Stanbrook Abbey Press - Patriarch Tree
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1Constantinopolitan
Sorion asked me to post some pictures of Raïssa Maritain's bilingual book of poetry, Arbre Patriarche/Patriarch Tree and here they are.
It should perhaps be worth noting what a remarkable couple Raïssa & Jacques Maritain were. A couple who met, while studying philosophy at the Sorbonne. Jacques Maritain became a leading Catholic intellectual and Raïssa a respected Catholic thinker and poet. In some ways they prefigure that archetypal French literary/philosopical duo Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
The 1970 edition of the history of the press, tells us: "Jan Van Krimpen...had forged a link with the Abbey of Hautecombe in Savoy to be strengthened by a further contact in the production of Patriarch Tree (1965), a collection of thirty poems by Raïssa Maritain. One of the nuns, fascinated by the originals, had translated a number of poems by the late Russian-Jewish wife of Jacques Maritain. The Press therefore sought M. Maritain's permission to publish some of these translations together with the originals in French. M. Maritain readily agreed and suggested that Mr Robert Speaight might be prepared to contribute a preface. This he consented to do, and in order to make the book bilingual throughout his preface was translated into French by Van Krimpen’s great friend Dom Antoine Dumas of Hautecombe. The production of thirty poems under the title Arbre Patriarche-Patriarch Tree was subject to delay of all kinds, but it eventually appeared in December 1965.
The following autumn it was exhibited by the National Book League at Frankfurt Book Fair. Two languages create new typographical problems which have to be resolved each in its own way. The typeface chosen for the quarto format is Romanée: 16 point for the poems and 14 point for the preface. The austere serenity of Van Krimpen’s last italics suits to perfection Raïssa’s philosophical and contemplative poetry. The “tree” motif of the title is reproduced in two small devices blocked on the binding of the twenty specials, and in the patterned paper from the Takumi artists of Tokyo used for the binding of the 500 ordinaries. A new departure is the addition of thirty sets of unbound sheets for special binding in the Stanbrook Bindery."
A poor slipcase.
It should perhaps be worth noting what a remarkable couple Raïssa & Jacques Maritain were. A couple who met, while studying philosophy at the Sorbonne. Jacques Maritain became a leading Catholic intellectual and Raïssa a respected Catholic thinker and poet. In some ways they prefigure that archetypal French literary/philosopical duo Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
The 1970 edition of the history of the press, tells us: "Jan Van Krimpen...had forged a link with the Abbey of Hautecombe in Savoy to be strengthened by a further contact in the production of Patriarch Tree (1965), a collection of thirty poems by Raïssa Maritain. One of the nuns, fascinated by the originals, had translated a number of poems by the late Russian-Jewish wife of Jacques Maritain. The Press therefore sought M. Maritain's permission to publish some of these translations together with the originals in French. M. Maritain readily agreed and suggested that Mr Robert Speaight might be prepared to contribute a preface. This he consented to do, and in order to make the book bilingual throughout his preface was translated into French by Van Krimpen’s great friend Dom Antoine Dumas of Hautecombe. The production of thirty poems under the title Arbre Patriarche-Patriarch Tree was subject to delay of all kinds, but it eventually appeared in December 1965.
The following autumn it was exhibited by the National Book League at Frankfurt Book Fair. Two languages create new typographical problems which have to be resolved each in its own way. The typeface chosen for the quarto format is Romanée: 16 point for the poems and 14 point for the preface. The austere serenity of Van Krimpen’s last italics suits to perfection Raïssa’s philosophical and contemplative poetry. The “tree” motif of the title is reproduced in two small devices blocked on the binding of the twenty specials, and in the patterned paper from the Takumi artists of Tokyo used for the binding of the 500 ordinaries. A new departure is the addition of thirty sets of unbound sheets for special binding in the Stanbrook Bindery."
A poor slipcase.
2ultrarightist
Very nice
3Sorion
Love it! Those nuns did amazing work. I wonder if the pope ever looked at his copy or if it went in the papal archives never to be opened?
Thanks so much for posting!
Thanks so much for posting!
5DenimDan
Thanks for this! I have a copy in a different binding.
I'm an avid Stanbrook Abbey collector, and their use of van Krimpen's faces is consistently amazing. The work they did with his Cancelleresca Bastarda is especially nice: Path to Peace, The Lisping Goddess, and several Christmas announcements.
I'm an avid Stanbrook Abbey collector, and their use of van Krimpen's faces is consistently amazing. The work they did with his Cancelleresca Bastarda is especially nice: Path to Peace, The Lisping Goddess, and several Christmas announcements.
