|
David Esslemont, Solmentes Press
Decorah, Iowa
George Daniels, All in Good Time: Reflections of a Watchmaker, 2006 All in Good Time is the autobiography of watchmaker George Daniels. Designed, printed, and bound by David Esslemont. Sewn on linen
tapes with sewn endbands and leather-jointed endleaves. The boards are covered with light brown Nigerian goatskin leather with a "watch spring" spiral in gold
extending across the front, back, and spine. At the center of the spiral is a recessed panel covered by a watch glass containing a wheel made by George Daniels
himself. The book is presented in a felt-lined, cloth-covered, drop-back box. 277 pp., 19 color plates. 12.5 x 8.5 x 2 inches, 32 x 21.5 x 5 centimeters. Created 2006.
David Esslemont was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 1953 and studied fine art (painting) at the Central School of Art and Design in London, where Blair
Hughes-Stanton was among his tutors. After leaving college he established his own press in Newcastle, where he printed, bound, and published a number of books with
wood engravings by the 18th century engraver Thomas Bewick and his contemporaries. From 1985 to 1997, Esslemont was director of the University of Wales Gregynog Press
and learned to speak Welsh. He has won many book design awards, including the first Felice Feliciano International Award for Book Design in 1991. Esslemont has
lectured widely in the UK and USA, and his work may be found in private and public collections worldwide. His archive is held at the University of Iowa. He has
been artist-in-residence with the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere, England and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) in Minneapolis. His recent work includes
illustrated editions of Keats’s To Autumn, Wordsworth’s The Prelude, and Barack Obama’s
inaugural address. He now lives on a farm in northeastern Iowa and continues to work as an artist, designer, printer, bookbinder, and publisher. Website at
www.solmentes.com
 |
