Faithfull Fleet, Emily (illus.); St. Nicetas, Bishop of Remesiana (text)
Te Deum laudamus. London: Emily Faithfull at the Victoria Press, 1868. 8vo, org. blue cloth over beveled boards (corners restored with tape), boards with gilt fillet borders enclosing central crowned titles, in gilt on upper and blind on lower, a.e.g.; 29 chromolithograph plates and 9 pages of explanatory text. Second ed.
Esther Faithfull Fleet was a book illustrator whose children included John Faithfull Fleet, a historian and Indologist; George Rutland Fleet, a successful actor; and Herbert Cecil Fleet, a Vice-Admiral. Her sister Emily was a driven advocate for women's advancement. She founded the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women in 1859 and followed this by setting up the Victoria Press in 1860. The Press only employed women as compositors (though with men to teach the process and carry out manual labour). Surprisingly, this did not sit well with the print union, who engaged in sabotage. The Press flourished, however, and its success led to Faithfull being appointed Printer-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria. Te Deum Laudamus was dedicated to Victoria, with her permission.

This is one of two books published by the Press that used chromolithography. Both were illuminated by Fleet, the other being 38 Texts. M. & N. Hanhart printed 38 Texts as well and were known early on for their chromolithography, having done the plates for Pugin's Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament. The book is a masterpiece of Victorian design, comparable to that of Jones and Humphreys. As with other 19th century arts, it sees art history as a broad palette, a visual dictionary to use as the text inspired. The result is a swirl of colours and symbols, merging Egyptian, Flemish, Celtic, Spanish and English medieval styles with contemporary ideas about colour. The book is simultaneously a proto-Arts and Crafts expression of Victorian Christian celebration and a potent symbol of women's struggle for elevation against Victorian society - ultimately recognised by the highest woman in the country.