Two Scrap Albums: 1- A scrap album with over 200 pages, containing over 500

tipped-in 19th. Century cuttings. Leather binding, worn and torn. With Edward Bawden's bookplate to front pastedown. Housed in a fold over marbled card cover with ties; 2- A scrap album with 85 pages containing 170 tipped-in cuttings of illustrations by Charles Keene (1861-63) and John E. Millais (1860-64), each with a handwritten caption giving the Artist, Date, & where taken from (Cornhill magazine, Once a week, Good Words, London Society & the Argosy). 4to. Accounts book. (2)

Provenance:

Edward Bawden (1903-1989).

Great Bardfield became home to a remarkable community of mid-20th-century artists, with Bawden one of its most influential figures. Born in 1903 in Braintree, Essex, Bawden studied at the Royal College of Art, where he formed a lifelong friendship with fellow artist Eric Ravilious. He became widely known for his distinctive work as a printmaker, illustrator, muralist, and designer.

Moving to Great Bardfield in the 1930s, Bawden helped shape the village’s artistic identity. His linocuts, watercolours, and commercial designs for companies like London Transport and Fortnum & Mason showcased his sharp wit, clean lines, and masterful sense of pattern. During the Second World War, he served as an official war artist, producing memorable images from North Africa, the Middle East, and Italy.

After the war, Bawden continued to work prolifically, teaching at the Royal College of Art and exhibiting widely. His later years were marked by renewed creativity, especially in large-scale linocuts that remain some of his best-loved works. He lived in Great Bardfield for over forty years before relocating to Saffron Walden, where he died in 1989.

Together with Eric Ravilious he is now recognised as one of the most important and influential of mid-20th-century British artists, championed by Sworders and the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden.

This library was compiled and used by Edward and has remained in the family since then, much of it passing to his son, fellow artist Richard Bawden, and his granddaughter, and a selection now comes to us for sale.