Chesterplayjones

• December 10, 2025






 




The Chester Play

of the Deluge

Illustrated

by David Jones






The Chester Play of the Deluge was printed originally by the Golden Cockerel Press in 1927, and subesquently reprinted by Clover Hill Editions and the Rampant Lions Press in 1977. ‘The Chester Play’ is considered one of the finest Golden Cockerel Press productions, but Jones had some misgivings about the quality of the woodcuts. The story goes that Jones was very excited at the work he’d done on the wood blocks, but when the book was printed the Press used a heavy handmade paper that needed to be damped before printing. The Press didn’t damp the paper, which resulted in under-inked prints in the book. Jones was disappointed. For this reason, the proofs are considered the best examples of the images. The size of most of the prints is roughly 6.5 x 5.75 .

The images of the 10 wood engravings below are courtesy of a private collector.


  


No. 1

Antidiluvian Society



  


No. 2

Preparing to Build



  


No. 3

Building the Ark



  


No. 4

Noah and his Family



  


No. 5

Animals going to the Ark



  


No. 6

Animals boarding



  


No. 7

The Deluge
[first image]



  


No. 8

The Deluge
[second]



  


No. 9

After the Deluge



  


No. 10

The Oblation of Noe


 


Additional resources:


Booksellers and auction houses offer glimpses on the net of the prints in book form, including the somewhat scarce dustjackets.
The book was issued in both orange and pale dustjackets.




left: Bloomsbury Auctions


via
liveauctioneers.com
 		 



Bromer Booksellers

  




far right:
www.maggs.com



Bromer Booksellers offers a few additional images of their

Golden Cockerel Press copy (center image) in
Catalogue #8.