by The English sculptor, type designer, and printmaker Eric Gill (1882–1940) worked with the Golden Cockerel Press to produce this Gospel Book, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples from the private press movement of the twentieth century. Using handmade paper, handset metal type, and illustrated with wood engravings, also by Gill, the visual impact of this book is arresting.
Shown above is the Adoration of the Magi (Matthew 2:1–2), depicting wise men from the East presenting gifts to the baby Jesus. Traditionally, these gifts are of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but Gill alters them playfully — the wise man on the right holds a golden crown, in the center a censor containing burning frankincense, and on the left a child’s toy block inscribed with a cross. The integration of wood-engraved images with the text is characteristic of Gill’s approach to book design. The figures inhabit the initial N, and the reader’s eye flows easily through six diminishing letter sizes to reach the regular text — “he that is born King of the Jews.”
The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the Authorized Version of King James I. With Decorations by Eric Gill. Number 18 of 500 Copies. Waltham Saint Lawrence, Berks.: Printed by Robert and Moira Gibbings at the Golden Cockerel Press, 1931. Saint Louis University Libraries Special Collections—Rare Books Division: Pius Spec Coll Rare Bks O’size BS2553 .A3 1931.
Gift of the Saint Louis University Library Associates in 2018 to mark the 200th anniversary of Saint Louis University.
On display in Pius XII Memorial Library level 1, Academic Technology Commons, until Epiphany (January 6) 2022.
