The Queen of the Adriatic vies for attention alongside exquisite examples of engraving and bookcraft.
John Craig managed to sneak an engraving of Venice into the back of his 1997 Britten’s Aldeburgh on the pretence that Benjamin Britten was fond of the place. No such excuse was necessary when, in 2016, the Whittington Press invited Craig to publish an entire book about his beloved floating city. Simply titled Venice, that book’s production was limited to 285 copies, issued in four “states” (versions):
- The C state (limited to 175 copies) is quarter bound in dark brown Pirate leather (a kind of bonded leather) with printed paper sides. It is presented in a slipcase.
- The B state, limited to 60 copies, is half bound in brown Oasis leather with printed paper sides and comes with a separate portfolio containing prints of many of the engravings. The book and portfolio are presented together in a slipcase
- The 40-copy A state was bound in full black Oasis leather inlaid to a design by John Craig. It comes with a portfolio containing prints of “most” of the engravings. The book and portfolio are presented together in a solander box.
- Finally, 10 copies were issued as unbound sheets.
Here I have the B variant. The Oasis leather feels supple and I love the colour. The sides are printed with a relief print of a Venetian scene. I was initially a little disappointed to find that the cover board is not of a particularly heavy or rigid stock. But I’ve come to realise that this gives the book a breezy, lightweight feel that fits the overall design vision. The whole object feels pliable and sprawls luxuriously open when placed on a surface, practically inviting the reader in. The end papers are of a similarly delicate quality, with a nice texture to them.
All states were printed on Zerkall mould-made paper, one of my favourites (this paper can also be found, inter alia, in Britten’s Aldeburgh, The Letterpress Shaksepare, and A Lakeland Diary). On this occasion, a smooth lightweight variant of this stock has been used and the book is bound with a so-called French fold. This means that the sheets on which it is printed are folded not only in the spine, but also along the top edge, requiring readers to turn two leaves at a time. This takes some getting used to, but, consistent with the overall book design, allows the use of a lighter paper without causing problems with low opacity. It also means the printing can be done exclusively on the smoother side of the paper, more suited to the reproduction of fine wood engravings. As usual for Zerkall’s paper, it has an excellent tactile quality. The bottom and fore edges are deckled.
Venice is a book to be experienced as much as it is to be read. Craig has taken complete creative ownership, placing the 80 wood engravings (and several linocuts) alongside the text in asymmetrical and varied layouts. The sensation is one of exploring the book at the same time as we explore the city. Just as a stroll around Venice reveals a surprise around every corner, one never knows what will be discovered on the next page. The text is set in Arrighi, an italic variant of Bruce Rogers’ divine Centaur. Arrighi has its origins in renaissance Italy and is thus an apt choice for a book about that most Italian of cities.
Of course, it is the engravings themselves that steal the show. They are finely detailed without appearing fussy or losing their clean modern edge. As one would expect from Whittington, the reproduction is also flawless. I suppose my one regret is that, if you aren’t intimately familiar with the city, some of the plethora of Venitian street scenes can end up looking quite alike. But they say you can’t have too much of a good thing. As well as the generous scattering of engravings throughout the book, a few relief prints are offered on tipped-in sheets on oriental hand-made papers. These add a bit of exotic spice, as does the occasional use of colour in the prints.
The book ends with a colophon spread that provides some information on the materials employed by Craig and the production and limitation of the book. The colophon is signed by the author and hand numbered.
The slipcase has charcoal cloth ends and pinstripe-printed sides that I consider quite a stylish match for the orange-brown leather of the volume. The separate portfolio of prints is quarter bound in a similar design to the slipcase. Within we find a black paper packet containing the prints themselves. These are rendered on a nice smooth paper with the same fine reproduction we saw in the book. The promise that the portfolio should include “many” of the engravings is fulfilled—there’s a decent pile of them here, from small accent pieces up to full-scale street scenes.
A post on The Whittington Press Twitter account announced that the book went out of print on 10 February 2017. The A edition seems to have sold out first on 25 August 2016. ■
Where to buy
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Relevant links
Blog post about the books from The Whittington Press.
Venice review on Books and Vines.
Thread about the book on the LibraryThing fine books group.
The Ubiquitous Book blog 
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