Examples of work by artists of the book

Over the years, Walter Strachan built up a livre d'artiste collection that included both complete books and bonnes feuilles, or proof pages (of both text and graphic images) passed by artist and printer as 'perfect'. He used the latter in his own study, to illustrate his articles and subsequently his major book on the subject, The artist and the book in France, and to show to keepers at the Victoria and Albert Museum's National Art Library with a view to persuading them to acquire livres d'artiste. While most of his livre d'artiste collection was given to the Taylor Institution Library and sets of proof pages to the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Rylands collection does include several complete examples of livres d'artiste as well as a number of bonnes feuilles from publications by a range of significant post-war artists and poets of the book, including Albert Flocon, Edouard Goerg, Abram Krol, Pierre Lecuire, André Minaux, Pierre Tal-Coat and Raoul Ubac (these are listed at WJS/6/1). There is also a selection of other artwork (including greetings cards, book plates and signed non-livre d'artiste publications), most of which was also produced by French poets and artists of the book such as Krol, Léon Gischia, Noël Marsault and Henri Michaux (WJS/6/2-3).