Products
Shakespeare on Paper Mills
Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Book Press, 1988. [64] pp. Approximately 1 9/16 x 1 15/16". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, of which the first 100 copies are printed on paper made during Shakespeare's lifetime (from a damaged copy of Digestrum Novum: 1576) and the second 100 copies use Peter Thomas' handmade paper. This is #99 from the first set made. Gilt morocco spine, paper over boards, illustrated by Donna Thomas, very minor wear, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Peter and Donna Thomas, 26; P&D Thomas Bibliography A50).
A beautiful miniature by well-known book artists, authors, and paper-makers Peter and Donna Thomas, this book presents a fascinating study of paper-mills and paper-making, as seen and described in various Shakespeare works, particularly Henry VI, Part 2: Act 4, Scene 7.
Shakespeare's Seasons
(Manteno, IL): Bronte Press, 1998. (28) pp. Approximately 2 3/8 x 3". LIMITED EDITION of 60 copies, this being #32. Marbled paper boards, calligraphy and illustrations by Suzanne Pruchnicki, hand-colored by Suzanne and Paul Pruchnicki, signed by the artist/printer. A fine copy, delightfully done. (Bradbury, Bronte Press #50)
Exceprts from Shakespeare's verses on the happenings of the seasons, all beautifully hand-colored.
Shambleau and Others
New York: Gnome Press, Inc., 1953. 224 pp. 5 1/2 x 8 1/4"; First Edition. Pictorial dust jacket with some minor creases and rubbing, original price of $3.00 intact, cover art by Ric Binkley, some tanning on inside flaps, in near fine condition; Turquoise cloth over boards with crisp maroon lettering on spine, bookplate on front paste-down endpaper of William Robards Wetmore, some ink lettering on copyright page, some spotting to top page edges, otherwise in very good + condition.
Catherine Lucille Moore (1911 - 1987), was an American science fiction and fantasy writer at a time when women were first starting to write in this field. Most of her work during the years of 1940 - 1958 was done in collaboration with her husband, Henry Kuttner. Moore was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Sinking to Heaven
Lake City, CO: Ravenpress, 2001. (Box) Approximately 1 1/2 x 3 x 2". LIMITED EDITION of 25 copies, this being #12. Outer box is dark wood with decorative brass onlays, in fine condition; Color copies from watercolor paintings with Mohawk Superfine text that are laminated to museum boards with burgundy and orange ribbons, two-sided, six paneled Jacob's ladder construction, numbered and signed on the colophon by the publisher, in fine condition.
This is the second book in the miniature pillow book series. Bailey uses evocative language and richly erotic imagery to refer to passions that remain indescribable. Alicia Bailey began publishing under the Ravenpress imprint in 1996. Ravenpress publications are held in private, public and special collections worldwide. Bailey thinks of the artists' book works she creates as interactive sculptures realized in the form of the book. She works in a wide variety of materials, including those not often associated with the book form, thus necessitating structural redesign and innovations.
Snake: a poem, with accompanying images by Kent Rush
Oakland, CA: Puissant Press, 1984. Approximately 12 1/4 x 16". LIMITED edition of 25 copies with this being #15. Beige cloth over boards form outer clamshell case, blindstamped title on cover, inner slipcase in gray cloth over boards also blind stamped with the title, all of which are in fine condition and beautifully crafted. Twelve unbound leaves as issued with tissue guards separating the prints, nine unnumbered leaves of lithographs and collotypes hand drawn (some in color) and printed by the artist accompanying text of poem, inscribed on the colophon by the artist, in fine condition.
Kent Rush (1948 - ) was a San Francisco Bay Area native before he settled in Texas. He studied art, drawing and printmaking, at the then California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC), earning his BFA. He earned a Masters at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His work has been exhibited extensively in the United States in solo, two and three person and group and competitive shows. Internationally he has also shown in London, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and France. Kent inscribed a thank you to Beth Herrick, who hand set the typeface and hand printed the leaves at Puissant Press, Oakland, California and at Port and Starboard Press, Mount Desert, Maine (from the colophon). Only 3 institutional holdings at this time (9/19). "Snake" originally appeared as part of Lawrence's collection of poems, Birds, Beasts and Flowers, which was first published in the US in 1923.
Snowdrop
Paisley, Scotland: The Gleniffer Press, 1994. 29 pp. 5/8 x 7/8". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, this being #171. Light blue novalite boards, perfect bound, gilt title on cover and spine, original packaging, hand numbered on the colophon, in fine condition.
First published in 1812 in their first edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales, this story is more familiar world-wide as Snow White.
Song of Creation
Santa Cruz, CA: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1999. (8) pp. Approximately 2 1/8 x 2 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 500 copies, this being #14. Cream paper over boards with scene of Yosemite on front label, eight page nested accordion binding depicting a 180 degree panoramic view of Yosemite Valley, in fine condition. (P&D Thomas Bibliography A96)
Peter and Donna Thomas call this "nested accordion pop-up fold book" which they later shortened to just a nested accordion binding. Based on a one-of-a-kind book from 1993 using water-color paintings made while backpacking in the California Sierra Nevada mountains. The background accordion is on green paper with plant-fiber inclusions.
Sonnets to Craig
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1928. 120 pp. Approximately 5 x 7 3/4". Dust jacket in very good condition, not price clipped, some chipping, rice paper repair, some wear. Grey cloth over boards with red lettering on cover and spine, tanned pages, overall near fine condition.
George Sterling (1869 - 1926) was an American writer and poet, based mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area, during its Bohemian phase. The "Craig" these sonnets refer to is Mary Craig, a woman he had hoped to marry but whom married Upton Sinclair instead.
Star of Ill-Omen
London: Hutchinson & Co., 1952. 320 pp. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2"; First edition; Inscribed by the author on title page, Illustrated dust jacket has really minor edge wear and slight rubbing, price of 12/6 net intact, nice and bright colors, in very good + condition; Black cloth over boards with crisp gilt lettering on spine, a few spots on fore edges, two pages with old newspaper imprint discoloring, otherwise a lovely copy in very good + condition.
Dennis Wheatley (1897 - 1977) was an English writer who wrote 65 novels from the 1930's through the 1960's, mostly thrillers, science fiction, and occult novels. It is said that one of his main characters, Gregory Sallust, was one of the inspiration's for the James Bond character by Ian Fleming. This book has it all: German scientists, Russian spies, beautiful women, atomic weapons, and flying saucers.
Ste. Ostrich in Manhattan: The Visitations of a Martyr
Berkeley: Flying Fish Press, 1990. 6 1/4 x 8"; LIMITED EDITION of 125, this being #58. Goldenrod cloth over boards with same color string to tie the book closed, paste down title label that wraps around from front cover to spine illustrated endpapers, colorful accordion folded pages that are hand sewn, beautifully illustrated by Lois Morrison, the pages open up to a 3-D visual and can even be removed from the cover to form an independent display, in near fine condition.
Designed and printed by Julie Chen and Elizabeth McDevitt. Calligraphy by Keith Vinson. Flying Fish Press was established by internationally known book art educator an book artist Julie Chen in 1987. From her website, " I view reading as an intimate act in which the reader must be in close physical proximity to the book, can control the pace of reading through the self-directed turning of pages, or equivalent action, and must interact with the book through the manipulation of the book’s physical structure." This is one of her earlier books.