Brangwyn, Frank, & Shaw Sparrow, Walter
A book of bridges.
London, John Lane The Bodley Head 1915.
Full Description
4to. xiv + 415 + (1)pp, (36) colour plates, (36) woodcut text ills. Publisher’s pictorial cloth, the upper cover a little worn. A copy sent for review, with “review copy” blindstamp at top right hand corner of title leaf. Early twentieth century ink ownership inscription of “Gundry, Staines”, and ink presentation inscription to “Eric” dated 9 July 1934. In good internal condition. Brian Housden’s copy.
A substantial volume, notable for its colour plates, mostly reproduced from watercolours by Brangwyn, and for its powerful woodcut text illustrations, all provided by Brangwyn. The book’s date of publication – Shaw Sparrow’s preface is dated November 1914 – gave it unexpected relevance, for many of the bridges depicted are in France or elsewhere on the continent of Europe, and they add a note of romance to the river crossings which the combatant armies in the 1914-1918 war might be expected to undertake.