Hardcover
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.
Out of Ovid's Metamorphoses: Icarus
Shaker Heights, OH: Wind & Harlot Press, 1983. (20) pp. Approximately 2 7/8 x 2 1/8". LIMITED EDITION of 27 copies, this being #1. Tan paper boards, printed paper label on spine, French-fold, illustrated with line-drawing printed in red. A very fine copy, handsomely printed. (Bradbury, Wind & Harlot Press, 4)
The Metamorphoses is a Latin narrative poem by the Roman poet Ovid, comprised of over 250 myths. This is the story of Icarus, whose winged downfall was caused by pride.
Ovid in Latin & English
Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Book Press, 1983. [14] pp. Approximately 1 3/8 x 1 7/8". LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies, this being #142. Quarter bound in black Morocco leather and blue handmade paper over boards, gilt stamped title on cover letterpress, white paper handmade by Peter, two linoeum cut illustrations by Donna, black and red printing, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Peter & Donna Thomas, 10; P&D Thomas Bibliography A26)
Peter and Donna Thomas, well-known book artists, authors, and paper-makers, have been operating their private press since 1976. "The text is an excerpt...'add little to little and there will be a great heap.' We were invited to the first gathering of miniature-book publishers, held the summer of 1984 in Tipp City, Ohio. A fellow printer, Gene Holtan of Green Gables Press, suggested the text after we told him about the event and our plans to make a 'keepsake' book for it." From the bibliography of Peter and Donnas Thomas.
P.T. Barnum's Circus Museum and Menagerie
New York: White & Allen, 1888. (64) pp. Approximately 10 1/2 x 12 1/2". 1st edition. Color lithographed paper over boards, beautifully illustrated with full page color plates and many black and white illustrations, beautiful lithography by G.H. Buek & Co., some edge wear and light toning, one page has slight tear at the bottom, light soiling to margins of some pages, otherwise, very good condition.
Phineas Taylor Barnum, usually referred to as P.T. Barnum (1810 - 1891) was an American showman, politician, author, publisher, philanthropist and businessman. He said of himself, however, "I am a showman by profession...and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me." (Kunhardt 1995). Told in the form of a story for children, this stunning and scarce book showcases many of the acts, animals, and curiosities that appeared in Barnum's circus, such as Jumbo the Elephant, Che-Mah the Dwarf, and many other exotic animals.
Paisley American Folk
Wigtown, Scotland: The Gleniffer Press, 2000. 65 pp. Approx. 1 1/2 x 2". LIMITED EDITION of 260 copies, this being #39. Lovat green linson boards, perfect bound, copper gilt title and illustration on cover and copper gilt author on spine, special endpapers, original packaging, hand numbered on the colophon, in fine condition.
This book tells some stories of immigrants moving from Paisley, Scotland for a better life in America. Dr. Sylvia Clark is a noted local historian, writer and scholar who resides and Paisley.
Passion Play
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1979. 271 pp. First Edition. Approximately 6 1/2 x 9 1/4". Illustrated dust jacket in fine condition. Black cloth 1/4 bound over red boards, signed on front free endpaper, some foxing to top edges, otherwise in near fine condition.
From the dust jacket: "Passion Play bears the stamp of Jerzy Kosinski's power and eloquence, heightened by an unusual tenderness and humanity. Fabian is the author's most romantic, most vulnerable hero - but also his most sexually driven - making Passion Play an indelible narrative of love and loss." Also from the dust jacket: "He seeks out women whom he met as girls, in whose minds he planted a seed of himself in preparation for a future harvest of seduction". A predator or a tender person? You'll have to read it to find out.
Patrick Henry, March 28, 1775
Salisbury, CT: Lime Rock Press, 1981. 25 pp. Approx. 1 x 1". Printed with two bindings: one suede and the other cowhide. Brown leather with Washington's signature in gilt on the cover, marbled endpapers, housed in clear plastic case, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Lime Rock 8)
From the Great American Speeches series, this little book relays the famous climactic paragraphs of Henry's speech to the Second Virginia Convention urging independence from the British crown. Lime Rock Press is the private press of Whitney North Seymour, Jr. and is run also by his wife and daughters who contribute photography, art, printing and binding.
Pax in Any Language Spells U.N.
Newport Beach, CA: Perky Co., 1984. Approximately 2 1/2 x 3 ". 27 pp. LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, this being #101. Blue cloth over boards with gilt title and author on cover, letterpress by Castle Press, tipped-in flag reproduction, color illustrations, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Perky Co. 1)
From the colophon, "This book printed in the year of the 1984 California Olympics". It is the only book listed as being issued by this press, according to Bradbury. It is a sweet little patriotic book with a history of the United Nations and what it stands for.
Peer Gynt
London: George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd., 1936. First trade edition. Brown cloth over boards, sharp gilt title and decorations to cover and spine, some edge wear, illustrated endpapers, top edge stained with minor foxing, twelve color plates with captioned tissue guards intact, numerous other small illustrations throughout, in very good condition.
Peer Gynt, by Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828 - 1906) was written in 1867. Born in Norway, Ibsen was a major 19th-century playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. He is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. Peer Gynt is a Norwegian fairy tale on which the play is loosely based, and several of the characters are modelled after Ibsen's own family, notably his parents. Peer Gynt has also been described as the story of a life based on procrastination and avoidance. Brockett and Hildy (2003, 391).
Pensées Genevoises
Geneva: Andre Kundig, 1963. 96 pp. Approximately 1 x 1 1/2". Yellow simulated leather wraps with red lettering to cover, in the French language, bookplate of E. Helene Sherman pasted-down to inside front cover, in fine condition.
Translation of title is Geneva thoughts, this sweet little book contains philosophical thoughts, proverbs, sayings, and quotes such as, "you whoever has a beautiful wife don't hold a handsome valet near her if you don't want him to be her darling" or "willingly people who are so proud and colorful, when they find resistance, appease their fury." E. Helene Sherman, whose bookplate is in the front of this book, was an American artist specializing in calligraphy and book illumination. Her artwork includes altarpieces for the National Cathedral in Washing, D.C. and Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Sherman illustrated many miniature books for REM Miniatures and Kurbel Books.