This engraving, by Eric
Gill, appeared in
The Birth of Christ
from the Gospel According to
Saint Luke [Golden Cockerel
Press, 1925.]
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Golden Cockerel Press Collection
The strength of the Smith Rare Book Room lies in its collections of
beautifully printed, limited editions published at private presses in the
early decades of the twentieth century. In addition to literary works of
art from such presses as Ballantyne, Montague, Centaur, and Kelmscott,
the Smith Rare Book Room boasts one of the finest existing collections
of books printed at the Golden Cockerel Press in London, England.
The Golden Cockerel Press was established in the autumn of 1920. Its
first printing was a 1921 first edition of A.E. Coppard's Adam and Eve
and Pinch Me which proved to be an instant success. According to Humbert
Wolfe in his introduction to A Bibliography of the Golden Cockerel Press
(1936), "lovers of the fine arts owe a permanent debt of gratitude
to the private printing presses, among which the Golden Cockerel takes
a very high place indeed."
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