The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers

Artist George G. Booth (American, 1884-1949)

Date1901

Dimensionsbook: 11 1/8 x 8 7/8 x 1 in. (283 x 225 x 26mm)
page (untrimmed): 10 15/16 x 8 9/16 in. (278 x 218mm)

MediumOriginal prints: wood engravings (incl. 2 after drawings by DeVoss W. Driscoll) Text: letterpress (typeface: Satanick) Paper: cream laid

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineMrs. George W. Stevens Fund

Object number

1993.58

Not on View

Label TextThe English Arts & Crafts movement, with its advocacy for craft and its belief in the power of design to elevate society, had an important influence on many craft schools in Europe and America. Metalworker and publisher of the Evening News (later The Detroit News) George Gough Booth was a great admirer of William Morris, the movement’s founder (see a book by Morris nearby). Subscribing to Morris’ belief that reforming arts education was essential for the progress of art and design and societal advancement, Booth established the Detroit Society of Arts & Crafts in 1906, followed by the Cranbrook Educational Community. Booth had previously established the Cranbrook Press, which published books in the Arts & Crafts style. The Cranbrook Press book displayed here contains a collection of sayings originally compiled in Arabic and later translated into French and English. It was first printed in English in 1477 by William Caxton. Celebrating this history, Booth’s edition portrays Caxton examining the first proof (left) and Caxton presenting the volume to King Edward IV of England (right).Published Referencescf. Clark, Robert Judson, The Arts and Crafts Movement in America, Princeton, New Jersey, 1972, no. 143. cf. Arts and Crafts in Detroit, 1906--1976: The Movement, the Society, the School, Detroit, 1976, no. 2.