Artists' Commissions

Peter Dodd's 'Famous Writers' Mural. In brief, this is a huge (38' x 16') mural comprising almost forty life-size characters - specifically, famous writers in the English language from 1800 on. The mural was painted by a brilliant local artist, Peter Dodd. Two years in the execution, it must surely rank as one of the outstanding works of its kind not just in Britain but anywhere. To see the mural in detail, please click onto the mural link on our Home Page.

 

Harry Brockway's engraving of the Station front:Harry Brockway is one of Britain's foremost artists whose engravings, alone, have graced the works of such diverse writers as the Brontes, Mark Twain, Dostoyevsky, Andrew Marvell, and John Prebble. Brockway's engraving of our Station front, which combines a sure technique with a witty flourish, has had, for us, a wonderful multipurpose use (for two of them, please click onto our Smallish Gift Shop link on our Home Page). Harry Brockway can be reached through the Society of Wood Engravers.

Charles Moore's watercolour: This watercolour shows the bookshop exterior from the vantagepoint of the bottom of the curly path leading up to it. It was painted by my brother, an amateur artist of great flair and charm - and both Stuart and I loved it on sight. So much so that we have used this little watercolour for many purposes (shop leaflets, cards, etc) but most notably on the Home Page of our website.

 

William Pym's hanging lamp. A sculptor working primarily in metal, Pym has made his name here (and, increasingly, throughout the rest of Britain) through the large number of commissions, both public and private, that have come his way. Our commission, a large hanging lamp made especially for the old Station Waiting Room, combines both the sculptural and the practical. The wrought iron lamp beautifully combines a railway motif with a literary one. In the first instance (the railway motif), railway tracks fan out from a central 'station' (Barter Books) in a rose window-like pattern. In the second instance (the literary motif), each track (or branchline) ends up at mythical stations - Camelot, Shangri-La, Dixieland, Toy Town, Arcadia, Bali Hai, El Dorado, Xanadu - with each station interpreted in architectural terms appropriate to the subject.

Decorative firescreen by Priscilla Day

Barter Books tall mug by Chris Donald