'In the Family'

The names were familiar, where had I heard them before?  And then it came to me - standing there in the 'The Rampant Lions Press' exhibition - 'The World of Interiors'.  November, 1982.  'In the Family'.  Text: Priscilla Boniface, photography: Michael Boys.  An article I have continued to return to over the years, and it still delights me now.   The house in question, owned by The National Trust, was lived in by the Sutcliffes, John and Gabrielle.  He worked for the Trust - and an expert of historical decorative schemes - and Gabrielle a classical musician.  John was the son of the artist Holman Sutcliffe and she the daughter of Will Carter.  In fact the article was published at the time of the original 1982 Rampant Lions Press exhibition at the Fitzwilliam.  I'm not sure what else I can say.  Enjoy.

The Rampant Lions Press at the Fitzwilliam

   The Craxton exhibition was not alone.  By chance the bf and I discovered in the museum shop that there was a retrospective on the work of The Rampant Lion Press.  I suspect that this was more to the bf's liking.  And because I came to it fresh, rather than freighted with preconceptions and the like, it was a serendipitous delight. In a quiet self-effacing, English, sort of way. The gallery itself is a small octagon linking two larger spaces.  There were six glass cases around the room and in the centre a case containing the Kelmscott Press 'Earthly Paradise' and the Clover Hill Editions 'The Story of Cupid and Psyche' (1974).  There had been a previous exhibition of the work of The Rampant Lions Press in 1982 and this current exhibition was a brief survey of the work of the press had undertaken since then.

   The Rampant Lions Press was established between the wars by Will Carter, (1912-2001), a cousin of the designer and illustrator Reynolds Stone.  The press continued until 2008, under Will's son Sebastian who had joined his father in the 1960s.  They produced a series of beautiful books, sometimes experimental, collaborating with a number of writers and illustrated by the likes of John Piper and Michael Ayrton.  I particularly like the use of coloured papers, as above.  The Dante font illustrated below, I find, is singularly beautiful. In addition Will Carter worked with the Cambridge University Press. The exhibition also reminds us that Cambridge has and continues to be an important centre for craft and art production in Britain.

   There are a number of editions still available to buy: www.rampantlionspress.com where you can also read a much fuller history of the press.

   The exhibition continues until May 18th.