The Ancient Glass of Canterbury Cathedral

Rackham, Bernard

Published by Lund Humphries and Company Limited for the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, London, 1949

About this Item

Blue buckram boards with lightly-bevelled edges. Gilt lettering on spine and shield on front cover. xv + 194 pp. with bw frontis, 20/21 color plates (frontis is listed as a color plate, but it is not in color), and 80 monochrome plates. Some pages deckle-edged, some glossy, and color plates are on taupe backgrounds. A bit heavy at 7 pounds and will require extra postage. Includes a foreword by the Late Archbishop Lord Lang of Lambeth. "In his admirable text Mr. Rackham traces with clarity the history of the glass of many different periods still surviving in the Cathedral, and discusses and describes in detail its treasures in this kind dating from the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. In the earlier Canterbury windows Mr. Rackham notices the vitality of pose and lively linear quality of the figuresâ "characteristics which persist in English graphic art throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuriesâ "in contrast with ' the almost classical restraint . . . to be observed in the figures at St. Remi and Chartres.' Mr. Rackham, writing about the early thirteenth-century " Miracle" windows, comments upon their interest, as illustrations of contemporary life. In this respect they may be regarded as an earlier and most valuable equivalent, in another medium, of the famous Luttrell Psalter ; although they are far less naturalistic in treatment than the miniatures in that manuscript They are the less easily appreciated from this point of view. The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, who have sponsored this volume, are to be congratulated on their vision and generosity; for it is a very great contribution to the history of English mediaeval art." E. W. TRISTRAM, writing in The Spectator, 2 December 1949, page 24. VG internally, clean, bright and tight. Rich, vibrant color plates. Covers a bit rubbed at edges. Art school uncirculated ex-lib. copy with stamp on publication page, back pocket/bar code, and faint page edge stamping. Small label stating, "Boston Book and Art Shop INc., Boston, Massachusetts," pasted at bottom of title page. Seller Inventory # 157802

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Ancient Glass of Canterbury Cathedral

Publisher: Lund Humphries and Company Limited for the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, London

Publication Date: 1949

Binding: Hardcover