Products
Hinky Haiku
Dallas, TX: Aredian Press, 2016. Approximately 3 x 2", oblong. First edition, LIMITED EDITION of 20 copies, this being #4. Design binding by Patrice Miller of Aredian Press, Gold and black checkerboard paper over boards, traditional stab binding, beautiful black and gold endpapers, Japanese mulberry paper, signed and numbered by the author on the colophon, fine condition.
Overwrought by grade-schoolers and wanna-be poets, the haiku has been abused unintentionally for far too long. First attempted to distract themselves during an excruciating flight, the authors acknowledge that the haiku in its purest expression is both lyrical and majestic. These are neither, but offer commentary on modern life.
Holy Bible. New Testament.
Tokyo: Japan Bible Society, 1982. Black leather cover with blind stamped title and decorations, 27 x 34 mm, 409 pp., printed by photo offset at Toppan Printing Co., miniature bookplate and bookstore labels present, Japanese text, slipped into in a gold metal case with with red and gold cross decoration and chain. All housed in a red velveteen box with magnifying glass and brochure. Limited to 1,000 copies. The complete package, including original manufacturer's packaing box, all beautifully executed and in fine condition.
The Toppan Printing Company in Japan has long been printers of the world's smallest books with many Guiness Book World Record holders.
Hornblower and the Hotspur
London: Michael Joseph, 1962. 283 pp. 5 1/2 x 8"; Illustrated dustjacket, designed by David Cobb, in near fine condition with minimal edgewear and small enclosed tear at top of back cover, price of 18s net intact; Dark blue cloth over boards with gilt lettering on spine, in fine condition.
Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (1899 - 1966), pen name for C. S. Forester, was and English novelist best known for his 12-book fictional series about the Napoleonic Wars as seen through the eyes of the Royal Navy Office, Horatio Hornblower. Later books filled in the gaps in the early years of the story. This is the last full book, as the final book "Hornblower and the Crisis" was unfinished and published posthumously.
I Love You
Munich: Waldmann and Pfitzner, 1952. Approximately 5 x 5 mm. Red leather binding with gilt decorations on covers, housed in a Plexiglass case with an inset magnifying glass, printed in 4-point type in nine languages: English, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish, in fine condition. (Bromer & Edison, P. 117)
This book was part of a 4 volume collection called "Die kleinsten Bücher der Welt" which translates to The Smallest Books in the World. These were commissioned by Walter Schatzki, a Jewish bookseller who settled in New York City in 1937 after fleeing Nazi Germany. He is sometimes attributed as the publisher. Schatzki became an authority on rare children's books and assembled one of the most famous catalogs of children's books ever created by an American bookseller.
If there were no Books...there would be no Black Cat!
Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2018. Approx. 11 x 14". LIMITED EDITION of 100 copies, this being #40. Broadside, letterpress, signed and numbered by the artist, printed by Art Larson in a relief etching from an original drawing on archival Cranes Lettra paper, in fine condition.
Best known as a wildlife artist, Robinson's work enjoys wide appeal among disparate audiences from children and adults, to outdoor enthusiasts and collectors alike including Prince Charles, Charles Schwab, Johnny Morris, and former French President Francois Mitterand. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Printmaking (Etchings and Wood engravings primarily) and Sculpture from the University of Massachusetts. This print is one of a set of 12 that are a tribute to great books and authors that have influenced and changed lives.
Instant Lives
New York: Saturday Review Press/Dutton, 1974. Approximately 6 x 9 1/2". First Edition. Illustrated dust jacket and book illustrations by Edward Gorey, some extremely minor edge wear, slightly toned, not price-clipped, store sticker on inside front flap, in very good+ condition. Orange paper boards with tan cloth on spine, orange stamped lettering on spine, illustrated, very clean, in fine condition. (Toledano B58b)
Howard Moss (1922 - 1987) was an American poet, critic, and dramatist. He is credited with discovering a number of major American poets while being the poetry editor of The New Yorker. This book contains many vignettes about famous people but told in an amusing way - sometimes as biographies or made up stories in the type of language that author might have used. Dust jacket and 25 illustrations by Edward Gorey (1925 - 2000), an American artist and writer, best known for his eccentric imagery and stories, often set in Victorian and Edwardian settings.
Italia
Seattle, WA: Sam Garriott Antonacci, 2019. One-of-a-Kind Artist Book. Single sheet fold-out pasted down to rear endpaper which shows mosaic illustration of Italy in prismacolor and ink on Thai Unryu paper, 2 1/4 x 2", blue cloth over boards with illustrated front panel; housed in matching clamshell box with layered illustrated cover, completed with two more boxes with printed book details and label, all in fine condition.
According to Sam Garriott Antonacci: "I see many of my books as histories or small personal documents of people, places, or objects." This miniature book is a beautiful homage to Italy, done in the soft Tuscan colors you would expect representing the Italian countryside, with excellent detail paid to the craftsmanship of the enclosing boards and boxes. Sam primarily does one-of-a-kind and limited edition books, mainly miniatures. She was raised in the Ohio River Valley on a rural farm so solitude and nature inform her work. She went to the University of Indiana at Bloomington and art school in Seattle, where she settled when she wasn't traveling - a favorite pastime of hers that also greatly influences her work.
Journal of My 45th Ascension
Oakham, MA: Oakham Bindery, 1974. 77 pp. 2 7/8 x 2 1/8". LIMITED EDITION of 500 copies, this being #44. Decorated paper boards with quarter-bound leather, gilt title on spine, patterned endpapers, letterpress by Darrell Hyder, spine ends a little rubbed, otherwise in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Oakham Bindery, 2)
A lovely book about the first balloon flight in the United States, as evidenced by citizens and dignitaries, including George Washington.
Levi's Vintage Clothing, Spring 2000
[San Francisco]: Levi Strauss & Co., 2000. 10 x 13"; Limited edition of 500 copies, this being #251. Dust jacket constructed of distressed denim cloth with holes, loose threads, etc., light soiling, some wear to the Red Tab in onside flap (which may be part of the design), otherwise in very good condition. Light blue boards with quarter bound dark blue cloth, Red Tab logo label on front cover, some light cover soiling, color photographs throughout, in very good condition.
A disparate group of global artists were brought together by a common theme - the freedom of self-expression. Contributors include Patricio Grose Forrester, Dexta, Richard Fearless, Tomoo Gokita, Keith Williams, Alexander aka Akay, Brian Hassett and Ben Saffer. Brian Hassett, poet and songwriter, has worked and toured with numerous Beat icons and has written prose for Levi's Vintage Clothing echoing the spirit of the Beat age. A laid-in card describes the publication and contributors. Only 1 WorldCat listing at this time (3/21).
Licence Renewed
London: Jonathan Cape, 1981. Approximately 5 1/4 x 8". Pictorial jacket is in near fine condition, with only a tiny bit of wear at the bottom of the spine, not price-clipped. Black cloth over boards with crisp gilt lettering on spine, slight bumping to spine bottom, some slight foxing to page edges, otherwise in near-fine condition. Overall, a lovely copy of this first edition of the first James Bond continuation novel by John Gardner.
John Edmund Gardner (1926 - 2007), was a British novelist who not only wrote fourteen original James Bond novels, but also wrote the novel versions of two Bond films. The exciting plot of this book, from the jacket, involves the deranged Dr. Anton Murik, a terrorist named Franco, and a beautiful woman, of course, named Lavender Peacock.