Bird in Flight
Woodcut with relief etching (?) printed in black and grey, undated, edition unknown. 4 7/8 x 13 1/8 in. Signed in the block with the monogram and signed in pencil, lower right. This is a fine impression of this very rare print. The margins are full. The condition is good other than wrinkling in the margins, left and right edge. This experimental work is hard to describe, technically. Giles was so versatile as an intaglio printmaker and was able to refine his technique to such an extent that it's difficult to figure out exactly how he made many of his prints. He would often combine woodcut with relief etching printed from multiple zinc plates. He was certainly one of the great innovators in color printmaking in England during the first three decades of the 20th century.
SOLD

Quedlinburg-am-Hartz
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1905, small edition. 6 7/8 x 7 5/8 in. Signed in the block with the artist's monogram. Signed in pencil and inscribed "No. 15." This is a fine impression with substantial margins. The condition is very good. This very rare print shows a view of this historic German town in the Hartz Mountains. This impression was printed by the artist and is so inscribed.
SOLD

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (Thus Passes the Glory of the World)
Woodcut and relief print from zinc plates printed in colors, circa 1925, edition 100. 13 1/8 x 17 5/8 in. Signed with the artist's monogram, lower right. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with fresh colors. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. "President of the Society of Graver Printers in Colour, William Giles was one of the most important innovators in original colour printmaking in Britain during the first three decades of the twentieth-century. Having begun with the traditional colour woodcut method, he experimented widely, first with aquatint and then with relief printing from zinc plates in an attempt to produce pure, even areas of colour. He developed a novel range of inks ranging from watercolour mixed with rice paste, to powered colour dissolved in volatile oil, in order to achieve an ever greater range and depth of colour throughout his prints." (See Michael Campbell's detailed and informative explanation of Giles's technique described in depth on his website entry for the artist; www.campbell-fine-art.com). This is arguably the artist's most famous print.
SOLD

Stonehenge
Woodcut printed in colors, undated (probably 1915-1920), edition probably 100 impressions. 9 5/8 x 14 7/8 in. Initialed in the block and signed and numbered in pencil, lower right. This is a superb impression printed on Japanese paper. The margins are wide and probably full. Apart from very minor discoloration showing in the margins, the condition is very good. Giles is a remarkable colorist and here he captures this timeless subject with subtlety and careful gradations of hue and tone.
SOLD

Swan and Cygnets
Woodcut printed in colors, 1911, edition 50. 12 1/4 x 15 1/4 in. Signed in the block with his monogram and signed in pencil, lower right. This is a superb impression of this outstanding color print. The margins are full. The condition is fine. This work is illustrated as plate 2 in Malcolm Salaman's Masters of the Colour Print (1928).
$2,600

The Graveyard
Woodcut with metal relief etching, 1910-20, edition possibly 50. 9 5/8 x 20 in. Signed in the block, lower left. Signed and numbered in pencil. This a very fine impression of this uncommon print. The condition is very good apart from two paper tape hinges on the top margin. Minor rippling along the top of the sheet. Full margins. Technically, Giles was amazing. He did a few pure woodcuts but he also eventually introduced zinc plate relief printing and they are difficult to tell apart. Both techniques are evident in many prints. He was inspired by Frank Morley Fletcher and William Blake. He became president of the Society of Graver Printers in Colour in the mid 1920's.
SOLD

The Haunt of the Jay
Woodcut printed in colors with additional use of zinc relief plates, undated but probably about 1930, edition unknown but probably only 30 impressions. 11 1/2 x 16 5/8 in. Signed in the image with the artist's monogram. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a superb impression of this very rare print. The margins are wide and the condition is very good overall. There's faint mottling or foxing in the margins but this is minor. This large work is an extraordinary example of the artist's design sense as well as his creativity as a color printmaker. "His first experiments using zinc plates for relief printing date from 1902 and by 1920 he had developed a novel technique using multiple zinc plates coated with shellac. Each zinc plate was inked to print a single colour from the raised areas of its etched surface and no 'key block' was used."(MC, London, 2011) This large work rarely appears on the market and the colors are exceptionally fresh and vibrant.
SOLD

The Rock of Ages (Le Puy, France)
Woodcut, probably 1938, edition unknown but probably about 50. 12 3/4 x 9 7/8 in. Initialed in the block with the artist's monogram. Signed in pencil, lower right, and inscribed "No.11" of an unknown edition. This is a fine impression in excellent condition. The margins are probably full but are somewhat narrow on the left and right. This wonderful, rare work comes with the original exhibition booklet from the Society of Graphic Art, Royal Institute Galleries, London, 1938. Furthermore, we have the original, paid receipt from the buyer of the print from the exhibition! In the entry for this work, this print is listed as simply a "water-colour print" but it's mostly likely a woodcut with the probable addition of zinc relief plates. Giles's working methods are difficult to sort out and there's no formal catalogue of his prints.
SOLD