Patience And Her Garden

5 September 2010

If you are looking for an exemplar of the Tomoye Press during its best years, Patience And Her Garden (1910) will serve you well. It was well-made, beautifully illustrated, pleasant if unmemorable content, readable in one sitting, and reasonably priced—in short, the perfect gift. How many copies of Patience were given from mother to daughter, [...]

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Yosemite Legends

29 August 2010

One of the most collectible titles in the Paul Elder catalog, Yosemite Legends (1904) is also one of the best illustrated. Thirteen original tonalist illustrations by Florence Lundborg, combined with Native American themes makes this a very attractive book indeed. Florence Lundborg (1871-1949) was a native of San Francisco. She studied with Arthur Mathews at [...]

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Cynic’s Calendar of Revised Wisdom

22 August 2010

In 1902 Oliver Herford, Ethel Watts Mumford and Addison Mizner wrote a book of witty updates of popular sayings (one example: “people who love in glass houses should pull down the blinds”). The book was packaged into calendar form, entitled The Cynic’s Calendar of Revised Wisdom for 1903, printed by the Twentieth Century Press and [...]

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Impressions Magazine

15 August 2010

On 1 March 1899, Paul Elder and Morgan Shepard published “a monthly leaflet of book-notes” entitled Personal Impressions. After about six issues in leaflet form, the publication was upgraded to a monthly magazine format in March 1900, with cover artwork by Morgan Shepard. In September 1900 the magazine was renamed Impressions and given a new [...]

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By the Western Sea

8 August 2010

Last week’s spotlight was the final book ever published by Paul Elder & Company; this week’s is the very first. The new firm of “D. P. Elder and Morgan Shepard” published By the Western Sea in 1898. The green cloth cover features an ocean wave design that wrapped around the spine onto part of the [...]

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The House In Mallorca

2 August 2010

The House in Mallorca (1950), by Ernest Ingold, is the last book ever published by Paul Elder & Company, and the only one published after Paul Elder Sr’s death in 1948. It describes the purchase of Junipero Serra’s birthplace, in the village of Petra on the Spanish island of Mallorca, by the Rotary Club of [...]

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Bernard Maybeck’s “Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon”

23 July 2010

One of Paul Elder’s most collectible titles, Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon (1915) has often been described as Bernard Maybeck’s only book. It is a slim volume though, coming in at just 24 pages. In it Maybeck describes his approach to designing the Palace of Fine Arts, perhaps his most recognizable building and the [...]

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The Graphic Arts and Crafts Year Book 1908

18 July 2010

I recently found online a digitized version of The Graphics Arts and Crafts Year Book 1908 (Republican Publishing Company, Hamilton Ohio; Joseph Meadon, editor), which has several examples of John Henry Nash’s typographical work at the Tomoye Press. See pages 122 through 134.

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101 Epicurean Thrills

16 July 2010

Beginning in 1902, May E. Southworth wrote a series a cookbooks for Paul Elder, each containing one hundred and one recipes. Elder, who enjoyed giving most everything a special title, named the series “101 Epicurean Thrills”. They sold well and many were reprinted into the early 1910s. Most memorably, they each have whimsical cover artwork [...]

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Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

13 July 2010

Paul Elder & Co is now on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: search for “Paul Elder & Company” (a unique URL will be available a little later) Twitter: @paulelderbooks

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