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4 inform selvedge.org Bias Contributors I am one of the possibly rare peoplewho actually enjoyed wearing the 1970 print dresses my mother chose for my sister and I. Easter Sunday was particularly special – we would put away our winter woollies in favour of white knee high socks and sorbet coloured cardigans; although it was never quite warm enough in my opinion. The relationship between spring and floral prints is indisputable. This issue we bring you the summer frocks of Dries Van Noten, pg 48who understands the link better than most and brings a riot of pattern to enliven your wardrobe. Pattern takes us neatly to the topic of paper. Jocelyn Warner, pg 30explores the links between the two over the last 100 years, from the earliest single sheet wallpapers to the wall stickers of Rachel Kelly. While Christine Woods, pg 28Curator of Wallpaper at the Whitworth Art Gallery looks at the cut and paste decorations of the 1920s and 30s. The stunning paper structures of artist Tara Donovan, pg 20and the subtle shifu paper cloth woven by Hiroko Karuno, pg 24show another side of this versatile material. As does Julie Arkell’s house, pg 41where she surrounds herself with her paper mââchéé creations. Her ‘little people’ bring us to this issue’s ‘alternative’ theme; dolls and thetwo intersect neatly with paper dolls and the delightful escapism of Betsy McCall, pg 78. Dolls are a personal subject; around the world children invest their earliest emotions in treasured toys.My doll Pebbles was a brunette in a pink crocheted dress. She smelt of sugared almonds but despite loving her I still cut her hair to stubble and 'injected’ her with a knitting needle during a stay in ‘hospital’. Now when I play dolls’ house with my daughter I find the miniature world fascinating and repellant in equal measure.Our doll section, pg 65 gathers together the cute, the curious and the occasionally creepy. On a more practical note Selvedge has updated its website to include an index of our back issues, our affiliates page is finally live and we are now able to offer continuous subscriptions and online institutional subscriptions. This issue we also have some beautiful additions to our object range; they would make the perfect Easter treat... Polly Leonard, Editor We asked our contributors for their memories of a special toy... GRAHAM HOLLICK pg 34 My favourite toy was a go-kart that my grandad made for me. It had an upholstered seat, a steering wheel from an old sports car, the body work was moulded plywood, painted red and it had American number plates. It was the envy of our neighbourhood until it mysteri ously disappeared from our front drive never to be seen again... CLAIRE RICHARDSON pg 41 STEPHEN SZCZEPANEK pg 24 Royal de Luxe’s giant marionette of a young girl has to be my most memorable doll to date. Operated by dozens of puppeteers, her performance in London with her friend, the three-storey high mechanised Sultan’s Elephant, will remain one of the most magical and inspirational pieces of street theatre I’ve ever seen. Since childhood I have been fascinated by the American Indian. My favorite toy was “Chief Cherokee”, an articulated, plastic Indian doll, replete with molded buckskin suit and an arsenal of plastic accoutrements, including a war club and long, feathered bonnet. I still have him, in the original, tattered box...

Rebecca Machin Correspondence 5 inform For as long as I can remember my grandmother has been writing a book... about her grandmother, Dollie Radford, who wrote books. I have sat mesmerised by tales of my great great grandparents meeting in the reading room of the British Museum and their movement on the fringes of the Bloomsbury group. I would delight in the names that wove their way into conversation and through her stories she instilled in me an appreciation of not only the written word, but the way it is presented. To me it seems that theirs was an 'age of the artist' and the books on my grandmother's shelves are among the treasures of that era. The craftsmanship – cloth binding, gilt lettering and engraved illustrations – add weight to the writing before you have read a single word. Names such as The Bodley Head, John Lane, T.Fisher Unwin and David Nutt appear regularly as publishers. I am curious to know who the modern day equivalent of these art house publishers are and where one would go to find privately published books? Rebecca Machin ED. Your great great grandmother, Dollie Radford was a poet and part of the vibrant political life of fin-de-sièècle London. Her circle included some of the most celebrated names in turn-of-the-century literature: William Morris, George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, W. B. Yeats and D. H. Lawrence. Private presses flourished at this time, an occurence often traced to the founding of William Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1891. Elkin Mathews was another key figure while his company name The Bodley Head still exists as an imprint of Random House. After a decline in the 1930s and 40s private presses experienced a resurgence in the 50s and today they are described as one of the “best kept secrets of art and craft.” The Fine Press Book Association is ten years old and has a worldwide membership. The Fleece Press, Incline Press and The Alembic Press are a few examples of companies who continue to produce books that are themselves works of art and skill. www.fpba.com selvedge.org

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Rebecca Machin

Correspondence

5

inform

For as long as I can remember my grandmother has been writing a book... about her grandmother, Dollie Radford, who wrote books. I have sat mesmerised by tales of my great great grandparents meeting in the reading room of the British Museum and their movement on the fringes of the Bloomsbury group. I would delight in the names that wove their way into conversation and through her stories she instilled in me an appreciation of not only the written word, but the way it is presented. To me it seems that theirs was an 'age of the artist' and the books on my grandmother's shelves are among the treasures of that era. The craftsmanship – cloth binding, gilt lettering and engraved illustrations – add weight to the writing before you have read a single word. Names such as The Bodley Head, John Lane, T.Fisher Unwin and David Nutt appear regularly as publishers. I am curious to know who the modern day equivalent of these art house publishers are and where one would go to find privately published books? Rebecca Machin

ED. Your great great grandmother, Dollie Radford was a poet and part of the vibrant political life of fin-de-sièècle London. Her circle included some of the most celebrated names in turn-of-the-century literature: William Morris, George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, W. B. Yeats and D. H. Lawrence. Private presses flourished at this time, an occurence often traced to the founding of William Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1891. Elkin Mathews was another key figure while his company name The Bodley Head still exists as an imprint of Random House. After a decline in the 1930s and 40s private presses experienced a resurgence in the 50s and today they are described as one of the “best kept secrets of art and craft.” The Fine Press Book Association is ten years old and has a worldwide membership. The Fleece Press, Incline Press and The Alembic Press are a few examples of companies who continue to produce books that are themselves works of art and skill. www.fpba.com

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