Introducing artists

H. A. Fowler followed in the steps of his predecessor Sheldon Cheney. Surely, he also enjoyed mutual friendships with the artists he later commissioned in his Woodcut Society. A window into that relationship can be seen in a November 1907 post entitled "A Visit to Mr. Spenceley's Summer Studio." In this entry, one of the Booklet's contributors (S.A.) travels to Boston, Massachusetts. The recorded experience introduced collectors nation-wide to the then-popular J. Winfred Spenceley.
"A three-mile ride over the hills from the railroad station brings one to the summer studio of Mr. J. W. Spenceley of Boston, who has etched and engraved many notable book-plates during the last dozen years. The cottage is on a hillside, just above the quiet New Hampshire village of Chocorua. In front, Mt. Chocorua's rugged peak, five miles away, rises from above the pine trees with quite a Japanese suggestion: while in the rear, a beautiful valley of rolling meadow land and pine forests, bounded by mountains on either side, stretches into the distance where the silvery expanse of Lake Ossipee is seen."
"Mr. Spenceley was somewhere in the meadow, I was informed; and as I chose to seek him, I found him sitting beneath an apple tree, making studies of a grape vine that climbed over a boulder near by. I explained my quest, and as together we walked back to the cottage, the view over the valley held my admiration. Mr. Spenceley, noticing the direction of my gaze, remarked: "Is it not beautiful? A scholar who has traveled widely in Greece, likens our valley to the Plain of Marathon; but it needs no historic value to heighten its charm."
"We passed through the spacious living-room, where hung water-colors, and prints from the book-plate work of some of the noted engravers, and continuing upstairs, reached the studio. A large dormer window, with a rare old Indian print hanging from the top and down either side, keeping off the sidelights, concentrated its rays on the work-table below. Here was my particular interest."
"What kind of book-plates do you best like to do?" I asked. Mr. Spenceley placed four copper plates before me, each different in design. "You see the variety, but each holds my interest. Perhaps I like landscape plates best, and grace and treatment of the sixth-century French designs appeal to me especially. However, to incorporate artistically the ideas of my clientele, I find it better to use various forms of design rather than to hold to any one style." I glanced again at the copper plates and noting the detail of the work, I involuntarily asked: "How many book-plates have you made, Mr. Spenceley?"
"About two hundred now, I believe," he replied. "Perhaps you would like to see some of my proofs," and upon my assurance that I would he handed me a portfolio, in which I found examples of his book-plate work. After a short while I left, carrying away with me a deep impression of the rare personality of this artist, who believes truly that "Blessed is the man who has found his work." It is small wonder one feels the exquisite harmony in his book-plates, for he is one of Nature's most earnest lovers, and only embodies in his work the happiest and most beautiful aspects of life. As I drove back to the station, I felt a sincere gratitude toward kindly Fortune who had allowed me this intimate contact with a man who portrays with such delicate feeling Nature's happiest moods." S. A.
(above excerpts taken from "The Book-Plate Booklet Volume 1 Number 3" edited by Sheldon Cheney Nov.1906 - Nov. 1907 / Catalog Number R 087 B724 v.1/ Missouri Valley Special Collections)

Comments by Karl Marxhausen: This entry typlifies the connection that collectors could share about a given artist. It was what Fowler would later work hard to bring to the collector. Something only shared by a privileged few. Think of the "limited" edition. The nature of a print is that there are x-number impressions of that particular image. And you, as the collector, were among the few who could enjoy that image at your leisure, because it was in your possession. Print societies were able to keep collectors in "the know" about the "print scene."