Photograph: Jill Kennington
The painter, publisher and politician the world knows as Brian Cook Batsford was actually born Brian Cook on December 18, 1910. It wasn’t until 1946, at the urging of his uncle, Harry, that Cook changed his last name to Batsford, as part of an arrangement in which he was to become Chairman of the family publishing firm, B.T. Batsford Ltd.
While Batsford discovered his artistic talent during his school years at Repton, it was at B.T. Batsford Ltd. (and under circumstances of economic duress) that he honed his skill as an illustrator and master of the Jean Berté printing process. His Batsford book jackets and the posters he designed for travel companies came to typify the style of the day. Today, Brian Cook Batsford’s work is recognized and collected worldwide, and has earned its place in the history of 20th century art and design.
MAJOR Works
The Jean Berté Printing Process
The artist’s handwritten instructions for his printer, Messrs. Herbert Reiach Ltd, the only firm he entrusted to oversee the complex Jean Berté process.
“As can be imagined, this required great skill and care in view of the 14 different colours obtained
by over-printing.”
At first glance Cook’s famous dust jackets – he designed over 100 of these – seem to be simple and charming period pieces, conventional in choice of subject – landscapes, cottages, village churches – all carefully composed and quietly modest in colours and form. Such a hasty judgement would overlook the fact that in their day these jackets were in the forefront of the production techniques of their time. The young designer was, in fact a true pioneer who succeeded, almost single-handed, in giving each book its own identity within the Batsford family.
With unlimited skill and imagination, Cook pioneered use of the striking watercolour printing method developed by the Frenchman, Jean Berté. Using just four translucent inks (yellow, magenta, blue and grey) the process uses hand-engraved, rubber coated plates to layer each colour. As many as fourteen different colours can be achieved through careful, painstaking overprinting. Black ink is used for detail and to finish off the printing and resulting in tremendous depth, drama and vibrancy. A master of the Berté process, Batsford’s strong composition and interpretation of colour remain modern to this day.