After the 2007 Oxford Fine Press Book Fair Abigail Rorer visited the modest church of St Bartholomew’s, tucked behind the hall in Whittington. She made several visits to study and draw the church over the following years until John Randle suggested it might make a good subject for a fine book. Miriam Macgregor, by now an experienced hand at engraving Whittington and its surroundings (see here, here, and here), was brought on to the project and St Bartholomew’s, Whittington: A Cotswold Chruch was born. The book was ultimately published by Rorer’s own imprint, Lone Oak Press, in 2015. It was issued in an edition of 250 standard copies, 40 special copies, and 10 copies held in loose sheets (the book’s colophon reports 260 standard copies, but 10 of these seem to have been sacrificed for the sheets). Here I’ll be looking at the standard edition.
We receive a slender slipcase with salmon pink paper-covered sides and red cloth ends. The book within measures 230mm x 180mm (9in x 7in) and is quarter bound in red cloth over ivory paper sides. The front and back boards are printed with a design by Rorer and there’s a paper title label on the spine. Binding was performed at the Fine Bindery in Finedon and the book was printed on 32 pages of fairly smooth Zerkall paper by Pat Randle at Nomad Letterpress. Binding and printing are both superbly executed, as one might expect with this team.
The endpapers are of the same paper that covers the slipcase and then, after a half-title with small engraving, we reach a title spread that is classic Whittington. An engraving by Macgregor of the church’s exterior serves as a frontispiece and faces an austere two-colour title page.
This is principally a book of engravings, twenty five of them in total. Macgregor has engraved images of the church’s exterior while Rorer’s illustrations take us inside. In many respects, the two artists have quite different styles but I perceive a connection in the role played by light. Several of Macgregor’s engravings feature raking side light from the low sun casting dramatic rays or shadows across the churchyard. In Rorer’s interiors, stark rimlights catch the edge of stonework otherwise shrouded in gloom to create some boldly highlighted shapes. Speaking of stonework, both engravers have also richly captured the texture of this material that pervades every corner of the church. For Macgregor this means depicting the delicate spotting of lichen that colonise the surface of weathered graves, while Rorer shows us the coarse but artfully carved interior figurative work.
Alongside the engravings are nice textual vignettes with historical context and the propensity to pick out small details that bring the images to life. Like Macgregor’s Whittington: Aspects of a Cotswold Village, these vingettes add to the immersive sense of place that these books are all about. There’s also a more substantial three-page introduction by Giles Browne, complete with engraved drop cap. This provides some historical background on the church and its relationship to the community. Concluding the book is an afterword with some background on the project’s genesis. Taken together, the textual content is a nice package for those interested in a vicarious exploration of a quaint corner of Cotswold villagelife. The text is set in 14 point van Dijck and printed in russet ink, which helps prevent it from competing with the wood engravings for attention.
As usual, the book ends with a colophon detailing some of the production details. It is hand numbered and signed by both authors. ■
Where to buy
At the time of writing, copies are still available to purchase direct from The Lone Oak Press and readers are cordially invited to consider buying direct from the publisher where possible.
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Miscellaneous
The church has its own website, including photographs of the interior.
The Ubiquitous Book blog 