Ashendene Press

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St. Francis of Assisi, I fioretti del glorioso poverello di Christo, printed by the Ashendene Press, 1922.

Ashendene Press was a small private press founded by C.H. St. John Hornby (1867-1946). It operated from 1895 to 1915 in Chelsea, England, and was revived after the war in 1920. The press closed in 1935.

Most Ashendene editions used one of two trademark fonts: Subiaco, which was based on a 15th century Italian type made by Sweynheim and Pannartz in Subiaco, Italy, and to a lesser extent Ptolemy. Some Ashendene books, such as the St. Francis of Assisi book shown here, were illustrated with woodcuts; others were printed solely using type, in the early Italian style.