The latest hand-printed publication from Chad Oness at The Last Press is Two Tales by Ulric Daubeny, ‘The People of the Hidden Room’ and ‘The Other Occupant’, both taken from his very rare collection The Elemental: Tales of the Supernatural and Inexplicable (1919).
This elegant production with a twine-and-button fastening and charming holly leaf decorations, is a wonderfully apt format for the Cotswold antiquarian’s uncanny stories, which reflect his rich imagination and arcane learning.
In a brief foreword, Chad Oness discusses how difficult Daubeny’s book is to find and wonders if it ‘bears a curse of obscurity’. Perhaps, he reflects, reviving the work ‘a little at a time’ might evade the malediction. This finely-crafted edition is of ‘fewer than 65 copies’ in Perpetua types on ‘Velata Wove & Iyo glazed papers’, and is a delight both to handle and to read. There is also a deluxe edition of just 5 copies with marbled papers and a hand-made box.
(Mark Valentine)
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