Doves Press
The Doves Press was one of the major English private presses. It was founded by Emery Walker and Thomas James Cobden - Sanderson in London's borough of Hammersmith in 1900 and existed until 1916. Their creation and accounting artistic achievements are closely related with William Morris, the English Arts reform, the Arts & Crafts movement and the private Press Movement. The books of the press were pioneering in their typographic design.
The collaboration between Walker and Cobden - Sanderson ended in 1909 due to disagreements. Both expressed a variety of theoretical views in the design implementation of their printed works.
Cobden - Sanderson had completed a bookbinder by the theology and law school in 1884 and founded in 1893 the Doves Bindery. Five years later, he decided to found their own press. Walker and Cobden - Sanderson had already been employees of the Kelmscott Press, and well acquainted with William Morris. Even here, Walker had proven his typographic skills and knowledge and also worked for the Ashendene Press.
He has now developed 1899-1900 its own type for the Doves Press, the Doves type. Walker had a penchant for the Rare and sought their perfection through balanced proportions in the prints of the Doves Press on. As models were used, as with the Golden type of Morris, Pliny the issue of Nicolas Jenson, and the output of the Historia Florentina by Jacobus Rubeus.
Characteristic of the expenditure of the Doves Press was, in deliberate contrast to the Kelmscott Press, the absence of any illustrations and decorative book jewelry. A uniform appearance of the publications was reached by an elegant and typographic design of the works. Unlike Walker Cobden Sanderson had no interest in technology and put the contents of the books on their elaboration. The design of a book had the task to teach the literature to read and understand for him. He gave the shape of a book more important and even saw it as an "act of creation", since only the design has the essentials, promote due consideration to the literature and support. Cobden - Sanderson aspired to the " harmony of form and content, content and form, zugestalten with the poet made of the same basic experience, the book creatively into a whole. "
His book aesthetic program The Ideal Book or Book Beautiful Cobden - Sanderson, published in 1901. It was he who determined the literature of the expenditure of the Doves Press. Among other things, the works of eminent poets like John Milton, William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published. The press The English Bible issued in five volumes between the years 1903-1905. This monumental -scale work is now regarded as the masterpiece of the Doves Press.
Cobden - Sanderson led the Press in 1909 without Walker further and received from him the right to use the Doves type. But contrary to the agreement with Walker he sank in 1916 after the closure of the press several font types in the Thames to protect themselves from reprints.
Both the workers in the bindery and printing Doves received higher wages than usual. They had a 48-hour week, were given 14 days paid holiday and the Christmas holidays were paid.
A close connection exists between the book art Doves Press and German Bremer Presse. The Bremer Presse oriented towards both Cobden - Sanderson buchästhetischem program, as well as to the services typograhischen Walkers.
Some prints from the Doves Press are issued in Offenbach's Klingspor Museum, including the first pressure of the Doves Press, Tacitus, and a two-volume edition of Goethe's Faust. Both are among the highlights of the museum.