Artists' Book on Russia and Ukraine War
Personal Reflections by Russian Book Artist

Akhmadeeva, Ioulia.
Witnesses and Testimonies.
City of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico: Ioulia Akhmadeeva, 2024.

Number 5 of 5 copies. A powerful new work by Russian born artist, Ioulia Akhmadeeva about the atrocities occurring in the ongoing war in Ukraine. She has both Ukrainian and Russian heritage and makes visual comparisons between the current war and prior wars in the region with inclusions of personal relics, photographs, and familial memories. Each book / box contains a different object and photograph. The personal objects in this copy are: 1) an original photograph of Valentina Voloshina, the mother of artist, with her friend  Olga Gorkovenko signed by Valentina with date 1962, and 2) the monthly real salary of 160 rubles of Valentina Voloshina (1943-2001), in 10 and 25 rubles denomination banknotes, issued between 1961 and 1991 in the USSR.

"In the dark corner of history, between 1941 and 1945 (Great Patriotic War in the USSR) and now since 2022, Ukraine and Russia are involved in a brutal war that leaves indelible scars on their land and lives of those who inhabit them. The harsh reality of the conflict is intertwined in the book with the family stories that lie behind each photographic image-testimony from one's own family album, old photographs or current images on the internet. It is also a journey to the heart of everyday life, intertwining personal experiences with the collective history of my native country, which no longer exists. In "Witnesses and Testimonies" the images of the war before and now coexist with my family photographs, and the treasured objects stand as silent witnesses of an era. These objects, more than simple artifacts, are fragments of identity and have their own history, a narrative that speaks both about society and the people who owned them. Each one becomes a portal-connector with the past. These objects, carefully preserved over time, are more than mere witnesses; they are silent narrators of everyday life that persists even in the midst of any war. Wars not only destroy lives, but also the memories. The pages of photographic albums and everyday objects become collateral victims of conflicts that irreversibly alter the previous life. I try to reflect on what remains after us: the sewing thimble, a knitted collar, a fork, an empty matchbox or a wad of bills that witnessed another era. Both photographs and objects are keepers of stories, bearers of identities and silent witnesses of time lost but not forgotten" (artist statement).

Bound in brown cloth with Japanese stab binding and paper title label to front board. A series of photogravures printed on Kozo paper with rubber stamp texts. The book, the banknote, an original photograph of the artist's mother, and an envelope containing five inkjet print cards of the authors drawings of sentimental objects with information about the book in Spanish and English are all housed in a custom box. The box is covered in matching brown cloth with paper title label to front panel. [20 pages].

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. Fine. (#37802)

Price: $3,000

Artists' Book on the Mediterranean Immigration Crises
Egyptian Book Artist

Aly, Islam, book artist.
Mare Nostrum.
Cairo: Islam Aly, 2022.

Number 35 of 50 copies signed, numbered, and dated by Islam Aly, the artist. "Mare Nostrum" is a bilingual book in English and Arabic that spotlights the Mediterranean Immigration Crises, with people from sub-Saharan Africa, the middle and far east going to north Africa to cross the Mediterranean using primitive boats and the help from traffickers of immigrants. According to the Missing Migrants Project, more than 23,600 missing migrants have been recorded in the Mediterranean since 2014. This book records the words of some of the migrants who survived the journey. "Mare Nostrum," Latin for "Our Sea," was the Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea. Also, the Italian government uses the name Mare Nostrum for the military and humanitarian operations to rescue the migrants and arrest the traffickers of immigrants.

This intricate book, bound in silk-screened white and blue cloth with boat images, has several sections of eight pages, each with a quote from a migrant in English and Arabic. There is also a laser cut out of a boat and five laser cut circles. When each page of the section is turned, the text and boat image start to fade until they are virtually invisible by the last page. The book, with a Coptic binding, is accompanied by five small brass boats that are housed in a separate compartment in the book's box. The boats can be inserted to stand up in the laser cut circles. The box holding the book and brass boats is covered in dark blue cloth with title label to box lid. It has a long blue leather tie with a brass boat attached. Box size: 14.5 x 5 x 2.5 inches. The book is 9 x 4.5 inches. A beautiful production in fine condition.

Islam Aly is an Egyptian-born book artist and teacher based in Cairo, who studied book arts and art education at the University of Iowa. His books explore the possibilities of historical bindings in contemporary book art practices They have appeared in international exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and in private and public collections including the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Library of Chile, Yale University, and Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

In an artist's statement he writes: "When I make a historical book structure, I go through a learning process. I learn the history as well as the different physical aspects of the binding such as how a book form is constructed in a specific sequence. I learn about the use of different materials such as paper, wood, leather and dyes. I learn to make choices in selecting and replacing traditional materials that I don’t have access to. I use these different experiences to enhance my work in making artists’ books and to use historical and cultural references from these structures in the actual content. In essence, I wish to explore new ways to use the rich structures of historical books in contemporary artists’ book practice and incorporate contemporary content into strictly historical structures." Fine. (#37812)

Price: $1,500

Arion Press Edition of The Great Gatsby

[Arion Press]
Fitzgerald, F. Scott; Michael Graves, illustrator.
The Great Gatsby.
San Francisco: Arion Press, 1984.

One of 400 copies signed by the illustrator. This was the 15th volume issued by the Press. It is a handsome and rather austere production from this famed press of Fitzgerald's incomparable classic. The illustrations are line drawings done in red by the well known architect Michael Graves. There are no illustrations of the characters. Instead they depict houses, cars, and various objects such as a telephone, martini glasses, a lawnmower and a bouquet in a vase among many others.

Bound in gray paper boards with a green cloth spine and tips, and a white title label. The covers depict the entrance forecourt and rear veranda to Gatsby's mansion. The book was produced under the direction of Andrew Hoyem. The types are Goudy Light and Piehler Capitals and printed on French mould-made Rives paper. Bound by the Schubert Bookbindery. Housed in a slipcase in green cloth with gray paper covers with illustrations of Gatsby's estate and a paper spine label. In fine condition. Measures 7.75 x 10.25 inches. 179 pages. (#37564)

Price: $2,400

Deluxe White Leather Binding - 1 of 5 Copies
Arion Press Edition of Moby Dick with Barry Moser Illustrations

[Arion Press]
Melville, Herman; Barry Moser, illustrator.
Moby Dick; Or the Whale.
San Francisco: Arion Press, 1979.

One of 265 copies of which 250 copies were for sale. However, this spectacular copy is one of only five specially bound by the press in luxurious white leather. The owner of the press, Andrew Hoyem kept one copy and this copy was owned by a private collector. The whereabouts of the other three copies are unknown, and this special edition has never appeared on the market or at auction. This book has been described by William Everson as "a feat of craftsmanship unexcelled in modern printing," and named by the Grolier Club as one of the 100 most beautiful books of the twentieth century.

According to the 24 page prospectus for the book, this was the sixth publication issued by the press, which is described by them as "one of the most elaborate printing ventures ever to be undertaken by an American press, and nothing will be spared in the effort to make it the finest of books." There is a several page description of the making of this magnificent edition. They write: "Despite many editions -perhaps because of its length - it has not been accorded the full typographical treatment that a classic of its stature deserves"....in the early days of [the press] they considered the possibility of their printing a handset folio Moby Dick. It took ten years from the early discussions for the press to secure the capital for this long-planned venture. They go on to explain in detail the type and paper selection, followed by a section on the illustrations by the renowned artist Barry Moser of the Pennyroyal Press. It was decided from the inception of the project that there would be no dramatic or interpretive scenes that would imposed on the reader's imagination. Instead, the text would be interspersed with informative depictions of subjects mentioned by Melville.

It took 14 months to print this folio copy of Moby Dick. Bound in full white leather with the illustrated image of a whale debossed on the front cover and titling to the spine. With beautiful blue endpapers. The text was set by hand in Goudy Modern, with initial letters printed in blue at the start of each of the 135 chapters in Leviathan Capitals, a special alphabet designed for the purpose by Charles Bigelow & Kris Holmes. Printed on Barcham Green's handmade paper, which is watermarked with the outline of a whale. Very light occasional foxing to fore-edges, not affecting the text pages. Housed in a custom box covered with gray cloth bearing a title label printed on the same white leather used on the special binding. Accompanied by the prospectus. In fine condition. Measures 10 x 15 x 3 inches. 577 pages. (#37467)

Price: $50,000

James Baldwin's Powerful Text on Race Relations
with Photographic Illustrations of Civil Rights Leaders & Marches
Collectors Edition, Signed by Photographer

Baldwin, James; Steve Schapiro, photographs; John Lewis, introduction; Gloria Karefa-Smart, afterword.
The Fire Next Time.
Taschen, 2017.

Number 1641 of 1963 copies signed by the photographer. This is the collector's edition with each copy printed in letterpress and signed by Steve Schapiro (1934 - 2022). Winner of the 2017 Lucie Award, Book Publisher of the Year for a Limited Edition. In their review of this powerful and troubling book, The American Institute of Architects and Amazon described it: " First published in 1963, James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time stabbed at the heart of America s so-called Negro problem. As remarkable for its masterful prose as for its frank and personal account of the black experience in the United States, it is considered one of the most passionate and influential explorations of 1960s race relations, weaving thematic threads of love, faith, and family into a candid assault on the hypocrisy of the land of the free. Now, James Baldwin 's rich, raw, and ever relevant prose is reprinted with more than 100 black and white and color photographs from Steve Schapiro, who traveled the American South with Baldwin for Life magazine. The encounter thrust Schapiro into the thick of the movement, allowing for vital, often iconic, images both of civil rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Fred Shuttlesworth, and Jerome Smith and such landmark events as the March on Washington and the Selma march. Rounding out the edition are Schapiro 's stories from the field, an original introduction by civil rights legend and U.S. Congressman John Lewis, captions by journalist Marcia Davis, and an essay by Gloria Baldwin Karefa-Smart, who was with her brother James in Sierra Leone when he started to work on the story. The result is a remarkable visual and textual record of one of the most important and enduring struggles of the American experience"

Writes the publisher: "All the grief, grit, and unassailable dignity of the civil rights movement are evoked in this letterpress edition of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, illustrated with photographs by Steve Schapiro. Together, Baldwin’s frank account of the black experience and Schapiro’s vital images offer poetic and potent testimony to one of the most important struggles of American society."

Bound in red paper covered boards with images of marchers affixed to the front and back covers and with a black and red title label to spine. The book was published with two different paper stocks and includes tip-ins such as a reproduction of the Time magazine issue of May 17, 1963 with James Baldwin on the cover. Housed in a brown cardboard slip case with black and red title sheet affixed to one side and spine, and images of marchers on the other. In fine condition. Measures 9.4 x 13.4 inches. 272 pages. (#37589)

Price: $700

Deluxe Edition with Extra Suite of Prints
Birds & Beasts in Shakespeare's Works - Cheloniidae Press

[Cheloniidae Press]
Shakespeare, William; Alan James Robinson, design and illustrations; text by Arthur F. Kinney.
The Birds and Beasts of Shakespeare.
[Easthampton, MA]: Cheloniidae Press, 1990.

Number 21 of 100 (xxi/c) copies in the deluxe edition, signed and numbered by illustrator and book designer Alan James Robinson. There were also 26 copies bound in quarter leather. This magnificent book was undertaken by the press as a celebration of its tenth anniversary. It is one of the great achievements of Robinson's Cheloniidae Press, one of the most respected American private presses. Founded in 1979, the press went through several incarnations during its existence. The constant throughout was the artistry of Alan James Robinson, who became famed for his superlative wood engravings and etchings of animals, birds, the sea, and more. The original text for this edition was written by Arthur F. Kinney, who was then the Thomas W. Copland Professor of Literary History at the University of Massachusetts and an extensive publisher and lecturer on Shakespeare.

From the prospectus: this book "focuses on popular bird and animal lore and the way Shakespeare turns it into lines of haunting and indelible beauty by describing the familiar and unfamiliar ideas about [many creatures] and by showing how Shakespeare used these [ideas] to shape character and plot in his plays....Shakespeare's imaginative use of observed detail and magical fantasies is matched by the intricate and mysterious wood engravings of Robinson."

Beautifully bound by noted binders Claudia Cohen and Sarah Creighton in full rust morocco with the title stamped in gilt on the front panel within a blind rule at the outer edge of the covers, raised bands, and leather hinges. Illustrated with 54 wood engravings depicting the birds and beasts found in Shakespeare's plays and poems, plus two portraits of the Bard: one etching and one wood engraving. The book is accompanied by an additional suite of 56 signed and numbered prints from the illustrations. There is also an original watercolor of a Barnacle goose that is not known or called for in the prospectus. They are housed in a linen covered portfolio. The prospectus is also included. There are beautiful hand marbled endpapers by Faith Robinson. The book was printed on special Cheloniidae Rag paper carrying the press watermark that is the exact size of the First Folio of 1623. The type is Centaur and Arrighi set by M&H Type in San Francisco with additional hand composition by Arthur Larson. The book was letter press printed by master printer Harold Patrick McGrath. Housed in a custom clamshell box in near fine condition covered with beige linen with a brown leather spine label. The book is In fine condition. Book is 10.5 x 16 inches. Box is 11 x 17 inches. iv + 87 single fold pages. (#36848)

Price: $5,800

Over 5 Foot Long Scroll Book of Animals & Monsters
Papercuts with Poem in French

Coron, Béatrice, book artist.
La Faune Norge.
New York: Béatrice Coron, 2018.

Number 1 of 3 copies. A scroll book of animals with hidden monsters. A poem in French about animals eating other animals is mounted on the inner flaps. The interior includes a small battery powered blue LED light. The scroll is handcut on Tyvek myriopticon. It velcros into the box onto wooden dowels, but can be removed and laid flat. The front panels of the box are held closed with a magnet. Paper title label to top of box. A playful, inventive, and interactive book art object. Box size: 12 x 15 x 3 inches. Length of scroll: about 64 inches.

Text of the Poem in French and English:

La faune par Norge
Et toi, que manges-tu grouillant?
-je mange le velu qui digère le pulpeux qui ronge le rampant.
Et toi, rampant, que manges-tu?
- je dévore le trottinant qui bâfre l’ailé qui croque le flottant.
Et toi, flottant, que manges-tu?
- j’engloutis le vulveux qui suce le ventru qui mâche le sautillant.
Et toi, sautillant, que manges-tu?
-je happe le gazouillant qui gobe le bigarré qui égorge le galopant.
Est-il bon, chers mangeurs? est-il bon, le goût du sang?
Doux, doux, tu ne sauras jamais comme il est doux, herbivore!

Wildlife by Norge
And you swarming, what are you eating?
- I eat the hairy one that digests the pulpy one that gnaws at the creeper.
And you crawling, what are you eating?
- I devour the trotter, which slurps the winged one, which bites the floater.
And you floating, what are you eating?
- I swallow the vulva sucking the pot-bellied one chewing the hopping.
And you hopper, what are you eating?
- I catch the chirp that swallows the variegated who slaughters the galloping.
Is it good, dear eaters, is the taste of blood good?
- Sweet, sweet! You'll never know how sweet it is, herbivore!

In Fine Condition. (#36864)

Price: $1,500

Unique Design Binding by Argentinian Binder & Artist - Sol Rebora
Letterpress Printed on Handmade Paper, Limited Edition

Gruss, Luis; Sol Rébora (binder); Rubén Fontana (typography), Lucrecia Orloff (illustrator), Viky Sigwald (paper), Mariana Pariani and Patricio Gatti (design and printing).
Finlandeses.
Buenos Aires, Argentina: Imprenta Ideal, 2008.

In a unique design binding by Sol Rébora. This letterpress printed collaboration on handmade paper is limited to 25 copies. The other 24 copies are in a case binding of cloth and paper. Features a frontispiece woodcut illustration by Lucrecia Ofloff. Printed on handmade paper by Viky Sigwald in type designed by Rubén Fontana. The book design and printing was done by Mariana Pariani and Patricio Gatti. The text (in Spanish) is poetry by Luis Gruss (1953 - 2021), an award-winning Argentinian poet, journalist, author, and professor. Gruss has contributed to most of the media publications in Argentina, from Clarín, La Nación and Página to the Latido and Los Inrockuptibles magazines. He has published the books Malos Poetas (1998) and La carne (2004), among others. In 2003 he received the Argentores special prize for his dramatic work Oscura Clarice. He also wrote the essay The Unreachable (Women in the life and work of Kafka, Pessoa and Pavese), first finalist in the essay contest organized by La Nación (Intellectual Capital, 2008). As a journalism teacher at the TEA school (Workshop, School, Agency) he has received a special distinction that rewards his career. Later in his career, Gruss edited books belonging to an academic collection sponsored in Argentina by the IDAES (Institute of Higher Social Studies).

Bound in full dark grey leather covered boards printed with an embossed pattern. Both boards are decorated with relief inlays of white Japanese paper. The title is handstamped in grey to the front board. Handsewn white endbands and Japanese endpapers. The interior is clean and bright overall with a few scattered spots of foxing. The construction of the text block uses a reversible stub structure, which allows for easy access to the sewing threads, making any future repairs for a conservator simple. For more details about this reversible stub structure, see this page: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1afzoVW9qSzVaQchryT8gzpL9MRi4iGvC/view Housed in a custom-made clamshell box with white leather spine printed in matching embossed pattern over grey paper covered boards. The title and author's name are hand stamped in black title to spine. The book is hand-paginated in pencil on bottom corners. [48 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. Fine. (#36584)

Price: $2,800

Emery Walker & Bruce Rogers Edition of The Odyssey

Homer; T.E. Shaw, translator [T.E. Lawrence].
The Odyssey of Homer.
[London], England: Sir Emery Walker, Wilfred Merton, and Bruce Rogers, 1932.

One of 500 copies offered for sale of 530 copies of this monumental edition of Homer's Odyssey. The book was printed at the works of Emery Walker, Ltd., under the supervision of Bruce Rogers. Walker and Rogers were two of the most influential figures in the world of books, design, and printing in the late 19th and early 20th century. Emery Walker (1851-1933) was an English engraver, photographer and printer. Walker took an active role in many organizations that were at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, including the Art Workers Guild, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He also was a key figure in the world of design, typography and printing, in the teaching and dissemination of those crafts, and in the cultural landscape of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain. Bruce Rogers (1870 – 1957) was an American typographer and type designer, acclaimed by some as among the greatest book designers of the twentieth century. Rogers was known for his "allusive" typography, rejecting modernism, seldom using asymmetrical arrangements, rarely using sans serif type faces, often favoring faces such as Bell (at the time known only as Brimmer), Caslon, his own Montaigne, a Jensonian precursor to his masterpiece of type design Centaur. His books can fetch high sums at auction. [Wikipedia]

In his book, "Paragraphs on Printing" on pages 148-160, Rogers recounted the four year creation of the Odyssey, from his asking Lawrence to translate the work, to creating the perfect paper and making ink, and the special gold and seven-step printing operation of the rondels. It was widely recognized that Rogers had created a masterpiece (see Blumenthal, Art of the Printed Book). Rogers had been inspired by his reading of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" to persuade Lawrence to undertake this new translation. Lawrence began his work in 1928, and after some years produced a translation of the classic using his personal experience in the fog of war as well as faithfulness to the text as his guidelines.

Bound in full black Niger morocco with gilt toes and lettering on the spine in gold. Printed on special paper made by J. Barcham Greem & Son in 16-point Monotype Centaur. There are 26 decorations of Homeric figures from Greek vase-paintings that are printed in black on roundels of gold leaf that at the head of each Book and on the title page. There is a two inch long ink line on the front free endpaper and the usual discoloration from the leather turns. Otherwise a fine copy. Accompanied by the prospectus. Not in original slipcase. Now housed in a very good fleece lined black clamshell box with a leather spine and black cloth covers. With a bit of scuffing and signs of handling. With an unusual Velcro closure. Measures 8.25 - 11.5 inches. Unpaginated [358 pages]. Fine. (#37494)

Price: $10,000

Unique Calligraphic Artists' Book Inspired by Lorca's Poetry

Ingmire, Thomas, calligrapher and book artist; Frederico García Lorca, poet; Jerome Rothenberg, translator.
Suites Song.
2010.

This is an exquisite and unique visual verbal book by the acclaimed calligrapher and book artist Thomas Ingmire. It is signed and dated by him. Ingmire writes in a brief biography that he has "been hanging out in the San Francisco North Beach Cafes since 1972...which coincides with his interests in calligraphy, drawing, painting, and bookmaking. Since 2002 he has concentrated on the making of artist's books. He has embarked on a number of collaborative projects, including a series of books with Manuel Neri; work as an illuminator on the famous St. John's Bible; and the creation of original books in collaboration with poets from the UK, Singapore, the Republic of the Philippines, and the United States."

In a review written by Bruce Nixon for a 2013 exhibition held at Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts on Ingmire's calligraphy in collaboration with poets and artists, he writes: "back in the 1980s, a period when Thomas Ingmire was already beginning to establish himself as a calligrapher of note, much of his work drew upon poetry by Blake, Rimbaud, Eliot, Stevens, and Levertov - exactly the kind of text we typically associate with the strategies of modern calligraphy...with the traditional, rule-bound duties of elegant lettering and decoration. Even then, he was fascinated by the pictorial possibilities of language, the word{s) as image, the immersion of language in an exhilarating atmosphere of visual invention....The entire basis of his [current ] enterprise can be enclosed, perhaps, in the idea that (our) written language...related to drawing through line, can still partake freely in the protean, originative energies of drawing, while its bases in orthography and the alphabet insure as well that the calligrapher is free to look every which way across an endlessly negotiable territory between text, functionality, and art."

On his website Ingmire writes that "this book was inspired by my work with Manuel Neri and the poetry of Lorca. Most of the work that I had done with the collaboration had involved, for lack of better words, Lorca's more despairing poetry. I wanted to do something fairly straightforward with a few of his lighter, more playful poems. I chose three poems and balanced them against simple watercolor figure drawings. With the drawings I wanted to capture the directness and simplicity of form seen in Manuel Neri's drawings on which they are based." In the colophon to this stunning work, Ingmire writes that "the inspiration for this book springs from an artists book collaboration featuring original drawings by Manuel Neri and my calligraphic interpretation of poetry by Frederico García Lorca. This "Lorca/Neri" project, spanning the years 2007-2010 gave me a unique appreciation of the visual and emotional links between the creations of these two artists." Bound in multicolored paper covers. The illustrations and calligraphic text were done in watercolors, goache, sumi, gold leaf, and gold powder. The book is held in an paper folder in shades of blue contrasted with orange. A blue paper band with the title in orange encircles the folder. In fine condition. Measures 7.75 x 10 inches. Unpaginated [28 pages]. (#37435)

Price: $3,400

Feminist Reading of 3 Classics: Scarlet Letter, Madame Bovary, and Crime and Punishment

Dialogue with 3 Female Main Characters, Modern Songwriters, Philosophers, and Others

References Black Lives Matter, Covid-19 Pandemic, and Other Current Events

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

Number 11 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 in 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 volume is 300-pages, consisting of 75 folios folded into 19 signatures, with back endsheet printed letterpress. The text is digitally typeset in Adobe Jenson Pro with additional fonts (Lydian Cursive MT, Fine Gothic Medium, Luminari, Berliner, Berliner Fraktur, Garamond Premier Pro, and Goudy Text MT). The typography and page compositions were designed in Adobe InDesign over many hundreds of hours for more than 30 months. Image reproductions of artworks were painstakingly color-corrected in Adobe PhotoShop. A selection of drawings and photographs were manipulated in Adobe Illustrator. The text of the novels was digitally printed with archival pigmented inks on over 3,600 sheets, with an Epson Professional SureColor P600 inkjet printer. Most of the commentaries and calligrams were printed letterpress on a Vandercook Universal III Automatic Adjustable Bed Press (Uni III A/B), with a limited color palette of deep red, aqua blue, and grey inks. There are over 180 letterpress print runs. The pages are Crane's Lettra archival cotton rag text weight papers. The palette is limited, and the commentaries and page designs thoughtfully composed with reverence to the history of the book. 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

Presentation Copy from Henry James to Dear Friend, Lucy Clifford
First Edition

James, Henry.
Essays in London and Elsewhere.
London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1893.

First edition. An excellent association copy of one of James's major books of essays. It is his presentation copy to Lucy Clifford, “Mrs. Clifford from her friend & servant Henry James.” Henry James (1843-1916) was one of the most important writers in American letters as well as one of its most productive and influential. Lucy Clifford (1846-1921) was a British novelist and dramatist with a wide circle of literary friends, most notably Henry James. From their letters it is clear that she held a special place in his affections and was one of his closest friends and confidantes. (See “Bravest of women, finest of friends”: Henry James’s Letters to Lucy Clifford, ed. Marysa Demoor and Monty Chisholm, 1999). The essays include pieces on James Russell Lowell, Fanny Kemble, Gustave Flaubert, Henrk Ibsen, and Mrs. Humphrey Ward.

Bound in original beige cloth with gilt author and title to spine and front cover, and an Art Nouveau style decoration on front. Light rubbing, bumping, and three ink stains on front cover. Interior pages show slight aging to margins but are otherwise clean. A nice copy in very good condition. Housed in a cream cloth covered clamshell box with black and gilt title label to spine. 320 pages. Very Good. (#28900)

Price: $5,500

Jewish Book Artist
Hebrew Prayer Book with Poetry Created from Mein Kampf
A Unique Artists' Book

Kokin, Lisa, book artist.
Selections from Mein Kampf.
El Sobrante, CA: Lisa Kokin, 1999.

This is a unique altered book by Lisa Kokin,and signed by her. She is a noted book artist who also creates art with sewing and alterations, as well as with button work and assemblage. She also is known for acting as a mentor and coach to people in the arts. The book she chose to alter for this work was actually fragments from a Hebrew prayer book for the dead that she found in a disintegrated state at a secondhand shop. The text is from the English edition of Mein Kampf that Kokin has used in the creation of four books. She said that she found the book at a flea market, and it stayed in her studio for many years until she could bring herself to approach it. So the words are Hitler's words in translation. She has rearranged them to create found poetry. In doing so she has created a powerful and evocative piece of book art.

An excerpt:
"superior race or political twerps
men, crammed full of doubt
can not be taken literally.
they have become walking encyclopedias
of despair
their intellectual baggage a tiny knapsack
Nothing more"

The book opens as a notebook or steno pad, with the boards bound at the top with twine. The boards are chipped, stained and soiled. The title is stamped in gilt on the front cover. Kokin used her sewing artistry to create designs made by her stitches on the pages, with strands of the thread used overlapping the page edges. The English words taken from the Mein Kampf translation are stitched onto pages of the prayer book. In fine condition. Measures 2.5 x 5.25 x 1.25 inches. (#37049)

Price: $4,500

Book of Common Prayer - Merrymount Press Edition
From C.H. St. John Hornby's Library - with bookplate
A Gift from John Pierpont Morgan - with card

[Merrymount Press].
The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church. According to the Use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David.
[Boston]: Merrymount Press, 1928.

One of 500 copies printed for The Commission by the Merrymount Press, of which only 250 were for sale. This copy has a marvelous provenance. There is a book label affixed to the front pastedown, "From the Library of C.H. St John Hornby Shelley House Chelsea." Hornby was the founder of the famed Ashendene Press. On the front free endpaper is the card of Mr. John Pierpont Morgan, with the handwritten "With the compliments of" above his printed name. Also attached to the free front endpaper is a printed slip of paper with "Acknowledgment of the receipt of this copy should be addressed to Mr. J.P. Morgan/The Pierpont Morgan Library/33 East 36th Street/New York City. [From Wikipedia] "In 1928, the Episcopal Church decided to issue a revision of its Book of Common Prayer, to be financed by J.P. Morgan, Jr., whose father had funded the previous revision in 1892. Morgan solicited designs from several printing houses, including the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, William Edwin Rudge, and Merrymount Press. Daniel Berkeley Updike, a devout Episcopalian, provided two designs for the Prayer Book, one in Lutetia typeface and one in Janson; the Dutch Janson was ultimately chosen for what would become known as Merrymount's finest work."

A Century for a Century, co-author Martin Hutner writes: "Much fine work emanated from Daniel Berkeley Updike's Merrymount Press....[Updike] founded his Press in 1893. Initially heavily influenced by William Morris and the Kelmscott Press, the Merrymount Press was to become one of the longest-lived - fifty-six years - and most distinguished presses in America in the first half of the twentieth century....the Press's masterpiece, The Book of Common Prayer exhibits the elegance, superb design, scholarship, and printing which represent the best of American work.[It is listed as number 25 in Hutner's book]."

Bound in a fine ox-blood colored pigskin from Edward & James Richardson of Newcastle-upon Tyne, with five bands to the spine and titling there and on front cover in black. Top edges gilt, other edges untrimmed. Printed in black and red throughout from handset Janson type on Kelmscott Hammer and Anvil paper. The book is described: ” Without decoration, except a typographic leaf, initial letters, and rubrication, this is an austere and handsome quarto." In near fine to fine condition. Very slight rubbing to spine corners. A few light spots of foxing to fore-edge of text block, else interior pages are clean and bright. Measures 9.75 x 13.25 inches. 611 pages (#37508)

Price: $7,000

Pennyroyal Press Edition of Huck Finn
Barry Moser Illustrations

[Pennyroyal Press]
Twain, Mark; Barry Moser, illustrations; Henry Nash Smith, foreword.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
West Hatfield, MA: Pennyroyal Press, 1985.

Number 291 of 350 copies signed by Barry Moser and accompanied by a separate unsigned suite of the forty-nine engravings. It was printed by the press in December 1984 as the centenary edition of Twain's Huckleberry Finn, which was first published in December 1894 in England and in February 1895 in the United States. This edition is a fitting and celebratory commemoration of Huckleberry Finn, Twain's book is named among the Great American Novels. The work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, the narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and ) and a friend of Tom Sawyer. It is a direct sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. [Wikipedia]

As stated by John Henry Nash in his foreword, we are reminded "that the course of American literature was changed by Huck Finn. This lavishly produced book from Moser's famed Press is one of five magnificent books published by the Press between 1982 and 1985. The other titles included Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, Frankenstein, and The Wizard of Oz. After that period the Press resumed issuing smaller books.

Beautifully bound in full green morocco with gilt rulings to the front cover and spine. Gilt titling to spine. A gilt circle on the front cover encloses the dates 1895 and 1995. There is a slight indent to the leather on the cover that is hardly visible. Printed with Centaur and Arrighi types on Mohawk Letterpress paper. The hand composition was done by P. Chase Twichell at the Press. The elegant calligraphy on the title page is the work of Yvette Rutledge. The binding was designed and executed at Gray Parrot in Easthampton, MA. The 49 unsigned engravings of the book's illustrations are in a gray cloth covered portfolio. Both the book and portfolio are housed in a slipcase covered with the same cloth as the portfolio. There is very slight bowing to the bottom of one side and some visible stitching on the bottom of the case. The book is in fine condition in a near fine slipcase. Measures 10 x 12.75 inches. 419 pages plus unnumbered plates and colophon.(#37577)

Price: $2,800

Argentinian Calligrapher
Calligraphic Work on the Importance of Textiles to Andean Cultures
Exploration of Positive & Negative Space

Soria, Marina; Ruth Corcuera (text).
Espacio Intermedio / Intermediate Space.
Buenos Aires: Marina Soria, 2022.

Two unique artists' books with text in Spanish. 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.”

The calligraphy and design in these books plays with the concept of positive and negative space. Gouache on Ingres color papers, sewn by machine, with metal rings, wooden dowels, and two accompanying bundles of multi-colored wool that can be attached one of the rings or the wooden dowel. Both books are bound in black linen by the artist with inlaid paper featuring a calligraphic coyote. In fine condition. [6 pages.] Size: 123 x 30 cm open; 20.5 x 30 cm closed (each)

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 renown 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. (#36089)

Price: $4,000

Unique Artists' Book on the Life Cycle of Crows
Pen & Wash Drawings with Acrylic Paintings

Williams, Thomas Parker, book artist.
Journey.
Philadelphia: Thomas Parker Williams, 2022.

A unique artist's book from noted artist Thomas Parker Williams. It is part of the series "Wordless - Painted and Drawn Narratives," which Williams conceived, designed, illustrated, bound and for which he constructed the cases. Thomas Parker Williams began creating artists' books in 1998 while also painting. As of 2009 he has limited his art practice exclusively to artists' books. In that year he also began collaborating with his wife, photographer Mary Agnes Williams. In 2013 they started Luminice Press, incorporating letterpress printing into artists' books and broadsides. The artists' books draw on a range of conceptual sources in creating their books, including mathematics, music, literature, theology, philosophy, astronomy, natural sciences, and Eastern thought. He often creates videos and composes music to accompany his books that may be found on his website (www.thomasparkerwilliams.com). Books by Williams or the Luminice Press may be found in over 70 public collections around the country including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Williams describes this fascinating work in an artist's statement: "Journey is a meditation on a life cycle from birth to death, followed by a new generation, that is expressed two ways. Pen and wash drawings of birds on one side - crows were the model - and abstract paintings, done in dry pigments and enamel, on the reverse side. The painting backgrounds progress from light to dark and the drawings follow the bird's progress from birth, through trials, to death, with a new generation flying away." The work comprises 14 attached panels that are each 7.25" square. There are the 14 bird drawings on one side and 14 paintings on the other side. They are done on Twinrocker handmade and Strathmore 400 series papers. The case is constructed in wood and Davey board, with linen Washi paper and acrylic with a magnetic closure. The work is 8.75 x 8.5 x 1.0 inches in its case. A stunning work in fine condition. (#35558)

Price: $5,000