New Arrivals
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.
Gorey Games
San Francisco: Troubador Press, 1979. 8 1/2 x 11". First Edition. No jacket, as issued. Black boards with gilt-stamped title on cover and spine, beautiful red endpapers, illustrated by Gorey throughout including a previously unpublished drawing, limited edition of 750 copies, slight sticker residue on back cover, otherwise in near-fine condition. (Toledano B64a)
A wonderful collection of games for any Gorey fan. Games include mazes, puzzles, hidden objects and more with Gorey's usual cast of characters, including Fantod, Osbick bird, Emblus Fingby, Gashlycrumb Tinies characters, Dracula, and of course Gorey himself.
Fletcher and Zenobia
New York: Meredith Press, 1967. 6 1/4 x 6 1/4". First Edition, Pictorial dust jacket and boards with a few ships near the spine top, not price-clipped, in very good condition. Pictorial boards with slight indentation near top spine edge, full-color illustrations throughout, pages clean and unmarked, otherwise in very good condition. (Toledano A25)
A humorous story about a cat, a doll and a moth. Delightful and quite less macabre than Gorey's usual style.
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.
Poems
Oakland, CA: The Eucalyptus Press, 1948. [33] pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". LIMITED EDITION of 350 copies. Blue stiff paper covers with paste-down lable on front cover showing title and design, sewn binding, some fading to cover, printed in Mills College in Centaur type, cover decoration by Esther Waite, in near fine conditon.
It is hard to find any information on Linda Kincannon, but apparently she was such a great person that her friends got together and published some of the poems she had written for them, grateful for having known her. A quote by Kincannon on the title page reads, "Infinite sympathy is needed for the infinite pathos of life." A great read for anyone who needs some uplifting poems on love and friendship.
The Lion Tamers
Seal Harbor, ME: [High Loft], 1980. [11] pp. Approximately 5 x 7 1/4". LIMITED EDITION of 20 copies, this being #20. Gray stiff paper covers with printed design on front cover, set and bound by hand on the press of August Heckscher, with Tom Coleman's asistance (from the colophon), woodcut illustration, minor corner creasing and small indentation mark on cover, in near fine conditon.
Karen MacDonald (1961 - ) earned her BA in studio art from Wesleyan University with a focus on typography and printmaking. She began her career in high school by working as a letterpress printer and compositor at The Printing Office at High Loft, working alongside August Heckscher II and Tom Coleman.This book tells a sweet tale of two childhood friends in rural Maine. Worldcat shows no library holdings (as of 1/20).
God's Wanderers: A Year End Reverie
[Seal Harbor, ME]: High Loft, 1980. [11] pp. Approximately 5 x 7 1/4". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies. Green stiff paper covers with printed and designed title lable pasted down on front cover, stitched binding, set by hand, printed, & bound at High Loft by August Heckscher, with T.R. Coleman and Karen MacDonald (from the colophon), slight foxing on a few pages and page edges, in near fine conditon.
August Heckscher II (1913 - 1997) was an American author, correspondent, speech writer and biographer as well as an arts consultant in the White House during John F. Kennedy's administration. He was also a NY parks commisioner among other things during his diverse career. He wrote a well-known biography of Woodrow Wilson. This sweet little pamphlet tells a more personal story of how some places can "speak distinctly" and provoke certain feeling and storytelling. Worldcat shows 6 library holdings, including the Grolier Club. (as of 1/20)
Bathtub
[Oakland, CA]: Rebis Press, 1975. Approximately 7 x 7". LIMITED EDITION of 1,000 copies. Illustrated stiff paper covers, stitched binding, illustrated by John Wehrle, offset printing, published on an N.E.A. grant, very slight discoloration, minor crease to back cover, in near fine conditon.
Rebis Press was an influential small press in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a joint venture of Betsy Davids and Jim Petrillo, who were colleagues at California College of the Arts and Crafts (CCAC). They were collaborators and teachers whose content is highly personal. Bathtub is a treasure -- a wonderful story about a flying bathtub that travels the world. Clever illustrations by John Wehrle place Bathtub in familiar famous art scenes.
Assorted Stories: Prose Words
Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1987. [20] pp. Approximately 7 1/2 x 7 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 400 copies, this being #253. Grey handmade Canterbury cover stock with title and illustration on front, paper sewn inside, handset in Ehrhardt type, illustrated by Peter Bailey, signed and numbered on the colophon by the author and artist, in fine conditon.
Travers Rafe Lee Harwood (1939 - 2015), was an English poet, often associatiod with the British Poetry Revival. Except for a brief time in Greece and the United States, he mostly lived in Brighton. He had an involvement with the New York School of poets and was a member of the Poetry Society in Britain. He was a union official and was involved with the Labour Party in its radical years and his political leaning were evident in his poetry in the early 1980s. There is a Rowan Tree planted in his honor in New York City's Central Park as well as a paving stone along the park's Literary Walk. This is an interesting collection of short stories with various titles, such as: Hommage a Beatrix Potter, A Rangoon Creeper, Purple Sheets, Dream Bed, Woolly Rhinoceros, Mosquito Nets, Nautical Business, and Booth's Bird Museum.
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.