Products
The Cask of Amontillado
Boston: Anne & David Bromer, 1981. [21] pp. approx. 2 x 2 5/8". LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies, thirty-five of which are deluxe. Apart from the deluxe bindings printed by the Thistle Bindery which have a black inlaid morocco binding with box, this is a unique deluxe A/P edition in a custom Roland Meuter binding with pink leather, marbled aluminum covers and gilt top edge gauffered. Colored illustrations, signed by the illustrator on the colophon, housed in a wooden box with pink leather accents, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Bromer 7)
When Linnea Gentry moved her successful Amaranth Press from San Francisco to Santa Fe in 1980, she brought an exceptional sense of quality and a reputation as one of the Bay area’s most talented book artists. Gentry started her career as a designer at the EP Dutton firm in New York. In San Francisco she camped on the doorstep of the much-lauded Grabhorn Press, until she was taken on as a typesetting apprentice. She later launched her Amaranth Press where she turned out fine letterpress work for a discriminating clientele. In the mid-1970s she helped found and became production manager of Fine Print, an international journal of the book arts.
Her introduction to New Mexico came during childhood visits to her aunt, Helen Gentry, a renowned book designer and publisher who lived part-time in Santa Fe during the 1930s and 1940s and settled there after 1965. Colored by the elder Gentry’s circle of artist friends, the visits made a deep impression and influenced the Amaranth’s brief stay in Santa Fe before Gentry closed the press in 1983. (privatepress.org)
The binder, Roland Meuter, maintains an atelier in Ascona, Switzerland, where he continues to produce imaginatively designed bindings that attract considerable attention.
The Cat's Tea Party
London: George Routledge & Sons, [ca 1871]. Date of publication suggested by the Bodleian Library. 10 1/2 x 9"; 6 numbered, [8 unnumbered] pp., colored woodcut illustrations by Harrison Weir; loose pages but all present; tears and chips to covers and pages, some of which were repaired with sewing and reinforcements; some foxing and stains, gift inscription in pencil on inside ffep; good condition.
One of a series of Shilling Toy Books for children published by Routledge, mainly of animals, famous fairy tales and bible stories with striking, large illustrations. Scarce in the trade.
The Clan of the Cave Bear
New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1980. 468 pp. Approximately 6 1/4 x 9 1/4". Illustrated dust jacket with $12.95 price intact in near fine condition. Yellow cloth 1/4 bound over green boards with some slight cloth discoloration, foxing on top edges, previous owner's signature on half-title page along with his library stamp, otherwise, in very good condition.
The first book in Jean Auel's Earth's Children series in which the Cro-Magnon man and Neanderthal man lived at the same time.
The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man's Recreation, being a discourse of rivers, fish-ponds, fish and fishing
London: Henry Frowde, ca 1900. Approximately 1 1/4 x 2". 588 pp. Rare in Miniature Book format. Black leather over boards with gilt title in panel on spine, gilt top edge, frontispiece with no tissue guard and minor tear, Oxford University Press Warehouse Amen Corner E.C., based on fifth edition on India paper, final page separated but still included, in very good+ condition. (Welsh 7030, Bondy p. 117, Coigney 204)
Subtitled "The Contemplative Man's Recreation, Being a Discourse of Rivers, Fishponds, Fish and Fishing, not unworthy the Perusal of most Anglers." The Compleat Angler is a practical guide to the art of angling, or fishing; however, it also has political and historical underpinnings. What sets "The Compleat Angler" apart from other practical handbooks and puts it firmly in the realm of literature is its delightful style that is technically polished and charming to read and its abundance of insight into human nature.
The Creation
Tarzana, CA: Barbara J. Raheb, 1981. 72 pp. Approximately 5/8 x 15/16". LIMITED EDITION of 300 copies, this being #51. Black pyroxylin with gilt titles on spine and cover, previous owner's bookplate on front free endpaper, marbled endpapers, illustrated, illustrated by Edward Burne-Jones, signed and numbered on the colophon, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Barbara J. Raheb, 281)
The illustrations in the book were made for an edition of "Bible Innocentium" which was to have been produced by the Kelmscott Press and would have contained upwards of two hundred pictures. Many were begun, but none quite finished. The designs contained herein have been modified from a horizontal to a vertical format and the book itself is based on a facsimile of the first edition published in 1902 by Longmans Greene & Co., printed by the Chiswick Press. (from the forward by Barbara Raheb)
The Day of the Jackal
New York: Viking Press, 1971. 6 x 8 3/4". First US edition, first printing. Dust jacket with some creasing and rubbing, small enclosed tear on bottom of front cover, price clipped, very good condition. Red paper boards with grey cloth on spine, red blind-stamped design on cover, red letting on spine, top edge stained red, in near fine condition.
Frederick Forsyth (1938 - ) is an English novelist and journalist. He is well know for writing thrillers and this is probably his best known novel. It won the Best Novel Edgar Award in 1972 and is historical fiction.
The Devil Tree
New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc., 1973. 208 pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". Inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "For Michael B. Meyers, in appreciaton of his interest, and with every best wish, Jerzy Kosinski, December 1972". Illustrated dust jacket, with some edge wear and creasing on the flaps, in very good condition. Black cloth 1/4 bound over green boards with silver title on spine, top edges foxed, previous owner's name on the half-title page, otherwise in very good condition.
Oh, such hardship. A rich young heir in his quest for self, sidetracked by hippie colonies, opium brothels, luxury suites in Manhattan, drugs, and of course, sex. From the jacket: "This fierce novel, swift in action, replete with characters and events, and rising to an unpredictable, shattering conclusion, is a powerful and memorable experience."
The Dwarf — A Short History of a Short Man
Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Book Press, 1983. (44) pp. Approximately 2 7/8 x 1 3/8", oblong. LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies, this being #6. Brown leather over boards with title blind-stamped on cover, marbled endpapers, letterpress on handmade paper, 13 tipped-in illustrations by Donna, paper made by Peter, signed on the colophon. A fine copy, attractively produced. (Bradbury, Peter & Donna Thomas, 8; P&D Thomas Bibliography A24)
A poignant book, beautifully produced with a story about a short and ugly dwarf who felt lonely and rejected but found solace in the peacefulness and acceptance of nature. Later bindings have the title blind stamped on the cover. The type used was American Uncial, a short, squat typeface which inspired the format of the book.
The Dwindling Party
New York: Random House, 1982. 16 x 21". Illustrated cover on glossy paper, pop-up book with all tabs in excellent working order, fine condition. (Toledano A83a).
This is the tale of the "dwindling" MacFizzet family as they travel through Hickyacket Hall, told in a typically macabre fashion for a Gorey book.
The Edward Gorey Bestiary: 1984 Engagement Calendar
Corte Madera, CA: Pomegranate Artbooks, 1983. SIGNED. Spiral-bound with glossy pictoral color illustration on the front cover, slight crease to upper corner, no manuscript entries, in near fine condition. (Toledano p. 157B).
This beautiful and unmarked engagement calendar is illustrated throughout with reprinted illustrations, in color and black and white, from a variety of sources including Gorey's books, posters, cards and etchings.