Jonny Hannah – Fine Wines and Tricker’s Shoes – Signed Limited-Edition Linocut 11/50 – Cakes & Ale Press – 2012

Description

A bold and highly characteristic original linocut by Jonny Hannah, entitled Fine Wines and Tricker’s Shoes, produced in 2012 through Hannah’s own Cakes & Ale Press.

The print measures 36 × 50.7 cm and was issued in a small edition of only 50 impressions. This example is number 11/50, individually signed and dated 2012 by Jonny Hannah in pencil beneath the image. The lower margin also carries the printed Cakes & Ale Press imprint.

The composition is dominated by Hannah’s hand-cut lettering, arranged in four emphatic bands:

FINE
WINES &
TRICKER’S
SHOES

Each word is treated as an image in its own right. The typography changes from line to line: blue block capitals with dotted decoration, flowing pale-green script, tall red display lettering and broad grey-lilac slab letters. Heavy black rules divide the text into horizontal registers, giving the print the appearance of an old trade sign, shop fascia or hand-printed advertising bill.

The palette is restrained but highly effective, combining blue, pale green, deep red, grey-lilac and black on a warm cream ground. The deliberately irregular cutting, visible print texture and small imperfections are integral to the handmade character of the linocut.

Tricker’s Shoes

The title immediately invokes Tricker’s, the long-established Northampton shoemaker associated with traditional English welted footwear.

That reference gives the print a particularly strong connection with the kind of British commercial and craft culture that repeatedly appears in Hannah’s work: independent shops, specialist trades, old labels, hand-painted signs, makers’ names and the visual language of businesses that have retained a distinctive identity over generations.

The juxtaposition of “Fine Wines” and “Tricker’s Shoes” has the quality of an imagined old-fashioned advertisement or gentleman’s shop sign: two objects of connoisseurship, craftsmanship and distinctly traditional taste brought together through typography.

Rather than illustrating shoes or wine directly, Hannah makes the language itself the subject.

Typography and Linocut

Lettering has always been central to Hannah’s practice, and this print is an especially pure example of that interest.

The linocut process is particularly well suited to his visual language. The letters are not mechanically perfect; their outlines carry the slight irregularities of hand-cut blocks, while the printed surfaces retain areas of texture, small gaps and uneven ink deposition.

These characteristics are not faults but part of the appeal of the medium. They give the work the appearance of vernacular signwriting translated into printmaking.

The changing type styles across the four lines also create a deliberate visual rhythm. FINE has the theatrical appearance of illuminated display lettering; WINES & has a softer, more decorative character; TRICKER’S is tall and emphatic; and SHOES finishes the design with broad, substantial block letters.

Cakes & Ale Press

The lower margin carries the Cakes & Ale Press imprint.

Cakes & Ale Press is Hannah’s own printmaking and publishing imprint, through which he has produced limited-edition screenprints, linocuts, posters, artist’s books and other printed material.

The imprint is particularly appropriate here because the print has the character of an invented trade advertisement — exactly the kind of boundary between commercial graphics, folk art and fine-art printmaking that Hannah repeatedly explores.

Edition

This example is:

11/50

from an edition of only 50 impressions.

The small edition, original pencil signature and date, and hand-printed nature of the linocut give the work considerably more collector interest than a later decorative reproduction or poster.

Artist

Jonny Hannah is a British illustrator, painter and printmaker whose work draws heavily on hand lettering, traditional signwriting, popular graphics, folk art, jazz, maritime imagery, commercial ephemera and imagined businesses.

His prints often celebrate the visual culture of everyday life — shop signs, old advertisements, makers’ names, trade graphics and objects that acquire character through use and history.

Fine Wines and Tricker’s Shoes is therefore a particularly representative work: witty, typographic, commercial-looking and unmistakably handmade.

Condition

Very good to excellent condition overall.

The colours remain strong and well balanced, with good definition throughout the lettering.

The characteristic irregularities, slight ink variation and small areas of incomplete coverage are consistent with the linocut printing process and form part of the handmade appearance of the work.

There is only very minor creasing.

The pencil signature, 2012 date and edition number 11/50 remain clear and legible.

Please study the photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the description.

Artist: Jonny Hannah
Title: Fine Wines and Tricker’s Shoes
Date: 2012
Medium: Original colour linocut
Publisher: Cakes & Ale Press
Edition: 11/50
Signed: Yes, in pencil
Dated: 2012 in pencil
Size: 36 × 50.7 cm
Format: Original limited-edition linocut
Unframed: Yes
Modern reproduction: No

Authenticity

This print has been handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at Hornseys.

The pencil signature, date, edition number and printed Cakes & Ale Press imprint are all present and clearly visible.

It is an original signed and numbered linocut from an edition of only 50, not a later reproduction.

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EXPLORE OUR JONNY HANNAH COLLECTION

Explore our evolving collection of Jonny Hannah original paintings, signed and limited-edition prints, illustrated books and related artworks. His distinctive imagery, hand lettering and narrative style draw upon music, maritime culture, vintage advertising, folk art, popular entertainment and the visual character of British towns and seaside communities.

Whether you are an established collector, an admirer of contemporary British illustration or searching for an unusual and memorable gift, our collection offers the opportunity to acquire carefully selected examples of Jonny Hannah’s work.

Established in 1976 and based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, Hornseys is an independent gallery and bookseller specialising in original art, prints, design, collectable books and historic material. Every item is handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at our Ripon gallery.