Poetry Bookshop, Rhyme Sheet No 4, Second Series, “There is a Lady Sweet and Kind” by Anon, Illus C Lovat Fraser. 1920s

Provenance: 

From a collection of single‑leaf decorative broadsides issued by Harold Monro’s Poetry Bookshop (c.1913–1926), pairing short poems with distinctive designs by artists such as C. Lovat Fraser; sold cheaply as popular, frameable art and now collected for their modernist typography and illustration..

Harold Edward Monro (Mar 1879 – Mar 1932) was an English poet born in Brussels, Belgium. As the proprietor of the Poetry Bookshop in London, he helped many poets to bring their work before the public. He published 3 series of Rhyme Sheets. The first series of 12 sheets issued in 1913, as ‘penny plain, tuppence coloured’. Subsequent series were colour only. The second series of 24 sheets was issued after WWI., and the third series, called ‘The New Broadside’ came out later.

William Blake (Nov 1757 – Aug 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age.

Claud Lovat Fraser (May 1890 – June 1921) was an English artist, designer and author. Along with Holbrook Jackson and poet Ralph Hodgson, Lovat Fraser established a small publishing firm called The Sign of the Flying Fame to produce decorative poetry broadsides and chapbooks. Later taken over by Harold Munro.