FLEMING, Ian. Printing and the Mind of Man [with] Printing and Democracy.

FLEMING, Ian. Printing and the Mind of Man [with] Printing and Democracy. London: Messrs F.W. Bridges [and] The Monotype Corporation Ltd. 1963, 1964.

8vo. 2 vols. Original paper wrappers; pp. 126, [ii], 62, photographic plates; 30, 8 plates; both very good.
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First editions. Both scarce. The first of these volumes is the official catalogue for the Printing and the Mind of Man exhbition held jointly by the British Museum and Earls Court in July 1963 recording the development of printing with movable type in the Western world. The exhibitions included both printing machinery and examples of fine printing from across the centuries. One of the donors to the exhibition was Ian Fleming, who had around forty books on display. As a result of this exhibition he was inspired to work with John Carter, one of the curators of the exhibition, on the bibliography Printing and the Mind of Man, which came out in 1967 and aimed to tell the story of the progress of human thought through the medium of print. His collection is now held by the Lilly Library at Indiana University Bloomington, and the bibliography is acknowledged as a classic.
The second volume, Robert Birley's elegant piece on printing as a vehicle for democratic thought, is the text of a paper given at the Royal Institution in July 1963 as part of the Printing and the Mind of Man exhibition.
Provenance: title pages with the signature of John Gilbert, Fleming's bibliographer.

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