The Chester Play

of the Deluge


Illustrated

by David Jones






The Chester Play of the Deluge was printed originally by the Golden Cockerel Press in 1927, and subesquently reprinted by Clover Hill Editions and the Rampant Lions Press in 1977. 'The Chester Play' is considered one of the finest Golden Cockerel Press productions, but Jones had some misgivings about the quality of the woodcuts. The story goes that Jones was very excited at the work he'd done on the wood blocks, but when the book was printed the Press used a heavy handmade paper that needed to be damped before printing. The Press didn't damp the paper, which resulted in under-inked prints in the book. Jones was disappointed. For this reason, the proofs are considered the best examples of the images. The size of most of the prints is roughly 6.5 x 5.75 .

The images of the 10 wood engravings below are courtesy of a private collector.



  

No. 1


Antidiluvian Society





  

No. 2

Preparing to Build





  

No. 3


Building the Ark





  

No. 4


Noah and his Family





  

No. 5


Animals going to the Ark





  

No. 6


Animals boarding





  

No. 7


The Deluge [first image]





  

No. 8


The Deluge [second]





  

No. 9


After the Deluge





  

No. 10


The Oblation of Noe



 


Additional resources:

Booksellers and auction houses offer glimpses on the net of the prints in book form, including the somewhat scarce dustjackets. The book was issued in both orange and pale dustjackets.



left: Bloomsbury Auctions
via liveauctioneers.com
 
Bromer Booksellers

 


far right: www.maggs.com

Bromer Booksellers offers a few additional images of their
Golden Cockerel Press copy (center image) in Catalogue #8.