Women's Rights
Letterpress & Silkscreen Printed

Cummins, Maureen.
Foetus Envy.
Kingston, NY: Marueen Cummins, 2023.

One of 30 copies. Foetus Envy is a grim and satirical look at the present state of reproductive rights in this country. Conceived of and produced by Cummins, with typographical assistance from Kathleen McMillan, the book imagines an alarming new mental illness, “Foetus Envy,” which turns otherwise cheerful, angelic, and biologically fit wives into “Resistant Mothers,” women who do not wish to procreate and stubbornly refuse to accept the naturally superior powers, privileges, and legal protections of their unborn offspring. Cummins references language from Aeschylus to fugitive slave laws to faux scientific texts to locate our present moment within a long history of reproductive control and coercion. The book is written in the style of eugenics texts published in the early-to-mid twentieth century by the now-infamous Eugenics Publishing Company.

Cummins’s primary inspiration, from which she based her images, is the 1919 text, "Sane Sex Life and Sane Sex Living," which reads more like a sex manual for men than the guide for married couples that it purports to be. In the quotes below from "Sane Sex Life," so eerily like phrases heard on the Fox News channel, it’s not difficult to see the relationship between the eugenics movement of a century ago and the contemporary Christian right: "No two normal men can make a home! No two normal women can make a home! It takes a man and a woman to make a home! It takes father, mother and children to make the most perfect home. Make up your minds to have a most perfect home and do your utmost to reach that goal! …. all sane and intelligent men and women agree that anything even approaching infanticide is nothing short of a crime, and that abortion, except for the purpose of saving the life of the mother, is practically murder." 

In her re-created eugenics text, Cummins mimics the badgering, preachy style of "Sane Sex Living," while making liberal use of “alternative facts” and sanctimonious, moralizing language. Similarly, the artist plays with her imagery: the Caduceus logo on the title page is made up of entwining sperm, not snakes; the pattern on the slipcase, which appears to depict sun rays, is, on closer inspection, a swarm of sperm rushing to impregnate an ovum. While these surface elements of "Foetus Envy" are playful enough, the mood of the book grows increasingly grave, culminating in one final, terrifying image, of a woman entrapped within a womb, the ultimate example of a Ro(l)e Reversal.

Set in Bodoni Roman and printed letterpress onto Surface Gampi paper. Over one hundred silkscreen runs were required to print the accompanying images. Bound in faux leather with a gold-stamped title. The book is housed in a handsome cloth-covered slipcase. Size: 9.5 x 7 x 1 inches. 35 pages. Fine. (#36727)

Price: $2,400 

Printed During the Pandemic - with relevant words and phrases
Printed from Wooden Type

[Abstract Orange]
Emeritz, Lauren, book artist.
Printing in the Time of Covid-19. March - May 2020.
Washington DC: Abstract Orange, 2020.

Number 5 of 10 copies. Just before the Pandemic lock-down started in March 2020, Lauren Emeritz participated a letterpress workshop with Amos Paul Kennedy. Inspired to print, but not able to use the press in the studio due to the Pandemic, Emeritz began printing in a makeshift print studio in her home. Using wood type, a Vandercook 99, and hand-inking, she printed on chipboard, an inexpensive and accessible substrate. The prints include words and phrases from during that time early in the pandemic (March to May 2020). This collection of 36 prints is housed in an orange folding case with velcro closure and title on the spine and front panels. Size: 8.5 x 5.5 inches.  Fine. (#36775)

Price: $1,200

Ashendene Press - Ecclesiasticus

[Ashendene Press].
The Wisdom of Jesus, The Son of Sirach, Commonly Called Ecclesiasticus.
Chelsea: Ashendene Press, 1932.

One of 328 copies on paper. There were also 25 copies printed on vellum. This magnificent book was one of the last issued by the Ashendene Press. In the bibliography of the Press, its founder, St John Hornby stated that "in my humble judgment it is one of the most satisfactory of the books of the Press." In his history of the Ashendene Press, Colin Franklin writes on page 187: "qualities which separately had triumphed in many Ashendene volume were assembled as before the final curtain of an opera. Short chapters and sections showed the poetic setting of Subiaco which best suited that type....Red headings and shoulder notes, frequent and varied intervals assist the reading of a miraculous text."

Bound in bright orange vellum with four silk ties and gilt titling to spine. Slightest tiny wear to corners with original white vellum showing, otherwise fine. Printed on Batchelor paper in red and black with beautiful hand drawn initials in green and blue done by Graily Hewitt and his assistants Ida D. Henstock and Helen E. Hinkley. The colophon credits them along with H. Gage-Cole, the pressman, and the compositor A.J. Fisk. Top edge is trimmed with the other edges uncut. Missing the original slipcase and nicely housed in a custom brown cloth box with gilt title to spine. A wonderful copy in fine to near fine condition. Measures 7.5 x 11.5 inches. 182 pages. Fine. (#36285)

Price: $5,200 

Bible from the Late 17th Century

Biblia Sacra Vulgatae Editionis, Sixti V Pontificis Maximi jussu recognita atque edita, versiculis distincta.
Bambergae: Sumptibus Wolfgangi Mauritii Endteri, bibliop. 1693.

Printed by Wolfgang Mauritius Endter (? - 1723), a German printer and publisher residing in Nuremberg. Bound in contemporary tan pigskin with black title to spine, five raised bands, and blind stamped decoration to boards. Evidence of sticker removed from foot of spine. Lacks clasps, with wood from board partially exposed where clasps have been removed. Minor rubbing and wear to spine and boards. Expertly restored with Japanese paper added to both joints and colored to match binding. Japanese paper is also inserted along both hinges over a small edge of the original endpapers. Boards are solidly attached. Bookplate of F. Patritii Fischer to front pastedown and bookplate of Bibliothecam Conventus to verso of title page. Previous owner markings to half title page: "From Elijah Humphreys to the Rev William Croswell, May 19, 1835" and to top of title page "Carolus Gulielmus Bradley." Full page engraved title page illustrated by Corneli Nicola Schurtz with dampstaining to margins. Headpieces and illustrated initials. The title page is printed in red and black. Text printed in two columns. Short closed tears to edges of several pages including the margin of non-engraved title page. Minor soiling, mostly to margins and occasional spots of foxing. IN LATIN. + 509 pages / 522 pages including index. Very Good. (#36370)

Price: $400 

A Story of Immigration and Family Ties - from Russia to Mexico

Akhmadeeva, Ioulia.
My Women.
Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico: ALTERnativa Ediciones, 2019.

One of 5 copies. According to the artist, this book "presents my reflection and the relationship between the women of my family. On the one hand we are paper boats in the sea of liquid time and on the other side it is a narrative map of some kind of genealogical tree." An elephant folio accordion bound in red cloth boards with gilt title to front board. The interior includes a detailed copperplate etching of portraits of the artist and the women in her family on paper boats sailing across the sea. The verso is a silkscreen showing a descriptive family tree including the artist, her three daughters, her mother, twin sister, aunts, grandmother, etc. This collage-style illustration includes places, descriptive words, dates, photographs, and shows her family's immigration from Russia to Mexico. Text in Spanish with some English. Printed on Guarro Super Alfa 100% cotton paper. Housed in a matching red cloth covered clamshell box. Bumping to bottom corner of the box. Size: about 24 x 10 inches. Ioulia Akhmadeeva (1971 - ) was born in Russia but has resided in Mexico for nearly 30 years. She is professor of Fine Arts at the Michoacan State University San Nicolás Hidalgo in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. She has participated in many international exhibitions and won awards and grants for her work. Copies of this book are in the Special Collections of Stanford University.

Five minute video about this book (in Spanish): https://youtu.be/pBPJvmBvp84. Fine. (#36425)

Price: $2,800

First Edition
History of Virginia - with Native American

[Beverley, Robert].
The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts.
London: R. Parker, 1705.

First edition of this important history of Virginia, the first to be written by a native of North America. In his bibliography "U.S.IANA" Howes writes: "After John Smith, the first account of this colony, the first one penned by a native and the best contemporary record of its aboriginal tribes and of the life of its early settlers" [Howes B410]. From Encyclopedia Virginia: "Robert Beverley was a member of the House of Burgesses (1699–1706) and clerk of that body, and served as chief clerk of the governor’s Council. He is best known, however, as author of 'The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts' (1705), the first published history of a British colony by a native of North America. In 1703 he sailed to England to appeal a suit he lost before the General Court, and there he penned this history, a collection of personal history, official accounts, and material borrowed from others. Beverley self-consciously identified himself as a Virginian and used the books to settle political scores. No prior author identified himself so clearly as a Virginian. 'I am an Indian, and don’t pretend to be exact in my language,' Beverley wrote in the preface. 'But I hope the Plainness of my Dress, will give him [the reader] the kinder Impressions of my Honesty, which is what I pretend to.' When it first appeared in London, the book was three hundred pages of text, accompanied by fourteen engravings, and divided into four sections titled as Books: “The History of the First Settlement of Virginia,” “The Natural Productions and Conveniencies of the Country,” “The Native Indians,” and “The Present State of the Country.” It is an unmatched source for the Virginia of its time—an amalgam of personal observations and stories heard, material borrowed from published and unpublished accounts, and official reports. He also included significant portions from the unpublished writings of several other Virginians. The early section of the history relied heavily on Captain John Smith‘s writings, but the later sections on politics, Native Americans, and the flora, fauna, and agricultural products of the colony used several sources. "

Bound in contemporary brown leather with gilt rulings to covers and gilt titling to spine. Covers are rubbed and bumped with light wear around edges. Slight loss to head of spine. Front cover is partly detached but still holding and the text block is tight save for the free endpapers, which are browned and partially torn, Rear hinge is cracked and there is offsetting to both pastedowns. Interior pages are clean and bright. With fourteen plates, a frontispiece, and a fold-out list providing statistics from 1703 for the counties of the Virginia colony. Engravings were done by the French engraver Simon Gribelin. A very good copy of this valuable early account of the colony of Virginia. Measures 7.25 x 4.34 inches. Book One: [12] 104 pages; Book Two: 40 pages; Book Three: 64 pages Table of Contents: 19 pages with errata list on the verso of the last page; Book Four: 83 pages. (#36745)

Price: $10,000

Celebration of Texas Blues Musicians
Papercut & Original Music on Accompanying CD

Coron, Béatrice, book artist; music by Shelley Van Gage and Gloria "Guns" Cortez.
Blue & Bruised.
New York: Béatrice Coron, 2016.

Number 3 of 5 copies. In this fun production, book artist Béatrice Coron collaborated with musicians Van Gage and Cortez to create both a book and a CD of their music! In addition to her paper cutting of musicians playing instruments, singing, and dancing Coron also wrote the song's lyrics, which are handwritten on one side of the black Arches paper silhouettes. This book was based on Coron's design for a public art installation in Kiest Park, Dallas, to honor the Vaughan brothers. Unfortunately, the installation was never built; however, elements from the design are incorporated into this book including silhouettes of Texan blues musicians. The paper silhouettes and the CD are housed in a black folder with a blue title label to spine and front cover. In fine condition. Folder is 6.5 x 6.5 inches. The paper-cut measures 6 x 24 inches when opened.

Cristina Favretto, Head of Special Collections at the University of Miami describes Coron's "work in her artfragments" portfolio: "There is a palpable joy in the work of Béatrice Coron, the kind of joy we felt as children in unwrapping a particularly enticing holiday gift. But...for Béatrice the gift is a sheet of Tyvek...or paper, and the stories to be unearthed and unleashed within and through the medium." Fine. (#35282)

Price: $800

Pop-Ups & Movables - Letterpress Printed

[Crooked Letter Press]
Knudson, Ellen, book artist and author.
Rule of Thumb.
Gainesville, FL: Crooked Letter Press, 2020.

Number 14 of 40 copies signed and numbered by the book artist. Crooked Letter Press is the imprint of book artist and graphic designer, Ellen Knudson. Ellen is currently Associate in Book Arts at The University of Florida. She holds an MFA in Book Arts from The University of Alabama. Ellen has been a book artist for 17 years and a professional graphic designer for 20+ years . She has taught letterpress printing and Book Arts at The University of Florida, The University of Alabama, and graphic design at Mississippi State University and Wayne State University. Her work is in the collections of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA), Yale University (CT), The Library of Congress (DC), and many other national and international collections.

From the artist's website and colophon: "Rule of Thumb is a moveable book about the historical human obsession with ourselves and with approval from others. In the last 10 years, we have become obsessed with living online instead of actual living. We seem to only care about how many "thumbs up”, likes, or hearts we can accumulate on social media platforms. We practice a psychological social separation. We live virtual lives. Now, with the proliferation of the COVID-19 virus, we are living with the physical reality of "social-distancing". How will we make it back? Can we make it back? I hope we will realize how much we don't want to live without one another." Rule of Thumb considers the ways in which humans have used our thumbs to, at best, twist reality, and at worst, ruin ourselves. The serious questions addressed in this book are approached through a seemingly whimsical description and movable depiction of various expressions with the word thumb - the pricking of my thumb, rule of thumb, sticks out like a sore thumb, under my thumb and more. These are accompanied by information about the phrase's origin and a few relevant quotations.

Printed on and constructed from Colorplan paper (350gsm, Natural). Letterpress printed from linoleum blocks and photopolymer plates. The orange and red binding is a storage book binding with a green concertina spine made from Tyvek hand-tinted with acrylic inks. It is housed in a red portfolio with thumb images and with soft flaps (made using directions by Peter D. Verheyen). The spine of the portfolio and the book cover are foil stamped in matte black foil. In fine condition. Measures 6.5 x 11 inches. Portfolio measures 7 x 11.5 inches. Unpaginated.  Fine. (#36538)

Price: $950

 Deluxe Edition
In English, Spanish, & P'urhepecha

González, Raul Eduardo, et. al.
Chamuco. El diablo anda suelto / Chamuco, the Devil Is Around - DELUXE.
Mexico: Michoacan University of Saint Nicholas of Hidalgo, 2020.

Second edition. Number 20 of 20 deluxe copies, issued in a special box with additional items including a ceramic mask of a stag and booklet (Antología del Proyecto) about the participants and the production of this elaborate collaboration. The text of "Chamuco" is printed in English, Spanish, and P'urhepecha. It includes 10 linocuts and 10 poems printed in three languages. Portrayals of the devil range from members of ICE to sex workers to millionaires. This project happened in two stages as part of a university collective project between young artists, poets, and craftspeople at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás in Mexico and students at Stanford University in the USA over several years. This book was produced during the second stage and showcases poetry and linocuts from only participants in Mexico. "The characters from the book 'Chamuco', visually inspired by the polychromatic pottery of the artisans of the Ocumicho community in Michoacán, México, were engraved by 10 artists from the Michoacan University of Saint Nicholas of Hidalgo; these are accompanied in this book by the verses expressly written for this project by six poets from the same university" (page 3). The project was coordinated by master print-maker and art professor, Ioulia Akhmadeeva.

"Chamuco" is bound in black cloth covered boards with silkscreened illustration and paper title label to front cover. It is letterpress printed with linocut illustrations on De Ponte Tamayo 300 gm paper. In this deluxe edition, "Chamuco" is accompanied with a small red paperback booklet titled: "Chamuco. El Diablo anda suelto ... Antología del Proyecto" that is limited to 500 unnumbered copies. It includes biographies of each participant, color photographs of ceramic depictions of the devil that inspired the students to create their art and poetry for this book, reproductions of the poems in all three languages, and more. The text in this booklet is in English and Spanish, with exception of the poems, which are reproduced in P'urhepecha as well. "Chamuco" is 24 pages; Size: about 10 x 9 inches. Booklet: 129 pages; Size: about 7 x 6 inches. Ceramic sculpture size: about 4 x 4 x 3 inches. Fine. (#36427)

Price: $2,500

Miniature ABC Tower Book
Russian Book Artist

Goozairow, Emil (Emile).
Secret Lexicon - Tower Binding.
Moscow: Emil Goozairow, 2022.

Number 1 of 6 copies (in this binding), signed and numbered by the artist. A fascinating offering from book artist Emil Goozairow. Goozairow is a Russian artist who paints and draws, produces movies, and creates exceptional handmade books that are printed on rare types of paper and published in limited editions. His techniques create unique designs that often are made with natural materials alone or in combination with relief decorations made from metal or polymeric clay. He creates books that he describes as "pop up," “kinetic carousel," “liporello” or “3D origami.” He also writes fairy tales, stories and mystical scenes.

In this complex book the artist has drawn and illustrated the letters of the English alphabet from A to Z. Each letter was originally done in watercolor and ink. There are puzzles and drawings, and illustrations for each letter of the alphabet associated with a theme of the ABCs. The book has a special hexagonal folding design that Goozairow calls a "Bee Book." The binding is 3-D printed in the shape of a tower. It has been handpainted in red, green, and gold. The book is held closed with red braided cord strap. In fine condition. Measures about 2 inches across and stands about 4 inches tall. (#36615)

Price: $325 

With Signed, Numbered Etching by Charles van Sandwyk
Limited Edition Issued on Centenary

Grahame, Kenneth; Charles van Sandwyk (illustrator).
The Wind in the Willows (Centenary Edition).
London: Folio Society, 2008.

Number 725 of 1,000 copies, signed and numbered by the illustrator on tipped-in etching on limitation spread. "A golden-age illustrator for our times, Charles van Sandwyk is an award-winning author, artist, and illustrator. In the tradition of Beatrix Potter and Arthur Rackham, he has the rare ability to endow animals with human characteristics. As a teenager, he taught himself the crafts of intaglio printing and calligraphy. His first self-published book, created when he was just 20, won a national award. Since then, his work has been archived by the National Library of Canada and is held in private collections across the world" (prospectus).

Hand-bound in quarter vellum over illustrated paper covered boards with gilt title to spine and vellum tips. Includes 16 full color plates, tipped in by hand, with gold edges and gold borders as well as 40 pen-and-ink drawings including chapter head and tail pieces. Illustrated endpapers and top edge gilt. Housed in a green cloth covered clamshell box with gilt title to spine panel. Small bump to top front corner of box. Includes prospectus. Book Size: 13 x 9.75 inches. Fine. (#36108)

Price: $2,000 

Modern Feminist Reading of 3 Classic Works: Scarlet Letter, Madame Bovary, & Crime and Punishment
Incorporates text from songwriters, poets, and philosophers
Includes references to Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter

[Intima Press]
Belloff, Mindy, book artist.
Hester. Emma. Sonia. Joni. Annie. Tracy: A Post-Modern Feminist Discourse.
New York: Intima Press, 2021.

Number 8 of 26 copies from the standard edition signed and numbered by the book artist. There were 6 deluxe copies. Artist and Master Printer, Mindy Belloff, specializes in fine book editions and custom letterpress. She has been creating art for over 35 years and printing letterpress since 1996. Her books are numerous permanent collections. Her press is committed to traditions of high art and the by-hand craft of letterpress printing, fine artist's books, unique bindings, poetic broadside editions, and elegant designs and typography. Mindy Belloff's custom designs are a union of art historical traditions with modern technology and sensibilities.

Edition limited to 32: This fine edition is limited to 26 standard and 6 deluxe bindings. The concept, designs, typography, research, artworks, and printing are by Mindy Belloff. This splendid production from Mindy's Intima Press is a feminist reading of three literary classics: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter,” Gustave Flaubert’s “Madam Bovary,” and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.”

The artist writes: "The volume gives voice to the main female characters, Hester Prynne, Emma Bovary, and Sonia Marmeladov, and presents multiple voices in dialogue. The subtitle, Joni. Annie. Tracy, highlights contemporary singer-songwriters Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, and Tracy Chapman along with other favored musical artists including Janis Joplin, Etta James, Leon Russell, Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige, Laurie Anderson, and others, whose poetic lyrics provide commentary in the margins. Text of philosophers, writers, and poets such as Simone de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, Karen Horney, Jean-Paul Sartre, Julia Kristeva, Rainer Maria Rilke, William Blake, and Arthur Rimbaud, are incorporated into brilliant typographical designs, deconstructing the original narratives. A selection of text is in Latin, French, and Russian." Mindy writes on her website that the book has additional references to contemporary issues including Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter protests. She further states: "The three sections are abridged and combined into one volume, reframed to create a critical dialog in the 21st-century. The resulting layered narrative recontextualizes the stories, bringing additional voices to the fore." This was an over three year project, with the concept, designs, typography, artworks, printing, and publishing all done by Mindy Belloff. The edition includes an Introduction, "No Text Stands Alone," written by Saul Ostrow, art critic and curator.

There is an extensive appendix with over 50 bibliography listings to materials referenced in creating this work, over 50 lyric references used in the book, and an index of over 40 artworks reproduced in the book that were created by Mindy the artist at various times over her career. The book required 180 letterpress runs. It is digitally printed with archival pigmented inks on Crane's cotton rag text weight paper using various fonts. It is bound in in white letterpress printed covers, with an aqua blue Sokoto leather spine millimeter binding. Housed in a red cloth custom box with a unique middle opening showing the title, sewn and bound by Celine Lombardi. In fine condition. Measures 10.5 x 7.75 x 1.75 inches. 300 pages. (#36564)

Price: $7,500 

Kelmscott Press - Reynard the Foxe

[Kelmscott Press]
Caxton, William; H. Halliday Sparling, editor.
The History of Reynard the Foxe.
Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

One of 300 copies of which 275 were to be sold by bookseller Bernard Quaritch. "This translation of Caxton's is one of the very best of his works as to style; and being translated from a kindred tongue is delightful as mere language. In its rude joviality, and simple and direct delineation of character, it is a thoroughly good representative of the famous ancient Beast Epic" -- William Morris, in a note for a catalogue issued by Bernard Quaritch (Peterson bibliography A10). The Caxton text was taken from his 1481 translation from the Dutch.

Beautifully bound in a later full dark brown morocco binding with raised bands, gilt rules, gilt frames, and lettering on front board. Interior is very clean with beautiful large, ornate woodcut title and exquisite woodcut ornamental borders and initials throughout. Printed in red and black on Flower paper,with the text in Troy type and the glossary in Chaucer type. This is the first Kelmscott title to have trimmed edges at Morris's request. Edges are very lightly darkened. Faint ownership signature on a free front endpaper. A superb Kelmscott Press edition in about fine condition. Small quarto. 163 pages. (#36151)

Price: $8,000 

Unique Artists' Book
Copts - A Christian Ethnoreligious Group from North Africa

Krause, Dorothy Simpson.
Copts.
Sewanee, TN: Dorothy Simpson Krause, 2011.

A unique artist's book from noted book artist Dorothy Simpson Krause and signed by her. She is a painter, collage artist and printmaker who incorporates digital mixed media into her art. Her work is exhibited regularly in galleries and museums and featured in numerous current periodicals and books. In her artist's statement she says: "My work includes large scale mixed media pieces, artist books and book-like objects that bridge between these two forms. It embeds archetypal symbols and fragments of image and text in multiple layers of texture and meaning. It combines the humblest of materials, plaster, tar, wax and pigment, with the latest in technology to evoke the past and herald the future. My art-making is an integrated mode of inquiry that links concept and media in an ongoing dialogue – a visible means of exploring meaning."

Copts are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Coptic Oriental Orthodox Christians. They are the largest Christian denomination in Egypt and the Middle East, as well as in Sudan and Libya. They had the oldest and largest Christian communities in the Middle East. From the 4th to the 6th century Copts were the majority religion in Roman Egypt. According to ancient tradition, Christianity was introduced to the Egyptians by Saint Mark in Alexandria around 42 AD. Today they make up somewhere between 5 and 20 percent of the population of Islamic Egypt where they face marginalization, discrimination and persecution. This Coptic bound book uses well-known book artist Daniel Essig's binding variant with wood covers. The front covers have cutout openings protected by acrylic that display small scarab artifacts. The paper and mica pages are collaged with found materials and alcohol gel transfers that incorporate distressed images of saints and other ephemera. The book is housed in a vintage metal box decorated with mica and a metal scarab on the front cover and a black elaborate cross on the back of the cover. This is a fascinating production in fine condition. The book measures 5 x 3.5 x 2 inches. The metal box measures 6 x 4.5 x 3 inches. Unpaginated [208 pages]  (#36647)

Price: $1,400 

First Edition, First State

Mitchell, Margaret.
Gone with the Wind.
New York: Macmillan Company, 1936.

First Edition, First State with "published May 1936" on the copyright page. A lovely copy of this classic work in the original dust jacket. "The stirring drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction is brought vividly to life in this really magnificent novel" (jacket). Bound in grey cloth boards with dark blue title to spine and front board. Gentle bumping and light rubbing to corners. A few short closed tears to the book cloth along the spine ends. Offsetting to endpapers and light, even browning to interior. Small spot of soiling to top margin of first few pages and occasional finger smudges to margins, else clean and bright. In illustrated first edition, first issue dust jacket with dark brown title to spine and front panels. The price of $3.00 is printed on the bottom corner of the front flap and the rear panel of Macmillan Spring Novels features "Gone with the Wind" in the second column in the second position underneath "South Riding." There are a few chips to the edges of the jacket, creases, wear, and several long closed tears along the edges of both panels and across the spine. The jacket is protected from further damage with a removable mylar cover, but has not been taped or repaired in any way. 1037 pages. Very Good / Very Good. (#36661)

Price: $4,800

Unique Binding of Argentinian Imprint of Edgar Allan Poe Poetry
Argentinian Binder - Sol Rébora

Poe, Edgar Allan; Sol Rébora (binder).
E.A. Poe: Dos Poemas / Two Poems.
Buenos Aires, Argentina: Francisco, A. Colombo, 1952.

In unique design binding by Sol Rébora. Number 36 of 87 copies on Fabriano paper. Includes Poe's 'Valley of Unrest' and 'Fairy Land' in both English and Spanish on facing pages. Engraved frontispiece by Raúl Veroni, with his signature in pencil. Bound in reddish-brown textured paper covered boards with pink leather spine embossed with a texture to match the paper boards. Titled in gilt in English to front board and in Spanish to rear board. Occasional spots of foxing to the interior. Initials printed in olive green and orange. Housed in a metallic pink flexible paper enclosure with paper title label to spine. Includes laid in prospectus. A lovely printing of these lesser known poems in a special binding. Unpaginated. [20 pages.]

Sol Rébora is a designer bookbinder working in Buenos Aires, Argentina, since 1999. She is a well-recognized practitioner, receiving awards both in Argentina and abroad. Her work encompasses innovative and experimental work in designer binding and contemporary conservation methods. She studied with Deborah Evetts, Monique Lallier, Pascale Therond, Edwin Heim, Helene Jolis, Sün Evrard and Kathy Abbott, among other teachers. She currently works and teaches courses out of her studio in addition to giving lectures and workshops in person and online at schools including the SF Center for the Book and Iowa University Center for the Book, American Academy of Bookbinding and Penland School of Crafts. She has participated in group exhibitions such us Epémère, Tomorrow’s Past and Les Pages Bien Gardees. Sol’s work may be found in many privet collections and inside of institution’s collections in USA, Mexico and UK such as Athenæum Library and British Library. Near Fine. (#36586)

Price: $800 

A Book of Collaged Word Puzzles

Satin, Claire Jeanine.
WHIM Book VII (Metal Circles).
Dania Beach, FL: Claire Jeanine Satin, 2022.

A unique artists' book from Claire Jeanine Satin, a well known book artist, sculptor and designer of public art installations. Satin's work has been extensively exhibited and collected in the United States and in Europe, including at The Library of Congress, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Getty (CA), MOMA, and The Victoria and Albert Museum. She is known especially for her conceptual works influenced by the ideas of her friend and mentor the composer/visual artist John Cage, and the conversion of ordinary industrial materials into environmental constructions and book works of layered transparent mass.

This is one of a series of unique works by Satin, each signed by her. Created from acid free white card stock paper and bound with clear filaments and beads, this book includes segmented letters, metal elements, various papers, and beads. The segmented letters all form words when they are joined by the reader.  It takes a bit of agile brain power to work them out.   Claire "plays and experiments with letters as abstract forms and sets them into unique aesthetic configurations." In fine condition. Measures 5 x 7 inches. Unpaginated [12 pages]. Fine. (#36087)

Price: $600

Created While Battling Cancer
- with hidden pockets and encouraging verses

Shattuck, Carolyn.
Resilience 2.
Rutland, VT: Carolyn Shattuck, 2015.

One of five copies signed by the book artist. Carolyn Shattuck is a noted printmaker, using monotype, dry point, painting, stencils and mixed media. In addition to her printmaking skills, Shattuck is architectural in the way she executes the intricate constructions for her artist's books, which highlight her interest in social and environmental causes. She exhibits her work nationally in numerous juried exhibitions and has received many awards. Her books have been collected by a number of special collections libraries at universities throughout the country.

In 2015 Carolyn Shattuck published her prize-winning book titled "Resilience." It began a series of four works all titled "Resilience," with varied imagery used in the editions. She described them as "a result of many hurdles that were put in my path. I had a choice to examine new ways of dealing with adversity. Besides meditation and talk therapy, I sought out exercise, yoga and art-making." The book was an accordion structure, with "explosion" popups of hidden pockets. The explosion pop-ups held phrases or significant words by people who have dedicated their lives to health. This work, "Resilience 2," was also created "to express the many forms of research and assistance sought by the artist to address the many hurdles that were put in my path. I had a choice to examine new ways of dealing with adversity. This book represents my journey." Like the previous book, this beautiful work is also a complex accordion structure with "explosion" popups that open like pockets. The phrases included in the pockets contain quotes about life from such figures as Margaret Mead, Buddha, Pema Chodron, Josei Toda, the Dalai Lama, and Nicholas Kristof.

At the end of the work is a statement that captures its ultimate message: "Life can only be found in the present moment. The past is gone, and the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life." Made with Black Canson Mi-teintes, Ingres, Hanhemule Bugra pastel, Lami Li and Washi Japanese papers. A white gel pen was used to create designs on the outer and inner pages. Housed in a black slipcase made from Lama Li paper with a black and gold paper sleeve with title. In fine condition. Measures 7.5 x 11 x 1.25 inches. Unpaginated.  (#36522)

Price: $1,800

Calligraphy in Spanish
Argentinian Book Artist

Soria, Marina; Ruth Corcuera (text).
Voces / Voices.
Buenos Aires: Marina Soria, 2022.

A unique artists' book with calligraphy inspired by cattle brands from Buenos Aires. Signed and dated by the artist. The text is in Spanish and has been hand illuminated by Marina Soria over a silkscreen print of the Soria's original calligraphy, printed by Professor Enrique Cambón. The text that inspired this piece was written by the famous Argentine historian, Ruth Corcuera, in her book, "Teleras, Memoria del monte Quichua." Ediciones Arte Etnico Argentino. Following is an English translation of the text that inspired this piece. Soria's calligraphy includes pieces of this text in the original Spanish:  

“Thousands of years ago, when only the voice recorded small and big events of everyday life, women would cover their newborn child in a wrap. In this we see a space created between the mother´s womb and the world outside. We believe textiles were born from such gestures, within the realm of feelings and from a women´s view: to protect, to give warmth and to sustain life. In time, textile art will be the means to tell us through colors and designs that the world can be read through symbols, (signs) as in a written text. In the great American cultures these symbols were a kind of lingua franca and textiles a major art with many roles, among them to express that where words did not suffice.”

Created using gouache on CM Fabriano 100% cotton paper. Accordion bound by Diego Ismael in tan linen covered boards with metal rings and removeable wooden dowel. Calligraphy title label to front board. This piece can be unfolded and read as a codex or displayed on a wall using the accompanying dowel. A fabric charm with metal pieces can also be hung from the dowel. In fine condition. Size: 114 x 57 cm open; 19.5 x 57 cm closed.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marina Soria is a seasoned artist and educator with degrees in Fine Arts and Graphic Design. Not content to just immerse herself in learning calligraphy at international conferences, and through courses with renowned calligraphers, she studied Eastern principles of Beauty in sumi-e (Japanese painting). She distilled and blended these principles with her rich experience and background in the fine arts, typography and graphic arts, employing unique approaches and techniques. She has also dabbled in the textile arts, creating a metaphor for weaving; letters as stitches and text as if it were a textile. Her works, vibrating with a love for nature and exploding with life and color, can be found in calligraphy collections in museums, universities, and libraries in the U.S., Europe, and South America. Marina has received numerous national and international awards, and has been featured widely in calligraphic arts publications. A prolific artist, experimental calligrapher, book artist, and educator, her goal is to mingle diverse disciplines to challenge the limits of conceptual art and technique. Fine. (#36072)

Price: $4,000

Living with Alzheimer's
& Memories of Jamaican Bush Tea

[Spell & Bind Press]
Krähn, Tiana, book artist.
Bush Tea.
Penngrove, CA: Spell & Bind Press, 2023.

Number 4 of 8 copies. Tiana Krähn is an accomplished book artist who makes small edition, hand-bound, letterpress printed poetry and story books under the name Spell & Bind Press. She writes about her work: "For me, hand setting type is a meditation. There is intention behind each letter, each word, each sentence. I believe that words, like spells cast into the world, should be carefully chosen. As I work I have pause to examine my motives. Poems and stories open portals in and out of other realms. Printing on a letterpress machine is such a physical process, and as the weight of the words sink deep within the page, I am always struck by the permanence of this action, and the beauty of marks that make meaning out of chaos and ink. The binding of books is yet another ritual I relish. It is work full of metaphor where each stitch is a scaffold in the building of a physical home to our thoughts and feelings, resulting in an intimate object to be kept close or to be shared. That is the magic of it all."

"Bush Tea" is an collection of vignettes, the memories of one man's childhood in rural Jamaica in the late 40's. As he grapples with the onset of Alzheimer's the simplicity of those early years are salve to his soul. Once bemused by the many jars of unlabeled herbs in my father's kitchen cupboard in London, I learned from him what he learned from his grandmother, that Bush Tea was the answer to all life's problems. It is a hot drink made from the healing herbs and edible plants one might find growing in the yard or along the roadside.

Bound in red cloth with a black spine in a variation of a drum leaf binding, with a cream title label on the front cover. Black endpapers with images of plants. The book is letterpress printed on tea dyed Fabriano paper, with hand colored original illustrations that depict some of the traditional plants that might be used for tea in the Caribbean. In fine condition. Measures 5 x 6.5 inches. Unpaginated [about 15 pages].  (#36620)

Price: $700 

Space Exploration, Modern Art, Poetry, Mythology, & Perfume
Text in Spanish & English
Letterpress Printed

[The Old School Press]
Boullousa, Carmen (poetry), Philip Hughes with Amy Petra Woodward (images); Psiche Hughes (translator and introduction).
Alchemy of the Planets | Alquimia de los Planetas.
Seaton, UK: Old School Press, 2018.

Number 21 of 60 copies. Numbered and signed by the poet, artists, translator, and printer. This collaboration between Mexican poet, Carmen Boullousa and English artist, Philip Hughes was inspired by space travel. According to the introduction, both the poet and artist decided to create this book after viewing new images of the planets and moons taken during recent space missions. The first step in this collaboration was Hughes's paintings, which are colorful abstractions of photographic planetary landscapes. Boullousa's poetry draws on Hughes's imagery and also on her research into celestial bodies in mythology, ancient rituals attached to their worship, and perfumes used during these rites. She cites Hesiod's "Theogony" and "Orphic Hymns" as being influential. This is the third book that Boullousa, Hughes, and translator, Psiche Hughes have collaborated on. 

This work is comprised of an introductory booklet and twelve folders containing poetry and artwork, each devoted to planets or moons including: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Europa, Saturn, Enceladus, Rhea, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. All text is letterpress printed in English and in Spanish. The contents include 32 artworks by Phillip Hughes, printed digitally from paintings, pastels, and digital collages, 13 poems, an introduction, and a list of included celestial bodies with details about relevant space missions. The poetry was hand-set in Hunt Roman type on Somerset Velvet Radiant White and the images were printed on Somerset Velvet Enhanced and mounted on Velin Arches Noir. Housed in an aluminum box with magnetic closure, which was produced by Graphic Metal Company, Ltd. with a blue silk-screened design to the front panel.

Phillip Hughes (1936 - ) is a self-taught English artist that often paints unusual landscapes from remote areas and archaeological sites; however, this is his first series of work dealing with extra-terrestrial topography. For this book, he was heavily influenced by photography from the New Horizons mission (2015) which provided close-up images of Pluto as well as images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2016), the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn (2016), the probe Dawn to the dwarf planet Ceres (2016), images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and more. His work is held in international collections including The British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Library of Congress. Mexican poet, novelist, and playwright, Carmen Boullousa (1954 - ), often addresses issues of feminism and gender roles in her work. When researching celestial bodies for this project, she was pleased to learn about Tapputi, a Babylonian woman who is considered to be the first female chemist and perfumer recorded in history. It is perhaps due to her that Boullousa chose to include references to perfume within her poetry.  Folder Size: 12.5 x 14 inches. Box Size: 14.75 x 16.5 x 3.75 inches. Fine. (#36085)

Price: $3,000

Collaborative Project with 25 Artists
Based on Jorge Luis Borge's Story "The Circular Ruins"

[The Printmakers Left]
Dean Dass, Anne Beck, et. al.
The Circular Ruins.
The Printmakers Left, 2002.

The Printmakers Left is an artists’ collective, an organization, and as such it can act and be received. But that collective is composed of individual artists, each with a singular voice and the ability to make course-altering decisions. Therein lies the tension that binds The Printmakers Left together and makes The Printmakers Left what it is. Which is to say that one aim of this collective and its participants is to promote a process of engagement with a complex world [Their website].

This was an edition of 25, with 23 bound and distributed to the participating artists. Only two were available for sale. This work is based on Jorge Luis Borges's story of the same title. The short story deals with themes that recur in Borges's work: idealism, the manifestation of thoughts in the "real world", meaningful dreams, and immortality. This volume celebrates a category of books created by William Blake in the 1790s - the printed manuscript, using a technique he invented utilizing relief etching. There were 25 participants involved in the making of this fascinating book. The book displays varied images and designs to convey the themes they inspired the artists from Borges's story. For 18 months they mailed sets of folios to each other. Almost anything was possible if it could be 30 times. All texts in the edition were typed on a manual typewriter and include previously unpublished poems by Lisa Russ Spaar. This is handsewn printed manuscript using multiple print media, clays, and pigments. It is casebound in a binding of pink cotton cloth with two small decorated paper shapes affixed to the front cover. In fine condition. Measures 10.375 x 9 inches. 206 pages.(#36514)

Price: $7,900 

Letterpress Edition of Bukowski's Semi-Autobiographical Novel Ham on Rye
Woodcuts by Sean Starwars

[The Prototype Press]
Bukowski, Charles; Sean Starwars (woodcuts).
Ham on Rye.
Oakland, CA: Prototype Press, 2017.

Number 21 of 52 copies. A finely printed edition of Bukowski's semi-autobiographical work about coming of age in Los Angeles during the Great Depression. Huge fans of Bukowski's work, printers David Johnston and Mark Sarigianis, aspired to print this modern classic in their early days of working together at the Arion Press. Years later, after forming The Prototype Press in 2014, they began the process of acquiring the printing rights, and Johnston digitally keyboarded the novel in preparation to begin typecasting. Unfortunately, he tragically passed on within a week of completing it. Over the next few years his partner Sarigianis completed the book, which necessitated a two-part casting of type and printing - with the first half of type melted down in order to cast the second. 

Illustrated by Sean StarWars, a woodcut artist living in Laurel, Mississippi with his wife and five children. He is also a proud member of the Outlaw Printmakers. Following is a note about this project from the artist: "Nobody really gets a Charles Bukowski quote right, so I’m just gonna paraphrase him: 'You’re only a writer when you’re writing’. I have taken that to heart as an artist, specifically as a printmaker. 'You’re only an artist when you’re making art, not when you’re talking about it…' With that in mind I have spent the last 25 years with my nose to the grindstone blasting out print after print after print. Being invited to illustrate "Ham on Rye" has been one of the most personally gratifying projects I have ever worked on. It has also been one of the most challenging. This project has forced me to do a number of things I don’t do well or easily, such as working small and working detailed. But there’s one other thing I learned from my years of devouring Bukowski and that’s to trust your gut, and I think I’ve gotten pretty good at doing that. I hope you see my woodcuts as Inspirations by Bukowski and not simply illustrations of his words.’’

Bound in handmade black paper from St. Armand over white pigskin with black title to spine. Light rubbing to boards, else fine. Letterpress printed in Goudy Powell with heads in Headline Bold. The chapter numbers and title page are printed with Condensed Gothic Bold woodtype. Printed on custom handmade paper from St. Armand with the watermarks of "CB" (the author's initials) and "HC" (the author's alter-ego, Henry Chinaski). The illustrations are printed from the original hand carved wood blocks over tinted blocks of cyan, magenta, and yellow. The type was cast and the book was printed and bound by the Prototype Press. Housed in a black paper covered slipcase titled in gilt to spine panel. 364 pages. Fine. (#36571)

Price: $3,500

Israeli Poetry - on the struggle of existing after the trauma of genocide
In Hebrew & English

[Wiesedruck]
Horowitz, Sarah, etching and design; Dan Pagis, poem; Carl Adamshick, translator.
Footprints.
Peshastin, Washington: Wiesedruck, 2016.

Number 26 of 36 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. In this book of poignant poetry, "the narrator struggles with existence, voice, and memory after the trauma of genocide. Souls and words cannot burn but they can be forgotten in the smoke, fog and hail of the Holocaust" (artist statement). Horowitz was inspired to create this book by her friend and poet Carl Adamshick’s translation of the original by the late Israeli poet Dan Pagis, which was published in his book 'Transformations.' Permission to use the original text came from the estate of the author and from ACUM in Israel. Horowitz's stark etchings of thousands of tiny tick marks and swirling lines, seemingly representative of thousands of lost souls, effectively create a melancholy atmosphere for this poignant poem.

An excerpt from the English translation of Pagis's poem:

"From the sky to the sky of skies,
from the sky of skies to fog.
Yannai

Despite myself I continue in this cloud:
hurried, gray, trying to forget.
In the distance the distance is retreating.
The knocking teeth of hail:
seeds,
refugees shoved quickly into their deaths. ..."

Bound in white textured paper wrappers with exposed sewing on spine and grey title to front cover. The text was printed in Arno and Harel types on Zerkall paper by Art Larson of Horton Tank Graphics. Thirteen etchings were drawn, etched, and printed in graphite ink by Sarah Horowitz. A translucent sheet of abaca paper covers the book. Housed in a grey cloth covered box with paper title label to spine. Binding and box are by Julia Weese-Young. In Hebrew and English. Size: 12.5 x 9.5 inches.

Sarah Horowitz has been awarded multiple grants and has held residencies at several arts centers including ArtBellwald in Switzerland. She taught printmaking at Portland State University for over ten years and was a member of Atelier Mars printmaking workshop during her time in Portland. Her press is named for the Wiese stream that runs through her grandparents backyard near Basel, Switzerland. Much of her work is printed on a Charles Brand Press once owned by Leonard Baskin. Her work is held in private and institutional collections across the U.S. Fine. (#36230)

Price: $2,800

Hand-Drawn Wordless Narrative with Original Musical Score (CD included)
The Destruction of America - from the forests in the time of Native Americans to slavery to modern day to climate change and racism

Williams, Thomas Parker, artist.
Paradise Lost.
Philadelphia: Thomas Parker Williams, 2019.

A unique artist's book from noted book artist Thomas Parker Williams signed and dated by him. Williams began creating artists' books in 1998 while also painting. As of 2009 he has limited his art practice exclusively to artists' books. Books by Williams or the Luminice Press imprint under which he and his wife Mary Agnes Williams issue books, may be found in over 70 public collections around the country including the Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Paradise Lost" is a compelling wordless narrative accompanied by original music that explores variations of loss in America, over time and in the present. Williams describes the meaning of his book in a passionate statement: "Starting with the forests where native peoples lived before Columbus, the book follows slavery as Africans are captured and forced to work on plantations owned by wealthy white men. Although many landowners lost their way of life after the Civil War, the anonymous power figures did not die, and continue to crush black, brown and white workers and families who are expendable. Finally, as we confront the reality of climate change, even the Earth itself is expendable. In the past four years America has further revealed its dark side. Blatant racism against black, brown and Asian citizens has become almost normal. However most of the perpetrators of these acts fail to realize that they are just pawns of the real power figures who care nothing for them and will throw them away when they are no longer needed....If America, or for that matter the rest of the world, ever wants to find 'paradise' again, we must realize that resources will have to be shared and all people will have to be respected. Otherwise, our lives will be enmeshed in constant conflict that will benefit no one except the anonymous power figures."

The book is held in a custom hinged wood container with the title on a copper plate affixed to the cover. It measures 8.25 x 15.5 x 2 inches. There are 20 original black and white ink drawings that trace the history of the enslavement and misery imposed on indigenous peoples since their paradise was discovered centuries ago. There are mysterious figures on several of the drawings that represent the anonymous power figures. The drawings are done on 20 sheets of Twinrocker Da Vici Heavy Text handmade paper. The book is accordion bound, with each sheet measuring 7 x 14.75 inches that extend to 295 inches when the sheets are unfurled. There are two discs in envelopes affixed to a black paper cover: a DVD of the book's video and music made by the artist to accompany the book, as well as a CD of the music only. This original music was composed, performed and recorded by the artist. Housed in a custom clamshell gray cloth box. In fine condition.  (#36570)

Price: $9,500