New Arrivals
Olde Christmas Eve
(Manteno, IL): Bronte Press, 1997. (12) pp. Approximately 4 1/2 x 3", oblong. LIMITED EDITION unknown, this being #63. Green paper boards with label on front cover, caligraphy and illustrations by Suzanne Pruchnicki, hand-colored, signed by the artist/printer on the colophon, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Bronte Press)
Published by Washington Irving in 1876, this little book is a short story to enjoy for the holidays.
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.
A Letter from John Steinbeck Explaining Why He Could Not Write an Introduction for This Book
New York: Random House, 1964. 8 pp. Approx. 6 1/4 x 9 1/4". Printed orange wrappers with black ink, in original mailing envelope (which has a slight corner crease), both in fine condition. (Goldstone & Payne A41)
Steinbeck's introduction to "The Thinking Dog's Man" by Ted Patrick, was issued separately in advance of the book as a promotional item; no copies were for sale. This copy once belonged to veteran Milwaukee bookseller Harry Schwartz (the mailing envelope bears his address). A fine, fresh copy in the original printed mailing envelope of this very scarce Steinbeck "A" item.
Up 65 Years to Larchmont
Los Angeles: Bela Blau, 1970. 31 pp. Approximately 1 3/16 x 1 5/8". Brown-red leather over boards with gilt title on cover and gilt publisher on spine, decorative endpapers, frontispiece, letterpress and gilt leather by Bela Blau, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Dawson 37)
A lovely little book about the various locations over the years of Dawson's Book Shop in the Los Angeles area, known as "one of the six renaissance miniature book publishers in the U.S. during the early 1960s." (Bradbury) Bela Blau, along with his wife Mariana, came to the U.S. from Hungary in 1956 and established a bindery business. An amazing award winning binder, his leather work and attention to detail is remarkable.
Memories of an Illustrator
Sebastapol, CA: El Camino Real Press, 2015. 7 pp. Approximately 2 1/8 x 2 15/16". LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies. Blue leatherette with gilt title on cover, decorative endpapers, 8 cent U.S. unmetered postage stamp frontispiece, blue endpapers, bound by Mariana Blau and printed by Patrick Reagh, in near fine condition.
This sweet little book explains why Francis Weber had a penchant for using postage stamps to illustrate his miniature books. Informing and pretty, all at the same time.
Olympe & Henriette
Sherman Oaks, CA: Joe D'Ambrosio, 1992. 24 pp. 6 1/4 x 9". LIMITED EDITION of 75 copies and 10 artist's proofs, this being #46, box binding with patterned floral cloth sides, a blue-grey cloth backstrip over a broad telescoping spine composed of five stepped planes, the central and highest of these surfaces with long vertical printed paper label, text printed on leaves with raised accordion portions, both raised and recessed portions with engraved illustrations, cloth inlays, or serigraphs, the recessed title page under a stretched netting meant to resemble opera hose, most of the leaves with decoratively cut curved and spiked edges, signed by the publisher on the colophon, accompanied by 9 pieces of ephemera, including a typed letter signed by D'Ambrosio regarding his upcoming book "Christus Apollo", a postcard announcing the BCC retrospective exhibition of D'Ambrosio works, a signed thank you letter regarding the purchase of "Olympe & Henriette", an invoice and pop-up prospectus for "Olypme & Henriette", a prospectus of "The Stars", an order form for "Only in America", a prospectus for "Oaxaca and the Saguaro Cactus", and a prospectus for "David", all in fine condition.
This story of two Parisian prostitutes by the obscure French satirist Villiers de L 'Isle-Adam (1838 - 1889) is printed on paper made by Madeleine Pestiaux. Joe D'Ambrosio (1934 - 2009) began designing books in 1969. His goal was to "create a visual environment for the written word". He lived in southern California for most of the 1980's and moved to Phoenix after the large San Fernando earthquake of 1989. He produced over 90 books but also created a variety of posters, bookplates, and did special projects, such as the design of the California State Library rotunda floor in Sacramento.
Reminiscence of a Missal
[Czechoslovakia]: Jan Vrtilek, [1990]. Approximately 3/4 x 1". Green cloth over boards for the clamshell case, blind-stamped design on front cover, black velvet interior with indentation for the miniature book, tipped in typed note describing this as a Christmas /New Year gift for 1990-1991; Red leather over boards with gilt decorations and borders to both covers and spine, all edges gilt, miniature blindstamp on the lower edge of the inner rear cover: J.V., in fine condition.
Scarce miniature edition, made from cut up leaves from old books, most likely an 18th century Roman Missal, complete with some ornaments.
Árpádok : I. Andrástól I. Gézáig (1046-1077)
Budapest: Pátria Nyomda, 1988. 433 pp. Approximately 1 1/2 x 1 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 400-600 copies, this being #179. Brown leather with beautifully designed and colorful enamelled metal plaque edged in gilt decoration on front cover, title in gilt on spine, gilt decoration on back cover, decorative endpapers, 7 full-color illustrations and 4 tinted one with two folding diagrams, text in Hungarian, in fine condition.
This is volume 14 of the Kings of Hungary series. Only 3 Worldcat Holdings at this time.
04 in Transport
[Berkeley, CA]: never mind the press, 1990. Approximately 7 1/4 x 11 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 30,all of them being #1 with different birdnames, this one being "Coot". Moriki paper covering wheeled box with paper label on cover and spine and cutout on front cover, in fine condition. Four stitched binding books from a series of habitats, printed between 1889 and 1990, on waxed masa paper with linocuts, handmade paper covers by Beth Herrick & Heather MacDuffie of Port & Starboard Press in Mt. Desert, Maine, signed on the box colophon by author, in fine conditon.
Book Artist Alisa Golden is well-known with many institutions holding her innovative material. She received a BFA in Printmaking with High Distinction in 1985 from California College of the Arts (formerly CCAC). The habitat books are subtitled as follows: A Feather is Cut to Resemble a Knife (woods), Filling a Hole (subwoods), People in Pieces (city), and Lite Screened Familiar (subcity). A beautifully created and written collection.
Catching a River: Delta, The Island, and The Dreamfish
[Berkeley, CA]: never mind the press, 1993. Approximately 4 x 6". LIMITED EDITION of 40, this being #35. Outer mesh envelope created to look like a fishing net of sorts with decorative tie ribbons, in fine condition. Three printed paper folding envelopes (made of cotton, flax and wild iris leaves), hand stitched with various themed embelishments such as miniature menu, map, message in a bottle, and fortune teller fish, creatively stitched with artistic cut-outs, in fine conditon.
Book Artist and author Alisa Golden is well-known with many institutions holding her innovative material. She received a BFA in Printmaking with High Distinction in 1985 from California College of the Arts (formerly CCAC). These books were part of an Art-by-Mail subscription, No. 2, in 1993.