England and the Octopus Clough Williams-Ellis 1975 Illustrated
Title & Bibliographic Details
England and the Octopus
By Clough Williams-EllisPortmeirion, Penrhyndeudraeth: Golden Dragon Books, 1975. New Edition.
This 1975 edition presents the original 1928 text together with a new preface by Clough Williams-Ellis, a contemporary introduction by the distinguished American architectural and urban historian Lewis Mumford, and the original epilogue by Sir Patrick Abercrombie.
The title page explicitly describes the volume as the original 1928 book with Abercrombie's epilogue, Williams-Ellis's new preface and Mumford's contemporary introduction. It was first published by Geoffrey Bles in 1928, with a reprint following in 1929. This 1975 volume is therefore not a first edition, but an important later edition which substantially contextualises the original work.
Printed in Great Britain by Robert MacLehose and Company Limited, Printers to the University of Glasgow.
Historical & Bibliographic Context
England and the Octopus is a distinctive early twentieth-century work addressing uncontrolled urban development, suburban expansion and the degradation of the English landscape.
First published in 1928, Williams-Ellis's impassioned response to ribbon development, roadside clutter, speculative building and London's outward expansion used the "Octopus" as a metaphor for the growing urban organism consuming the countryside. The book became an important work in British conservation and planning and is associated with the developing environmental movement.
This 1975 New Edition is particularly interesting for its retrospective perspective. Lewis Mumford's introduction places the original work within the wider history of environmental and architectural criticism, while Williams-Ellis's new preface reflects on his arguments nearly fifty years after their first publication.
The edition also retains Sir Patrick Abercrombie's epilogue. Abercrombie's importance to British town planning adds further interest for collectors of architecture, conservation, landscape history, town planning and environmental thought.
About the Author
Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis (1883–1978) was an architect, writer and campaigner for the preservation of the countryside. He is best remembered as the creator of Portmeirion Village in North Wales, which he developed from 1925 onwards. He was also a founding member of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, established in 1926, and campaigned throughout his life on questions of architecture, landscape and conservation.
The 1975 preface is especially personal, describing the original book as the work of an "angry young man" and reflecting on the changes, and continuing problems, he had witnessed during the intervening decades.
About the Illustrator
The frontispiece is signed Fougasse, the celebrated pseudonym of British cartoonist Cyril Kenneth Bird (1887–1965). Bird was closely associated with Punch, becoming its Art Editor in 1937 and Editor in 1949. His distinctive, economical cartoon style later became internationally recognisable through the Second World War "Careless Talk Costs Lives" campaign.
The frontispiece contains two humorous illustrations concerning the preservation of the countryside, accompanied by captions referring to 1914 and 1919. Its inclusion is particularly appropriate to Williams-Ellis's theme and provides an attractive visual element to the volume.
Binding & Exterior Description
Publisher's light cloth-covered boards with a gilt facsimile signature to the front board and gilt lettering to the spine. The binding is intact, robust and secure, with only light general wear and a few small or faint marks.
The book retains its original unclipped dust jacket, with the original £4.00 net price printed to the inner flap. The jacket is green with white lettering and an illustration to the front, while the rear features a photograph of Williams-Ellis taken by Bruno de Hamet during the author's 90th birthday celebrations in 1973.
The dust jacket is in Good condition, remaining intact with light wear, small marks and minor edge creasing. It is particularly desirable to have the original jacket present and unclipped.
Interior Condition
The pages are generally neat, clean and uncreased, with toned paper and only occasional small or light marks which do not affect the text. There is no writing, underlining or annotation, and no previous owner's inscription or bookplate.
The page edges show light foxing when the closed volume is viewed from above, but the foxing does not extend noticeably into the text pages.
The binding remains secure and tight, with the pages firmly held. No loose or missing pages have been identified, and the volume is complete as inspected.
There is one interesting production fault on page 148, where a small sequence of letters is repeated diagonally across the page. This is clearly a printing error rather than subsequent damage or annotation and is noted here for completeness.
Physical Details
Pagination: xvi + 188 pages
Dimensions: approximately 21.2 × 14.2 × 2 cm
Weight: approximately 413 grams
Format: Octavo
Contents
The volume includes Lewis Mumford's Introduction, Williams-Ellis's 1975 Preface and the original 1928 Foreword, followed by twelve chapters addressing urban development, conservation, architecture, planning, politics and the preservation of historic buildings.
The volume concludes with a Devil's Dictionary and an Epilogue by Patrick Abercrombie.