Golden Cockerel Press was a major English private press operating between 1920 and 1961. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Private Press is a term used in the field of book collecting to describe a printing press operated as a personal enthusiasm, rather than as a purely commercial venture. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Press was founded by Harold Midgley Taylor (known as Tip) in 1920 and was first in Waltham St.Lawrence in Berkshire where he had unsuccessfully tried fruit farming. Taylor bought an army surplus hut and assembled it in Waltham St. Lawrence as a combined workshop and living quarters: it was cold and damp; money and food were short; the inexperience of the novice printers meant that work was slow and the results poor; and the authors who came to help mostly sat around drinking tea and chatting. Taylor had tuberculosis of which he died in 1925. For other places named Berkshire, see: Berkshire (disambiguation) Berkshire (pronounced Barkshe(e)r; sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a county in the south of England, to the west of London and also bordering on Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Surrey, Wiltshire and Hampshire. ...

The press soon found the formula for which it became famous — beautiful handmade limited editions of classic works produced to the very highest of standards. The type, set by hand, often used specially designed typefaces — notably that designed by Eric Gill especially for the press. A major feature of Golden Cockerel books were the original illustrations, usually woodcuts, contributed by, among others, Eric Gill, Robert Gibbings, John Buckland-Wright, Blair Hughes-Stanton, Agnes Miller Parker, David Jones and Eric Ravilious. The press was credited with having revived the British tradition of woodcarving. Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (February 22, 1882 - November 17, 1940) was a British sculptor, typographer and engraver. ... A woodcut is a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with chisels. ... Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (February 22, 1882 - November 17, 1940) was a British sculptor, typographer and engraver. ... David Jones is a common name, particularly in Wales, UK, and there have been several well-known individuals with this name. ... Eric Ravilious (1903 - 1942) was an English painter, book illustrator, and wood engraver. ...

Deluxe Editions

The size of a run would vary according to expectations, but was normally between 250 and 750. Though both the paper and the bindings were handmade even on the Standard Edition, there was often also a smaller Deluxe Edition. The difference was usually that the bindings, instead of being 1/4 leather, were executed in full leather by the famous binder Sangorski & Sutcliffe and would consist of only 25 to 100 copies. Occasionally, the press would also print a "Super Deluxe" edition consisting of only five or ten copies on full vellum. Copies of the Deluxe Edition were sold at the time for up to five times the price of the Standard Edition, which was already well out of reach of ordinary people. Vellum (Latin for the animals wool hair) has two meanings: A sort of parchment, a material for the pages of a book or codex, usually made from calf skin. ...

Canterbury Tales

One of the most sought-after of the Golden Cockerel books is the four-volume Canterbury Tales produced by Eric Gill and issued in 1931. Lavishly illustrated throughout and with decorative borders on almost every page, it took two and a half years to produce. Four hundred and eighty-five copies were printed on paper, and a further fifteen on vellum. The former can be found selling for around $US6,000, or$US10,000 if in perfect condition, but the latter fetch up to $US80,000, as they rarely come onto the market. Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484 The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). ... Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (February 22, 1882 - November 17, 1940) was a British sculptor, typographer and engraver. ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...