker, friend of William Morris and co-proprietor of the Doves Press, had been one of the outstanding printers of the private press movement. Now in his last years, he continued to help Wilfred Merton, his successor at Emery Walker Ltd, until his health failed. The Bruce Rogers Odyssey was his final major achievement, and by no means the least.”
Rogers and Lawrence sought Walker intentionally, with a clear sense of both the significance of their collaboration and the suitability of Walker’s participation. On 3 September 1928, the project still nascent, Rogers wrote to Lawrence: “Walker is now over 75 (though almost as vigorous as ever) and it would be a great pleasure to him to have his name on one more important book, before he stops printing for good – and in my eyes this will be the most important…”
In 1888, the year of Lawrence's birth, it was Walker who inspired William Morris to found the Kelmscott Press. Morris in turn had inspired both Lawrence and Bruce Rogers to become interested in fine printing. In a sense, their magnificent 1932 Odyssey brought the story full circle.
The association of Walker with the singular personality to whom he inscribed this book is less clear, and perhaps all the more interesting as a result. Violet Kate Eglinton Gordon Woodhouse (1871-1948) was a prodigy keyboardist, known for her unconventional personal life, and for the cultural luminaries who visited her music salon. Originally a phenom pianist, Violet also became a foremost clavichord player and harpsichordist. In the words of her Times obituary, “the subtlety of her playing was infinite… when she began to play, one became… entangled in a golden web of purest sound.”
Violet’s “golden web” extended to men; she “lived with four ‘husbands’ only one of whom was her legal spouse.” From 1903, Violet and her four men “lived quite openly together until, one by one, death separated them.” She had many non-spousal devotees as well. “Among the admiring visitors to her salon were Lawrence of Arabia, T. S. Eliot, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Pablo Picasso, Serge Diaghilev, Auguste Rodin, and the cream of Europe’s musicians.” Obviously, Violet’s birthday prompted Sir Emery to inscribe this Odyssey to Violet, but the remainder of the context, including details of their association and the reference to “April 14” is not known to us; certainly their social spheres overlapped.
References: O’Brien A141 & A142; Haas, Bruce Rogers: A Bibliography; Warde, Bruce Rogers, Designer of Books; Wilson, Translating the Bruce Rogers 'Odyssey'; Blumenthal, Bruce Rogers. A Life in Letters; Rogers, Paragraphs on Printing; ODNB; Jessica Douglas-Home, Violet: The Life and Loves of Violet Gordon Woodhouse; The Times. Item #008777
Price: $15,500.00