Marginal Notes 34: Writers and Readers: Charlene Garry, The Basilisk Press
The Basilisk Press of London was founded by Charlene Gary in 1974, who, in 1978 also opened The Basilisk Bookshop in Hampstead to deal exclusively in the works of private presses and limited editions. Sadly, the shop closed in 1984 ‘as I grew bored by the non-bibliographic public asking Why is this book so expensive? And never listening to the explanation’ [Gary], but she continued to publish beautiful books.
The Basilisk Press Kelmscott Chaucer, published in 1984, is said to be such an accurate facsimile that single leaves from this edition have in the past been offered for sale as genuine leaves from the original Kelmscott edition. Bernard Roberts in his article Charlene Garry and The Basilisk Press, published in Matrix, Number 22, Winter 2002, says ‘Now that the paper has aged a little, it takes a very keen eye, or sensitive touch, to distinguish between the original paper and the phoney.’ He concludes his article: ‘The history of book printing is full of the names of amateurs, lively minded people from Gutenberg to the present day. The diarist John Evelyn, an expert on printing from engraved plates, Earl Stanhope with the first practical iron press, Updike, Rogers, Morison, Meynell, William Morris indeed: those are just a few of the people who, with no formal training in type design or typography, made significant contributions to the printing of books. Among publishers there were those who may have never drawn a layout, or have come to that kind of thing late in their careers, but who have their place in the scheme of things, such as Richard de la Mare, Wren Howard, Denis Cohen and Alfred Knopf. Charlene Garry deserves a modest place in that pantheon. She could play no instrument, but my goodness she could conduct an orchestra.’
I recall meeting Charlene, a charming and attractive woman, during one of her visits to Melbourne in the 1970s and over the years we have sold several of the books issued by the press. However, it is only now that we have the pleasure of handling a copy of The Basilisk Press Kelmscott Chaucer. This purchase, from the library of the late Honourable Justice David Levine AO, has prompted me to go through my book trade archives in search of articles about The Basilisk Press and its founder.
Stuart Sayers, in his Writers and Readers series, published in The Melbourne Age, interviewed Charlene during two of her three trips to Australia, in 1976 and 1978. These interviews give an accurate account of her early days as a publisher of fine books.
Charlene Garry died in 1989.
