1898 ARTHUR WESLEY DOW Wood Block Print Cover Design RAMBLES ABOUT OLD IPSWICH
DESCRIPTION: WATERS, Thomas Franklin (Text); DEXTER, G.G. (Photos); HOVEY, Lewis R. (Arranger) “RAMBLES ABOUT OLD IPSWICH”; Independent Press publishers Ipswich, Mass; 1898;; . Published under the auspices of The Ipswich Historical Society; 8vo [6 x 9.25'' tall]; 33 unnumbered pages including the title page with text and b/w captioned photos, primarily of eminent residences. [Individual glossy sheets between 2 thicker, tan matte sheets, string bound through 3 holes.
ARTHUR WESLEY DOW: The cover has green lettering and pictorial vignette wood block style [but possibly printed by a different process] which is indisputably designed by Arthur Wesley Dow though unattributed to him [see scan]. This image precedes the publication in 1899 of his book Composition by one year and is quite possibly one of the first two published images in book or pamphlet form [see Note below] of his work in his new style which was elaborated on in his 1899 book Composition. Also, his publishing history [Drawings of homes in Ipswich] from at least 1884, further leads to unnecessary credibility of his involvement with this project.
CONDITION: Good condition (see scans) spine tattered. [I located only one copy online in inferior condition]
NOTE 1: I am offering three additional Dow items: The first two with variant covers of another Dow illustrated book one in wraps and one cloth bound from 1884 [if not already sold] titled Old homes of Ipswich and a third group titled OLD IPSWICH IN VERSE in my store under the category [The Arts and Crafts Movement]. [if not already sold]
BIOGRAPHICAL:
ARTHUR WESLEY DOW [1857 - 1922]: His ideas were quite revolutionary for the period; he taught that rather than copying nature, art should be created by elements of the composition, like line, mass and color. He wanted leaders of the public to see art is a living force in everyday life for all, not a sort of traditional ornament for the few. Dow suggested this lack of interest would improve if the way art was presented would permit self-expression and include personal experience in creating art.
His ideas on Art were published in the 1899 book; Part I, Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers. The following extracts are from the prefatory chapter "Beginnings" to the second [completed] edition of this book (1913):
“Composition ... expresses the idea upon which the method here presented is founded - the "putting together" of lines, masses and colors to make a harmony. ... Composition, building up of harmony, is the fundamental process in all the fine arts. ... A natural method is of exercises in progressive order, first building up very simple harmonies ... Such a method of study includes all kinds of drawing, design and painting. It offers a means of training for the creative artist, the teacher or one who studies art for the sake of culture.”
TRIAD OF COMPOSITION
& DESIGN INFLUENCERS IN THE EARLY ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT:
In addition to Dow [above], Denman Ross and Ernest A. Batchelder represented the heart of Composition and
Design in the movement. Both Dow and
Batchelder credit Denman Ross with having a great influence on their work.
ERNEST A. BATCHELDER (1875–1957): An American artist and educator who made Southern California his home in the early 20th century. He is famous as a maker of art tiles and as a leader in the American Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1894 Ernest A. Batchelder began attending classes at Massachusetts Normal Art School (now Massachusetts College of Art and Design), which was founded in 1873 with the intention to to support the Massachusetts Drawing Act of 1870 by providing drawing teachers for the public schools as well as training professional artists, designers, and architects. In 1899 he received his Public School Class diploma. Batchelder came to Pasadena, California, in the early 1900s to teach, and became director of the art department at Throop Polytechnic Institute, the predecessor of the California Institute of Technology. Batchelder wrote The Principles of Design, 1904 and his most popular and lasting work, Design in Theory and Practice, 1910.
DENMAN WALDO ROSS (1853-1935): The American design theorist, educator, art collector, and painter who taught at Harvard for over 25 years. An important regional figure in Boston's fine arts scene Ross was a friend and colleague of Arthur Wesley Dow, Bernard Berenson, Jay Hambidge, and others. He gained national and international renown with his design theory, which ushered in a shift from John Ruskin's romantic naturalism to the formalist aesthetic that characterizes modern art and architecture. Ross's theory attracted artists, Arts and Crafts artisans, and architects, and helped shape architectural education, scholarship, and museum practices. Ross’s book, A Theory of Pure Design, 1907 was his major achievement in design.