Miriam Macgregor expertly shows us the Cotswolds at their most idyllic.
We last encountered the work of Miriam Magregor in Whittington: Aspects of a Cotswold Village, published by the Whittington Press in 1991. That book ended with a series of nine engravings of Whittington in the snow. Two decades later, and we return with Macgregor to the snow-clad Cotswold countryside around Whittington.
Midwinter, as this excursion is titled, was issued by the Whittington Press in 2012 in a limited edition of 265 copies. Of these,
- 185 were ordinary copies bound in printed paper in a slipcase (£155),
- 55 were half-bound in blue Oasis leather over printed paper and came together with a set of proofs of the engravings in a slipcase (£265),
- and 25 copies were full-bound in Oasis leather to a design by the artist (again with a portfolio of proofs, including one additional engraving) in a solander box (£485).
Here I’ll be looking at the ordinary edition.
The book is presented in a white slipcase with a feint blue pinstripe pattern. The top and bottom edges of the slipcase are covered in a royal blue cloth. It’s a simple slipcase, but I find it quite stylish. Within is the volume, which measures 266x187mm). As noted above, it is covered in a light blue laid paper printed with an enlargement of an engraving by Macgregor. There’s a simple title label on the spine. Although it’s a slender volume, we get head and tail bands in royal blue, which are a nice touch. The endpapers are a powder blue laid paper.
Turning to the content, the book is printed on Zerkall mould-made paper. After a half title with an engraving of some birds under heavy snow, we reach the title spread. Here we find a frontispiece wood engraving of some wintery thistles, printed in colour. Facing is a title page, with the title of the book printed in black and the rest in ochre. This sets the theme for the remainder of the book, which pairs (mostly black) engravings with ochre text set in 14pt italic Bell. We have seen this trick of ochre text and black engravings in numerous Whittington Press books before (including Britten’s Aldeburgh, Venice, and Whittington). I always thought it is quite effective because it ensures the engravings stand out as the main attraction, as well as adding a bit of visual interest.
There are 23 engravings in total, including a couple of two-page spreads and two printed in three colours (including the frontispiece mentioned above). These are lively and engaging images that successfully transport the reader to the blustery cold of the Cotswold hills. I had the sense that Macregor’s style was more refined and a little more serious than in Whittington. The engravings of these wintery scenes, with their tightly woven confusion of bare twigs and branches are packed with detail and full of life. The occasional inclusion of a bird or sheep completes the picture of a world struggling for survival under its icy blanket. But just as Whittington ended with a visit to the village under snow, Midwinter concludes with an autumnal engraving of the world sprung back to life, bringing us full-circle. The accompanying text is short, but well-judged to complement the engravings. Brief vignettes of winter scenes and the comings and goings of its wildlife help to cement the overarching sense that one is transported to a different place and time. After all, that’s what books like this are all about. ■
Where to buy
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Miscellaneous
The prospectus for Midwinter had this to say:
In February 2009 the north Cotswolds were covered by a brief but deep fall of snow. A fairytale landscaoe of changing shapes and patterns appeared overnight, and beside the predictable snowman on the village green, a habitable igloo even appeared. Miriam Macgregor ventured out into this unfamiliar snowscape with sketchbook and camera, and these engravings, mostly full page, are the perfect subject for the medium.
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