Francis Bacon on Gardens

In honor of our current exhibit on Francis Bacon and Professor Coquillette, we recently acquired this beautiful edition of Bacon's essay Of Gardens.  This gorgeous book was printed in 1902 at the Eragny Press, an English press owned and operated by Lucien Pissarro (son of the great impressionist Camille) and his wife, Esther.  It is a stunning little book, printed on handmade paper with beautiful type and borders.

Two-hundred twenty-six copies were printed, and two-hundred of those were offered for sale.  This copy once belonged to Leonard Baskin (1922-2000), the American sculptor, art professor at Smith College, and founder of the Gehanna press, which printed its own edition of Of Gardens in 1959.