New Arrivals
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.
1776 or "A Whole Other Ball Game"
[Los Angeles]: Aaron Pix, 1975. Approx. 21 x 17 1/4", oblong. Stiff paper, majorly folded and creased, in good condition only.
Paul Whitehead is a British painter and graphic artist. He is best known for his album covers for Genesis and Van der Graff Generator under the Charisma Records lable. He is in the Guiness Book of Records for the largest mural in the world. He also published art under his feminine side, as Trish van Cleef. This work, also titled "A Whole Other Ball Game", was published as a poster by Aaron Brothers in 1975 to commemorate the Bicenntial of the United States, this poster is scarce with none found in auction or on the open market at this time (1/2020)
Seven Poems
Santa Barbara: Unicorn Press, 1972. [16] pp. Approximately 6 1/4 x 9". Second edition. Ivory stiff paper covers with title and author on front cover and spine, stitched binding, hand-set in Eric Gill's "Joanna" type, hand printed on Fiesta Text paper, hand-bound by Danci Mock, translated by George L. Kline, slight age toning to covers, in near-fine conditon.
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960), was a Russian poet and novelist, best known for his novel "Doctor Zhivago". These seven poems include: Poem, My Sister Life, Lessons in English, Winter Night, Night Without Breath, In the Forest and Poem to Pushkin. Beautifully printed as part of the Unicorn Keepsake series.
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).
Bound and Ready
Atlanta, GA: Ice House Press, 1993. Approximately 5 1/2 x 6 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 500 copies. Printed stiff paper covers, slight corner creasing and slight wear, mainly on spine edges, illustrated throughout, in near fine conditon.
This is a beautifully designed and colorful book. Per the colophon, Knox uses text from "Writing: The Story of Alphabets and Scripts" by Georges Jean as her inspiration for text and images.
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.