Helen Van Vechten

In her day, she was one of very few women involved in fine book-making in America and was regarded as a top expert in the field.

[1][3] In 1897, Phillip, who ran a lumber business, was invited to become a partner in a local print shop, the Philosopher Press, which put out fine-press editions of books.

[1][2] Van Vechten was highly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and the hand-made aesthetic of William Morris and Britain's Kelmscott Press.

[3] Under Van Vechten's leadership, the Philosopher Press put out finely printed and bound limited editions of works by such popular authors as Samuel Johnson, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Browning, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Alfred Lord Tennyson.

The Arts and Crafts influence is particularly evident in Van Vechten's extensive use of stylized floral decorations and illuminated capital letters.