The Gaberbocchus Press was a London publishing house founded in 1948 by the artist couple
Stefan and
Franciszka Themerson. Alongside the Themersons, the other directors of the Press were the translator
Barbara Wright and the artist
Gwen Barnard who also illustrated a number of the company's publications.[1]
The name is the Latinized form of Jabberwocky and the earliest books were printed at their home on
King's Road,
Chelsea, London and in 1956 they moved to 42a Formosa Street in
Maida Vale, London. In 1959 the basement of their office was turned into the Gaberbocchus Common Room, a meeting place for those interested in art and science. They showed films, plays and held poetry readings.[2]
The content of the Themersons' own books were often experiments with language and visual effects. The form was tailored for each publication to support and complement the content, using self-produced paper and other techniques.
The couple sold their publishing company in 1979 to the Dutch publishing house
Uitgeverij De Harmonie, which was also making experimental visual publications throughout the 1970s.
Books published by Gaberbocchus Press
Stefan Themerson. Jankel Adler - an Artist seen from one of many possible angles. 1948
Aesop, The Eagle & the Fox & The Fox & the Eagle: two semantically symmetrical versions and a revised application, (devised by Stefan Themerson). Illustrated by Franciszka Themerson. 1949
Hugo Manning. The Crown and The Fable. A poetic sequence. 1950
Stefan Themerson & Barbara Wright. Mr Rouse builds his House. 1950
(Translation of a story for children) Pan Tom buduje dom by Stefan Themerson, with 122 drawings by Franciszka. (Original Polish version published in Warsaw, 1938).
Stefan Themerson. Wooff Wooff, or Who Killed Richard Wagner?. A novella with drawings by Franciszka Themerson. 1951
Alfred Jarry. Ubu Roi. Drama in Five acts followed by the Song of Disembraining. First English translation and preface by Barbara Wright. Drawings by Franciszka Themerson. 1951
Hugo Manning. This Room before Sunrise. Prose poem. 1952
Bertrand Russell. The Good Citizen's Alphabet. An adventure in wicked humour. Illustrated by Franciszka Themerson. 1953
C.H. Sisson. An Asiatic Romance. A satirical novel. 1953
Stefan Themerson. Professor Mmaa's Lecture, An insect novel. Preface by Bertrand Russell. Illustrated by Franciszka Themerson. 1953
Stefan Themerson. The Adventures of Peddy Bottom. A story illustrated by Franciszka Themerson. 1954
John Conrad Russell. Abandon Spa Hot Springs. With two drawings by the author. 1954. Black series no.1
Raymond Queneau. The Trojan Horse & At the Edge of the Forest. Translated by Barbara Wright. 1954. Black series no.2
Franciszka Themerson. The Way it Walks. A book of cartoons. 1954. Black series no.3
Eugene Walter. Monkey Poems. Illustrated with 8 engravings of monkeys. 1954
Christian-Dietrich Grabbe. Comedy, Satire, Irony and Deeper Meaning. Drama in five Acts written by Grabbe in 1822, with drawings and collages by his contemporary Dr S. Willoughby. 1955
Gwen Barnard. The Shapes of the River. A sequence of colour monoprints of the London Thames by Gwen Barnard with Comments by Eugene Walter. 1955.
C.H. Sisson. Versions and Perversions of
Heine. English version of 14 political poems by Heinrich Heine. 1955. Black series no.4
Pol-Dives (Vladimir Polissadiv). The Song of Bright Misery/Le poème de la misère claire.36 illustrations by Pol-Dives from magic lantern slides, accompanied by an explanatory parallel text in French and in English. Translation by Barbara Wright. Preface by Stefan Themerson. 1955. Black series nos. 5-6
The Gaberbocchus Independent. Broadsheet about Gaberbocchus with extracts from books and reviews. 1955
Stefan Themerson. factor T. An essay on human nature and another on beliefs, concluded with the Semantic Sonata and an index. 1956. Black series nos.8-9s.
Axel Stern. Metaphysical Reverie, 1956. drawings by Jean Krillé . Black series no.11
Beverly Jackson Huddleston. A Line in Time. Cartoons. 1957. Black series no.12
The First Dozen by various authors. (The Black Series in a single volume) 1958
Raymond Queneau. Exercises in Style. The story of a minor brawl in a Paris bus, told in 99 different ways. First English translation by Barbara Wright. 1958
Stevie Smith. Some are more human than others. A sketchbook with handwritten comments and drawings by the author.' 1958
Stefan Themerson. Kurt Schwitters in England: 1940-1948. The first publication of Schwitters' English poems and prose, written during the last 8 years of his life. 1958
George Buchanan. Bodily Responses. Poetry. 1958
George Buchanan. Green Seacoast. Autobiographical essay. 1959
James Laughlin. Confidential Report & other poems (Selected Poems in some copies). 1959
Harold Lang & Kenneth Tynan. The Quest for Corbett. Written for radio. Presentation by Franciszka Themerson. 1960
Edmund Héafod (pseud. Osias Bain). Gimani. Prose journal. 1961
Eugene Walter. Singerie-Songerie. A masque on the subject of Lyric Mode with illustrations by
Zev. 1961
George Buchanan. Conversations with Strangers. Poems and notes. 1961
Oswell Blakeston. The Night's Moves. A thriller. 1961
Anatol Stern. Europa. Facsimile reproduction of one of the first Polish futurist poems, 1925. Translated from the Polish by Michael Horovitz and Stefan Themerson. illustrated with stills from the Themersons' lost film of 1932. 1962
Bertrand Russell. History of the World in Epitome (For use in Martian infant schools). 1962
Franciszka and Stefan Themerson. Semantic Divertissements. 1962
Oswell Blakeston. Fingers. Prose with drawings by Herbert Jones. 1964
Stefan Themerson. Bayamus and the Theatre of
Semantic Poetry. A semantic novel. 1965
George Buchanan. Morning Papers. 1965
Stefan Themerson. Tom Harris. Novel in two parts. 1967
Patrick Fetherston. Three Days After Blasphemies. Poetry. 1967
Stefan Themerson. Apollinaire's Lyrical Ideograms. 1968
Franciszka Themerson. Traces of Living. Drawings. 1969
Bertrand Russell. The Good Citizen's Alphabet. An adventure in wicked humour. Illustrated by Franciszka Themerson & History of the World in Epitome (For use in Martian infant schools). published in one volume.
Stefan Themerson. Special Branch. A novel. 1972
Stefan Themerson. St. Francis and the
Wolf of Gubbio, or Brother Francis' Lamb Chops. An opera. 1972