(Boston): Boston Public Library/Society of Printers, 2001. Octavo. First edition. One of 500 copies. Thirty-two pages of color and black & white illustrations from photographs. The story of Dorothy Abbe's contributions to printing, book design, typography, photography, writing, and teaching is gathered from her archives at the Boston Public Library..... More
Philadelphia: Taylor & Hessey, 1981. Octavo. 28pp. One of 400 copies. A humorous analysis of the travel agency industry, rendered even more amusing when read by those of us in the twenty-first century. Fine in plain wrappers. More
Erwinna, PA: 1955. One-and-a-half pages on a single sheet of Colophon stationery, folded into fourths. Dated 16 June 1955 and addressed to Paul Bennett, Adler opens with an apology of sorts, noting that "I am not able to say what my address will be in another two weeks." The reason..... More
NY: American Jewish Historical Society, 2001. Small quarto. 60pp., + sixteen plates housed in separate sleeve. One of 600 copies. Adler's sixteen woodcuts, crafted in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, offer a harrowing and personal look at life and death inside the Nazi camps. The darkness of the images..... More
Marcham (England): Alembic Press, 1998. 71pp. One of 140 copies. A collection showcasing the six elegant and versatile typographic border units, or arabesques, designed by Robert Granjon in Antwerp in 1565. These units can be combined in seemingly infinite ways to create intricate page decorations, as illustrated here with many..... More
Marcham: Alembic Press, 2000. Octavo. 119pp. From an edition of 180 copies, this is one of twenty bound in leather and with extra samples tipped in. Bolton's oevre is a comprehensive and highly illustrated summation of all the Alembic Press' borders. It is, in its own way, a love letter..... More
Marcham, Oxfordshire: Alembic Press, 1994. (45)pp. One of 100 copies. Illustrated with charming line drawings following the story of a plush alligator who endears himself to a young girl. Entirely printed in green. Bound in quarter green cloth with glazed green paste-paper boards; googly eyes affixed to the upper cover..... More
Henley-on-Thames, UK: 1957. Small octavo. (i), (9)pp. Calligraphic manuscript on paper written in green and black ink with first line and small text initials in gold. Text opens with a large illuminated initial "O" with the watercolor figure of an owl; the text closes with another watercolor owl, this one..... More
(Kentfield, Calif.): Allen Press, 1963. Oblong folio. (44)ff. One of 150 copies. Illustrated with reproductions of eighteenth-century engraved views of Venice from the collection of Philip Hofer. Introduction by Eleanor M. Garvey and Philip Hofer. Unbound as issued in a cloth chemise and dropback box, which shows some spotting to..... More
(Kentfield, CA): Allen Press, 1976. Quarto. (108) pp. One of 140 copies. The frontispiece is a portrait of Cleopatra, hand-painted in the style of ancient Egypt, by artists in Cairo using seven colors and gold on papyrus. In addition, each of the five Acts opens with a woodcut hand-colored by..... More
London: Company of Stationers, 1820. (24)pp. One engraving of "The London Institution, Moorfields," which spans four pages. The almanac's calendar records the times of sunrise and sunset, as well as various saints' days and term times for academic institutions. The volume also provides a table of the reigns of the..... More
(c. 1970s-80s). Pictorial Arabic alphabet poster, each letter of which is presented beside an image of an object beginning with that letter, with the full word beneath. The full word is written with the harakat or tashkil phonetic aids, which provide the correct pronunciation for children who are learning to..... More
(N.p. c. 1845). Set of twenty-six cards, each of which has been printed with a lithograph of a flower according to each letter of the alphabet. The set encodes an interdisciplinary course of learning, probably for a young girl, teaching her the English alphabet along with the identification of common..... More
NY: B. F. Goodrich Co., (1902). Small quarto. (28)pp. An alphabet, fully illustrated in black, white, and orange, that doubles as an advertising pamphlet for Palmer Tires. Each letter has an illustration, followed by a rhyme and a short promotional statement. For example, "A is for Ape / A dissatisfied..... More
(Mandalay: c. 1920). Small folio. (32)pp. A delightful and informative rhyming alphabet, hailing from the the era in Myanmar (then Burma) when it was a colony of the British Empire. Wheeler Cuffe's twenty-six watercolors, reproduced here as chromolithographs, portray various aspects of Burmese life in sumptuous color and studied detail..... More
Rahart, France: Atelier d'Images, 2002. Oblong 24mo. (11)ff. One of 50 copies, signed by the artist, Patrice Goré. An imaginative tale of the discovery of the alphabet, with "A" as the genesis to a typographic, pictorial, and poetic journey through letters. Bound in paper boards with a bold "A" embracing..... More
Two modern posters, with alphabet themes, containing: "Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books." Watertown, MA, Charlesbridge Publishing, (early 1990s). An advertising poster for artist Jerry Pallotta's alphabet books, measuring 24 1/2 by 19 1/4 inches (622x489mm) and showing the full cover for "The Extinct Alphabet Book," published in 1993. A list of..... More
Haarlem, Antwerp: De Sleutel, (1949). Octavo. (28)pp. A child's alphabet, richly illustrated by Wiegman with images to match each letter. The main picture—lumberjacks, gnomes flying a kite, polar bears going for a swim—is surrounded by others in silhouette and a two-line rhyming text, thus creating for the young learner an..... More
Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1827. 48mo. 16pp. Engraved frontispiece and title page, as well as several devices in text. A moral tale told through the nature of snow-drop flowers, the lesson providing greater resolve in Christ's provision and righteousness. The final two pages rephrase the lesson into a poem..... More
NY: American Tract Society, (n.d.). 32mo. 16pp. Engraving on the title page and full-page engraving on the title-page verso. A narrative following the persistent purity and faith of Mary Jones throughout her life, with firm encouragements that readers adopt a similar devotion. Crisp in engraved paper wrappers with repair work..... More
Austin, TX: Amistad Press, 1990. (69)pp. Signed by the author-printer-binder, Yolanda Carter, at the penultimate page: the final bibliographic entry, which records this very bibliography. A delightful project, with photoreproduced images of books and their illustrations interspersed. Bound in orange cloth with white paper label to three-quarters of upper cover..... More
(62)pp. A selection of woodcuts and other artwork, most in black and white, completed by Andrusko for various publications in the 1970s. With references in Hungarian on facing pages. Bound in full blue cloth with gilt title and border to upper cover. Tiniest traces of rubbing to corners, else fine..... More
Subotica, Yugoslavia: (Esperanto Societo), 1983. Five volumes, all unpaginated. One of 100 copies. Each volume depicts distinct imagery pertaining to one of five continents: "Afriko," "Ameriko," "Azio," "Europo," and "Oceanio." Each with a short introduction in Esperanto by noted world-traveler Tibor Sekelj, followed by forty-four linocuts by Andruskó. Fine in..... More
Senta, Yugoslavia: 1976. Five volumes. One of 400 copies, these books are a souvenir of the artist's trip to America. The title-page and introduction are printed in three languages, including English. Each book is a collection of twenty to forty woodcuts by the artist, who also printed them. Extremely fine..... More
Senta, Yugoslavia: 1978. Six volumes. Each 29pp. One of 400 copies. A set created after the artist/author Károly Andruskó's visit to Spain. Comprised of: "Madrid," "Sevilla," "Toledo," "Castilla/Andalucia," "Cordoba," and "Granada." Each is illustrated with a series of approximately thirty woodcuts in black & white depicting local scenes. The entire..... More
