Bare-Knuckle Boxing: Bringing a Three-Year Creative Project to Life

Bare-Knuckle Boxing documents artefacts dating from around 1740 to 1890, when gloved contests began to become the norm. Together, the objects build a detailed picture of the British prize ring and the wider world surrounding it: fame, class, religion, race and the rule of law.

Nicholas first became involved after Pierre discovered his previous design work. An initial conversation led to a visit to Pierre and Anna’s Norfolk gallery, where the three agreed to work together on the book.

Its development took almost three years because the collection was both extensive and historically significant. Each of its 319 objects required accurate, consistent documentation. Pierre’s existing research had to be verified, organised and expanded, while some artefacts needed to be rescanned or rephotographed when the available images were unsuitable for print.

The book also grew beyond a straightforward catalogue. Pierre and Anna developed a series of short essays exploring subjects such as fighters’ training regimes and their prospects after retirement, adding further historical context to the objects. Research, editing, image preparation and Nicholas’s university teaching commitments meant that progress sometimes came in stages, but each pause gave the Spakes more time to develop the material.

The team wanted a substantial, tactile publication that would give the collection space while meeting the needs of two different audiences. The standard edition would offer an accessible route into boxing history; the deluxe edition would speak more directly to collectors and readers from the art and antiquarian worlds.

That distinction shaped the design and packaging. The standard edition uses an attention-grabbing full-page image of boxer Richard Humphreys with large, unequivocal type.

The deluxe cover instead reproduces a subtly worded invitation issued by the Pugilistic Club’s John Jackson for an 1824 fight between celebrated boxers Spring and Langan, quietly drawing the reader into the colourful and often secretive world of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century prize fighting.

Limited to 50 copies, the deluxe edition is presented in a vibrant Kingfisher Blue slipcase with restrained white foiling. It also contains seven separately printed fight tickets, photographs and broadsides, reproduced at actual size and distributed throughout the book as bookmarks.

The folded poster was a late addition and intended as a surprise for Pierre and Anna. When Nicholas asked Phil Hampshire what it would cost to include one in each deluxe copy, Phil’s answer was simple: nothing.

Before production began, Pierre, Anna and Nicholas considered lithographic and digital printing, paper choices, binding options and the effect each decision would have on the unit cost. They met Phil at Langham Press with a suitcase of reference books, comparing admired examples with publications Langham had produced for other clients.

The quality achieved by Langham’s digital presses convinced the team that digital printing could deliver the clarity and consistency the interiors required, while also allowing the proofs to match the finished pages closely. Phil proposed a hybrid solution: digitally printing the 256 interior pages in full colour on 170gsm UPM Finesse silk, then lithographically printing the cases on Wibalin Buckram. Each process was used where it best suited the job.

The standard edition uses white Wibalin Buckram printed in full colour across the front, back and spine. For the deluxe edition, silver-grey Wibalin Buckram is printed in black, with a precisely debossed area on the back cover containing a tipped-in image. Each deluxe book sits inside a bespoke slipcase covered in Kingfisher Blue Wibalin Natural and finished with matt white foil.

The detail demanded close collaboration throughout. Phil took particular care to ensure that images crossing double-page spreads aligned as neatly as possible through the gutter and that the margins surrounding the tipped-in image were exact.

At Nicholas’s request, Langham also produced, trimmed and expedited a complete printed proof of the book. The physical proof revealed typographical and layout changes that had been difficult to spot on screen, as well as opportunities to add further images. Phil and the production team remained patient as the final refinements were made, keeping the quality of the finished book ahead of the production timetable.

After almost three years of research, writing, editing and design, Bare-Knuckle Boxing became a finished publication that matched the scale and significance of the collection it records.

For Nicholas, the first impression was the expanse of Kingfisher Blue as the deluxe slipcase emerged from its box, followed by the sharp white foil, immaculate binding and clarity of the printing.

He and Pierre agreed that the finished book had done justice to the collection.