Books in the Blood

In 2002 my father Anthony Rota published his memoirs, Books in the Blood, published by the Private Libraries Association in the UK and Oak Knoll Press in America. The book sold well and received excellent reviews. This is a copy specially bound for a Designer Bookbinder Competition (see below) by Marianne Harwood, which we could not resist buying from her. We are proud to have it at the centre of our mantelpiece in the middle of a bound set of our catalogues (from number one issued in 1923) to the present day.

The letters “o” in the words “Books and “Blood” on the spine are set at an angle and as can be seen appear on the covers as a flow of blood cells. We thought it was inspired and perhaps all the better for not being immediately obvious. The binding shows all of Marianne’s usual precision and skill - the image below does not really do it justice.