Jump to content

Ashendene Press

From Alfawiki
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Ashendene Press, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 30 November 2025
Ashendene Press
Company typePrivate press
IndustryPrinting, Publishing
Founded1895
FounderSt John Hornby
Defunct1935
Headquarters
Chelsea, London
,
United Kingdom
Key people
St John Hornby, William Harcourt Hooper, Emery Walker, Graily Hewitt, Edward Prince
ProductsFine press books, printed materials (announcements, menus, Christmas cards)
Number of employees
Not specified

The Ashendene Press was a modest private press established by St John Hornby (1867–1946). It operated initially between 1895 and 1915 in Chelsea, London, before resuming activity in 1920 after World War I and ultimately ceasing operations in 1935. Its contemporaries included the Kelmscott Press and the Doves Press. Hornby developed friendships with figures such as William Morris and Emery Walker, whose influence shaped his printing endeavors. These presses collectively contributed to a "revival of fine printing," viewing book production as an art form. Ashendene gained recognition for its exquisite editions of Dante. The press was distinguished by its superior bindings and a focus on visual appeal rather than reformist aims, with some critics regarding it as the most effective in recapturing the spirit of fifteenth-century printing. Ashendene volumes are characterized by generous margins and, despite restrained ornamentation, are considered remarkable artistic creations. Two unique typefaces—Subiaco and Ptolemy—were specifically designed for the press, complemented by hand-painted, colored initials crafted by Graily Hewitt. The primary audience comprised collectors who subscribed to Ashendene’s publications.

History

The inception of the press took place at Hornby's ancestral home, Ashendene, where family members contributed to the initial printing efforts. What began as a personal pastime for Hornby relocated with him to Shelley House in Chelsea in 1899. The press experienced a hiatus from 1915 until 1920, after which it resumed operations until its definitive closure in 1935.

Hornby’s artistic direction and decision to establish Ashendene were heavily inspired by the Kelmscott and Doves presses. Together, these three presses hold a central role within the Private Press Movement and the wider Arts and Crafts Movement that flourished in late nineteenth-century England. Unlike some contemporaries who emphasized reform, Hornby approached printing primarily as a source of personal satisfaction. All three presses produced books that were regarded as artistic masterpieces,<ref> with Ashendene especially noted for its quality reflecting fifteenth-century printing traditions.

Around 1896, wood engraver William Harcourt Hooper joined the team.<ref> Edward Prince, who also collaborated with both Kelmscott and Doves presses, was responsible for cutting typefaces used at Ashendene.<ref> Emery Walker worked alongside Hornby in creating the two original type designs. Hornby also sought advice from Sydney Cockerell for studying historic types that influenced Ashendene’s fonts.<ref> Additional contributors included notable figures such as Eric Gill, Graily Hewitt, Charles Gere, and Gwen Raverat. The illustrator Florence Kingsford Cockerell illuminated an Ashendene edition of The Song of Songs Which Is Solomon's in 1901, producing distinct designs for each individual copy.

Hornby utilized Albion presses and procured paper from J. Batchelor & Sons, along with vellum supplied by H. Band & Co.<ref> Initial bookbindings were crafted by Zaehnsdorf, with later bindings provided by the W. H. Smith bindery.<ref>

The principal clientele consisted of book collectors subscribing to Ashendene’s limited editions.<ref> In addition to books, Hornby produced printed materials such as announcements, menus, and Christmas cards.<ref> Prior to its closure in 1935, Hornby released a farewell statement indicating that A Descriptive Bibliography of the Books Printed at the Ashendene Press would serve as its final publication.<ref> The Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University maintains an extensive collection of Ashendene Press archives, including design materials, manuscripts, correspondence, ledgers, and folios.<ref>

Design

At the outset, Hornby employed typefaces from the Fell type collection, yet the majority of Ashendene Press publications utilized two custom-cast fonts: Subiaco and, to a lesser degree, Ptolemy. The Subiaco typeface drew inspiration from a fifteenth-century Italian design by Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim. Although Morris initially intended to create a font based on their types, he abandoned the project; Hornby financed its completion, named it Subiaco, and applied it for more than two decades. The Ashendene iteration eliminated the long "s" and altered the forms of "k," "w," and "y." The Ptolemy font, developed specifically for the press's edition of Don Quixote, was modeled after the 1482 edition of Ptolemy's Geographia. Unlike the hand-carved Subiaco, Ptolemy was produced through mechanical cutting. While Subiaco presented a darker appearance, Ptolemy offered enhanced legibility. Presently, both typefaces are held by Cambridge University Press.

A number of Ashendene volumes incorporated printer’s marks; one notable example illustrated two men operating a press accompanied by the motto "" ("The men are bad but their books are good"). Several editions also featured handwritten initials by Graily Hewitt and others. Although some works, such as that of St. Francis of Assisi, included wood-engravings, most publications relied exclusively on typographic printing.

Tutte le Opere di Dante Alighieri

Hornby devoted close to ten years to producing Dante’s complete works. The Subiaco typeface made its debut in 1905 with the Ashendene Inferno, which Theodore de Vinne of the New York Times acclaimed as "the most satisfactory reproduction of a fifteenth-century face." Four years later, Ashendene Press issued the full collection, titled Tutte le Opere di Dante Alighieri, also set in Subiaco. This edition is esteemed among the finest private press achievements in English printing, standing alongside Kelmscott’s Chaucer and the Doves Bible for its meticulousness, clarity, and artistic merit. The press produced six vellum copies and 105 paper copies; text was arranged in two columns with red ink applied to initials, headings, and annotations. The paper editions used Batchelor’s paper bearing Ashendene’s distinctive bugle watermark.

Poems Written in the Year MCMXII by Robert Bridges Poet-Laureate

In 1915, Robert Bridges selected Ashendene Press to print twelve new poems, relying on Hornby’s reputation for exceptional craftsmanship. This publication was the press’s sole significant original literary work. The copies featured initials in varying colors—blue, red, or black—and were printed in quarto format before being bound in blue paper boards with linen backings. A total of eighty-five paper copies and six vellum copies were produced; none were offered commercially as Bridges requested only sufficient copies for personal distribution.

Daphnis et Chloé

The press encountered difficulties when its initial run of Daphnis et Chloé on Japanese vellum was compromised due to problems with ink drying. A single leaf from this edition is included in the Descriptive Bibliography of the Ashendene Press. The work was subsequently reissued in 1933 on Batchelor paper, featuring blue initials by Hewitt, wood engravings by Raverat, and utilizing Monotype Pastonic italic—a typeface unique within Ashendene’s portfolio. Two hundred ninety paper copies were bound in green boards; twenty vellum copies were housed in blue or green pigskin bindings.

Bibliography

The following compilation enumerates works that were printed, published, or retailed by the Ashendene Press, with the years indicating when the press completed the printing.


See also

Related profiles

VVerso BooksGGolden Cockerel PressTThorpe & PorterCChappell & Co.
Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Ashendene_Press&oldid=91460"