Its first use was in A. E. Coppards The Hundredth Story. The illustrations in some Golden Cockerel titles, although tame by modern standards, were considered risqué for the time and necessitated the press taking precautionary measures against possible prosecutions for obscenity or provocation, such as disguising the names of translators and illustrators. Gallant Ladies was mild in comparison with the Song of Songs (1925) and Procreant Hymn (1926), both illustrated fairly explicitly by Gill. The main defence of the press was that it was a private press, not a bookseller. Sales were strong during most of this period. Gibbings had established links with a number of booksellers, notably Bumpus in London, and negotiated a very favourable deal with Random House. He bought out Pike with finance from another Irish friend, Mary Wiggin, and later bought her out, borrowing the money from Barclays Bank. In the early 1930s, however, the business climate changed, and, as American sales faltered, the press struggled on as the depression became more severe. The press became moribund and Gibbings eventually sold up in 1933. The last book that he produced was Lord Adrian by Lord Dunsany (1933), illustrated with his own wood engravings. Christopher Sandford period (1933–1959) The press was taken over by Christopher Sandford, Owen Rutter, and Francis J. Newbery. They paid £1,050 for the business. Gibbings had been in negotiations with Sandford for some time, and had introduced Rutter to him. Newbery was the manager of the Chiswick Press, where production was to be moved. The Golden Cockerel Press ceased to be a private press at this point, and became a publishing house. Sandford worked long hours on management, editing and design. Rutter solicited new books and edited some of them. Newbery's role as the printer was to oversee the production work at the Chiswick Press. The first book published under the new regime was The House with the Apricot (1933) by H. E. Bates. It featured wood engravings by Agnes Miller Parker and had been planned by Gibbings. The first major book of the new regime was The Glory of Life (1934) by Llewelyn Powys, a large quarto with wood engravings by Gibbings. The partners lost money on most of the books that they published, a fact that they had recognised when they bought the press. They were looking to the long term, and tried a number of strategies to strengthen their position,