Decorated by Vanessa Bell
Hogarth Press, 1927. Copy 47/500



French-style fine binding with laced-in boards. Bound in sky blue buffalo skin with back-pared onlays in handmade papers in two shades of blue, chartreuse, two shades of orange, natural, deep purple and mauve plus pale pink buffalo skin, pale yellow calfskin and hand-dyed goatskin. Onlays are embellished with cotton embroidery floss. Leather wrapped endbands in ochre with bands of pink, blush and pale pink threads. Text sewn on stubs of lilac paper. Marbled island paste downs with onlays in mocha brown handmade paper and hand-dyed goatskin. Sky blue buffalo skin hinges. Handmade paper flyleaves and endpapers in two shades of yellow.

Book is housed in a clamshell box covered in sky blue buffalo skin and light blue Stonehenge paper. Leather spine embroidered with author’s name in pale pink cotton floss. Trays covered in pale yellow handmade paper and lined with light grey Novasuede.

26cm x 21.3cm x 1.6cm – Completed in 2023



The design for Kew Gardens is a celebration of the expressive brush strokes found in Vanessa Bell’s illustrations. Various elements of Bell’s illustrations are pulled from the text and recreated on the cover and paste downs through the use of onlays and embroidery. The warm and bright palette of the binding sets the scene for a stroll through the park on a lovely, sunny day.