In the annals of etching and fine press books, Bernhardt Wall (1872-1956) is acknowledged as a pioneer, and his work is unique in the art of the book. He acknowledged his debt to Dard Hunter, the master handcraft printer and bookmaker who resided near Wall in Lime Rock, Connecticut. Like Hunter, Wall oversaw every aspect of his books: "Wall wrote and illustrated his books, designed them, etched the plates, printed and signed each etching, then cut, folded, gathered, sewed, bound, lettered, and labeled them" (Lowman, Printing Arts in Texas). Lowman and others have compared Wall’s etched books to those of William Blake. Will Ransom (Selective Check Lists of Press Books) describes Wall’s work as follows: "A series of publications produced by a method very rare in bookmaking; instead of the usual letterpress, each page is printed by hand from an etched plate, including text as well as illustrations." Wall lived and worked in New York, Connecticut, Texas, and California.
Wall’s work has a wide appeal, and the array of subjects he addressed through his art is remarkable. The breadth of Wall’s own interests makes his art fascinating to people of all ages, persuasions, and classes. One of Wall’s primary concerns was American history and its heroes. He devoted nearly a hundred individual volumes to Lincoln alone, and in his work we glimpse the lives of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Robert E. Lee, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Lafayette, and many, many others. His interests also carried him into the field of literature, with etchings about Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, and many others. We also find documentation of military history and heroes, musicians, artists, actors, sports figures, scientists, religious figures, and, very often, the common man and the little glories of every day life. For more on Wall see Msgr. Francis J. Weber's Following Bernhardt Wall (Austin: Book Club of Texas, 1994). We have in process a catalogue raisonné listing all of Wall's etchings. We are pleased to offer a good selection of Wall's etched books and miniatures, as follows:
Etched Books
123. WALL, Bernhardt. Following Abraham Lincoln,
1809–1865. Lime Rock, [1946]. 535 etchings, 531 signed
by Wall + 2 pp. (typescript). 4to, original hand-bound full red
levant morocco gilt, spine gilt with raised bands, inner gilt
dentelles. Maroon cloth slipcase. Other than light wear to spine
and extremities, an excellent copy. Color photograph of Wall
tipped onto a preliminary leaf. Wall's typed signed foreword to
subscribers bound in at front. The most desirable copy. Wall's
own retained Copy No. 1 of his most important work.
Limited edition,
large paper issue (#1 of 6 signed copies). In his foreword,
Wall states: "In early November of 1942 we moved to California,
taking with us a thousand copper plates with etchings thereon...
And then our idle hands began assembling the pages of
Following Abraham Lincoln into a chronological sequence
and readable as any other biography... In 1946 we brought out the
534 pages bound into one volume weighing nearly eleven pounds by
the scales. This big volume is one of the biggest tomes on
Lincoln." Weber, p. 44: "In 1946, the etcher issued a single
chronological volume comprising all or at least most of the
etchings that had been issued in eighty-five volumes between 1931
and 1942." This one-volume edition contains three plates which
are not present in the 85 parts issue. ($15,000-25,000)
124. WALL, Bernhardt. Following Andrew Jackson
1767–1845. Lime Rock, 1937. 46 etchings (plus cover
etching and etcher's slip), 40 signed by Wall. Small 4to,
original hand-bound grey cloth over plain grey boards, etching on
upper cover. Dust jacket with etched spine label. Very fine.
Preserved in original boards slipcase.
Limited edition
(#17 of 200 signed copies). Weber, p. 43: "The plates for this
book were etched at Houston and printed and bound at Lime
Rock.... This book was also printed in Texas." ($2,000-3,000)
125. WALL, Bernhardt. Following Fra Junipero Serra
and Others. Sierra Madre, 1943. 40 etchings, 25 signed by
Wall. Small 4to, disbound and preserved in acid-free mylar
envelopes. Small library ink stamp on title-page. The plates are
very fine. Lacking plate of Mission San Fernando de Espana. Laid
in is a Xerox of 2-page letter from Wall dated April 1943
relating progress on the Serra book, visiting Markham's grave,
U.S. role in international affairs, etc
Limited edition
(#19 of 200 signed copies). ($1,000-2,000)
126. [WALL, Bernhardt (etcher)]. GLEASON, J. Duncan.
"Windjammers." [Fullerton, 1973]. 18 leaves (15 etchings,
each printed on heavy paper stock and mounted onto a leaf of the
book). Small folio, within clamshell binding of navy blue cloth
over printed blue cloth-covered boards, blue printed spine label.
Laid in are certification leaf, original pencil sketch by Gleason
of a ship under full sail, and an additional etching of "The
Crossing of the Ways." Signed on colophon page by designer.
Limited edition
(#10 of 25 numbered copies). The etchings were executed by
Gallery Easel, Rancho Santa Fe, California. Wall created the
etched text for Gleason's illustrations. ($700-900)
127. WALL, Bernhardt. Following General Sam Houston 1793–1863. Lime Rock, [ca. 1937]. 73 etchings. Small folio, original three-quarter navy blue leather over light blue cloth-covered boards, gilt lettering on upper cover. Spine worn with small strip missing near foot of spine, otherwise fine. Front free endpaper with gift inscription from Fred Buford to his former teacher Ernest Langford dated 1958. ($1,200-2,400)
128. WALL, Bernhardt. Following Thomas Jefferson
1743–1826. Lime Rock, [1933–38]. 12 parts in 3
vols.: 167 etchings (90 signed by Wall). The first volume (4to,
contemporary green morocco) consists of parts 1 through 10, and
the second and third volumes contain parts 11 and 12 (4to,
original grey cloth over plain boards, etchings on upper covers).
Parts 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9 have presentation leaves inscribed from
Bernhardt Wall to Hon. Claude E. Bowers (dedicatee of Part 3).
Fine.
Limited
edition (#10 of 100 signed copies). The limitation copy
number of the repeated Part 10 and Part 12 is "Personal" in
Wall's handwriting. ($3,000-5,000)
129. WALL, Bernhardt. One Midnight with
Roosevelt. New York City, 1922. 18 etchings (plus cover
label). 4to, original hand-bound black cloth over mottled teal
paper-covered boards, etched label on cover. Head of spine
chipped, minor shelf wear, cover label rubbed, interior very
fine, with Wall's manuscript note at front: "Etched Printed Bound
by Bernhardt Wall."
Limited edition
(#29 of 250 signed copies). ($300-500)
130. WALL, Bernhardt. Wall's Etched Monthly. 5
issues: January, February, March, April & September, 1921. 75
etchings. 5 vols., 4to, original wrappers with etched label on
upper covers. Some chipping to fragile wrappers, but overall very
good to very fine, all etchings in excellent condition. Some
presentation copies, etcher's own copies, or association copies.
Limited
editions. More than any other of Wall's works, his
periodicals give an overall flavor of the variety of his
artistry, with portraits of the famous (including Gauguin,
Whitman, and Twain), a few of Wall's etched-on-the-spot scenes
that are so full of life, etched poetry, scenes from his sojourn
in New York, abroad, and the West (e.g., a Wyoming cowboy with
his horse, and one of a Native American by his fellow artist,
Couse). All issues are rare. ($900-1,800)
131. [WALL, Bernhardt (etcher)]. LINCOLN, Abraham.
The Gettysburg Speech. New York, 1924. 24 etchings. Small
4to, original hand-bound grey cloth over plain grey boards with
original cancelled copper plates inset inside of covers, etching
on upper cover. Light marginal browning (more noticeable on
boards, only slightly affecting blank margin of etchings).
Original d.j. (worn and tape repairs) with Wall's manuscript
title on spine (incorrectly citing this copy as No. 9 rather than
No. 8).
Limited
edition (#8 of 11 signed copies with two original cancelled
copper plates: (1) Dead on the battlefield, (2)
struggled here, have consecrated it...). Occasionally Wall
created special copies like this one, and they are among the most
difficult of Wall's works to acquire. The presence of Wall's
original plates, plus the fact that the piece relates to Lincoln,
make this a most desirable collector's item. For those seeking
unusual additions to add to their Grolier American Hundred
holdings, this is an excellent choice. ($1,200-2,400)
132. [WALL, Bernhardt (etcher)]. MARKHAM, Edwin.
Lincoln: The Man of the People. New York, 1922. 16
etchings, one signed by Wall. 4to, original hand-bound light
slate blue wrappers with Wall's calligraphic title on upper
cover. Other than slight discoloration to wrappers, very
fine.
A large
paper reissue of Wall's Markham-Lincoln book, with added etchings
dated as late as 1947. ($600-800)
Etched Miniature Books
In 1946 Wall began etching in miniature format. Wall's miniature books are rare and sought-after prizes in the fields of miniature books and fine press books. The miniature etchings were published in fifteen titles, including a miniature periodical (one issue of which is offered below, in the rare etched wrappers).
133. WALL, Bernhardt. Abraham Lincoln: A
Chronology. Sierra Madre, 1946. Miniature book. 36 miniature
etchings (plus cover label and etcher's slip). Original
hand-bound green paper covered boards, etched label on upper
cover. Corners lightly bumped, lower hinge broken, interior and
etchings fine.
Limited edition (#36 of 200 signed copies). ($700-900)
134. WALL, Bernhardt. The Californian Missions.
Sierra Madre, 1947. Miniature book. 33 miniature etchings.
Original hand-bound red paper-covered boards. Front pastedown
loose, front free endpaper missing, several leaves detached,
slight shelf wear to extremities, etchings very fine.
Limited edition
(#77 of a signed "numbered unlimited edition"). ($800-1,200)
135. WALL, Bernhardt. The Etcht Miniature Monthly
Magazine. Sierra Madre, August 1948. Miniature periodical. 34
miniature etchings. Original hand-bound sienna paper wrappers
with title etched on upper wrapper and spine. Very fine.
Limited edition
(#5 of 60 signed copies). Weber, Following Bernhardt Wall
(Book Club of Texas, 1994): "Bernhardt Wall’s Etcht
Miniature Monthly Magazine stands majestically alone in the
world of printed media. Its uniqueness comes not from its being a
publication about miniature books, but from its being a miniature
itself.... It remains the only miniature monthly publication ever
recorded." ($600-800)
136. WALL, Bernhardt. Gen. Robert E. Lee. Sierra
Madre, 1949. Miniature book. 36 miniature etchings (plus cover
label). Original hand-bound green paper-covered boards, etched
label on upper cover. Very fine.
Limited edition
(#2 of 100 signed copies). ($800-1,200)
137. WALL, Bernhardt. A Lincoln Reprimand.
[Sierra Madre], 1950. Miniature book. 20 miniature etchings (plus
cover label). Original hand-bound red paper-covered boards,
etched label on upper cover. Very fine.
Limited edition
(100 signed copies, "Trial Copy No. One"). ($400-600)
138. WALL, Bernhardt. Lincoln's Gettysburg
Speech. Sierra Madre, 1946. Miniature book. 34 miniature
etchings (plus cover label and etcher's slip). Original
hand-bound green paper-covered boards, etched label on upper
cover. Light shelf wear, otherwise very fine, with 3-cent
Lincoln commemorative postage stamp on front pastedown.
Limited edition
(#24 of 200 signed copies). A Grolier American Hundred
title. Here is an unusual edition of that most noble
oration to enrich a collection. ($500-700)