NaboMorado

It's Fine Press Friday!

This 1967 edition of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is graced with the seven distinctive illustrations by Italian American designer, printer, illustrator, and printmaker Valenti Angelo (1897-1982). Printed in San Francisco by Grabhorn-Hoyem for the small-press publisher Lewis Osborne in an edition of 375 copies, it was designed by Sherwood Grover (1910-1986) using Poliphilus and Blado types handset by Katherine Grover (1911-1978), and printed on mould-made Cream Laid Medium paper by W. S. Hodgkinson of Wookey Hole, England. The binding for the edition is by Schuberth Bookbindery in San Francisco.

The Grovers were longtime employees of the Grabhorn Press, the iconic San Francisco printing house,founded by brothers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, that ran from 1920-1965. The Grovers also founded the Grace Hoper Press in the 1950s and used the Grabhorn facilities to produce their editions. In many ways, this publication could be considered a Grace Hoper production. When Edwin Grabhorn (1889-1968) retired in 1965, his brother Robert (1900-1973) formed Grabhorn-Hoyem in 1966 with Andrew Hoyem (b. 1935) of the Auerhahn Press. After Robert's death, Hoyem transformed the business into the Arion Press, which continues to publish fine-press books today, keeping the Grabhorn legacy alive for over 100 years.

Valenti Angelo created decorations and illustrations for over 225 books over his long career. He produced his first work for the Grabhorn Press in 1926 and became one of their principle illustrators for over 40 years, decorating and illustrating 45 publications for Grabhorn and Grabhorn-Hoyem.

Our copy of this publication is another donation from our late friend Jerry Buff (1931-2025).

View other posts with work by Valenti Angelo.

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