NY, Boston: American Tract Society, (c. 1855). 48mo. 16pp. Five engravings decorate this narrative treatise on the promises and potentialities of joining the Church. Bound in plain wrappers printed with titling at upper cover and with publisher's advertisements at lower cover. A crisp copy with few instances of staining, near..... More
Karlsruhe and Tokyo: Veronika Schäpers, 2021. Oblong octavo. (16)pp., + 14 round filters, loose. One of 50 copies, signed by the artist at the colophon. A book born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Solitude represents the attempts of Schäpers (and her colleague, Susan Pietzsch) to make sense of and find..... More
(N.p.): 1961. 24mo. (16)ff. One of twenty copies. Signed and inscribed by the artist—an unidentified "Gill"—at the colophon. Woodcut illustrations throughout provide crude yet evocative portraits of the main characters in T. S. Eliot's acclaimed (and much-adapted) Practical Cats. The woodcuts, though perhaps rudimentary in technical execution, cleverly reflect the..... More
Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2018. Square 16mo. (24)ff. One of 200 copies. A whimsical collection of poems and songs for children, printed on a variety of papers and with Suárez's illustrations cut out and pasted. As much artist's book as children's book, the edition plays with the found-item tradition championed..... More
Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, Co., 1905. 32mo. xii, 100pp. Engraved illustrations throughout the text provide visual accompaniments to these classic rhymes, which have here been reproduced by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard as a facsimile of the 1833 edition published and copyrighted in Boston by Munroe & Francis. Rev. Edward..... More
(N.p. c. 1900). Bifold 24mo. Illustrated with both single and double-hand alphabets, as well as significant typographic ornaments. The card advocates for the peddler, announcing on their behalf that they are deaf and dumb, and that in lieu of employment they must earn a living by offering cards like the..... More
(NY: American Tract Society, c. 1840). 64mo. 15, (1)pp. Thirteen illustrations (with a fourteenth on the title cover) decorate this selection of poetic moral reminders. In addition to the titular soliloquy are the Lord's Prayer and two hymns, one for the morning and one for the evening. Bound in plain..... More
(Easthampton, MA): Chamberlain Press, 1976. 24mo. (16)pp. One of 75 copies signed by the illustrator. A charming presentation of this story, with six tipped-in wood engravings by Chamberlain. Printed on handmade paper, this is one of the early books of this Press. Bound by Gray Parrot in marbled boards with..... More
London: 1990. Single sheet on glossy poster stock measuring 20 by 30 inches. Agatha Christie's name and her centenary dates (1890-1990) border a clever central motif of question marks circling a single point. Surrounding the central graphic are the autographs of various actors and contributors to Christie productions, among them..... More
(c. 1935). Three octavo sheets, each one with Gill's notations in graphite and colored pencil. Two sheets list thirty-seven of Gill's sculptures, including his Westminster Stations. Next to the sculptures' names are an array of further identifying notes - personal owner (Rupert Brooke, et al.), location (Glasgow, USA), and insitutions..... More
1986. Broadside. One of 100 copies signed by Gorey. Advertisement for the 1986 Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival. Two figures sit on a rooftop, their backs to a weathervane. The figures play the flute and the violin, respectively, while the weathervane angel plays a trumpet. Some creasing around edges..... More
Iowa City, IA: 2016. Broadside. One of twenty copies, signed by the artist at verso. In Glémot's words: "This work juxtaposes Claude McKay's 1922 poem "The Lynching" with the names of unarmed Black persons who'd bee killed by police in recent years at the time of printing. In setting these..... More
New York: American Tract Society, (c.1840). 16mo. 16pp. Title-page illustration, frontispiece, and two smaller text figures from wood engravings. Framed as a conversation between young George and his father, the text presents the life of bees as an extended metaphor for virtuous behavior. Despite the ubiquity of most American Tract..... More
Ann Arbor, MI: People's Hard Drugs Committee, (c. 1975). Poster. An ominous image, showing Uncle Sam opening an enormous pill, the contents of which—needles and yet more pills—bury a crowd. Those unburied drag the inert bodies of the victims out of the rubble. A riff on the "controlled substance" designation..... More
(Fullerton, CA): Whittington and Lorson's, 1988. xvi, (20)pp., variously paginated. One of 175 numbered copies. Printed in Andoversford, Gloucestershire by the Whittington Press. Concerning dinosaurs, beetles, railway stations, and cathedrals, complete with a Gracious Foreword by (a nameless royal). Fine in full blue cloth, with the title-page reproduced in gilt..... More
Oxford / London: Oxford University Press / Henry Frowde, (c. 1895). 576pp. Revised translation on India paper. Fine in publisher's black imitation leather, with cover and spine title in gilt. A.e.g. (2 1/8 by 1 3/4; 55x45mm). More
Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, (1855). 128pp. A collection of inspirational scripture readings for each day of the year. Bound in red cloth, with a gilt-stamped image of a hand pointing to a Holy Bible to cover. Minor soiling, else fine in a charming publisher's binding. (Welsh 3415; Bradbury, p...... More
Easthampton, MA: Pennyroyal Press, 1977. Tall octavo. 61, (4)pp., + foldout at rear. One of 175 copies, signed by Mariani and Moser at the colophon and inscribed by Moser to Vance Studley at the title page. The rear foldout presents in series Moser's five wood engravings, which also punctuate Mariani's..... More
Berkeley, CA: Royal Chicano Air Force, 1977. Poster. A provocative border of chains circling outstretched hands provides sharp visual contrast to the two quotations set within it. The first quotation cites the United States Constitution's 13th Amendment, which abolishes slavery, and the second pulls from Abraham Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation..... More
Barcelona: Editorial Vallès, S. L., 1959. 119, (9)pp. Fourteenth edition. A rather rare child's breviary, printed in Spanish, with occasional full-page illustrations throughout depicting daily activities proper for a good Catholic child, as well as the various rites and sacraments of the Church. Bound in blue pebbled cloth over boards..... More
Boston: Munroe & Francis, 1847. Square 32mo. 168pp. Illustrations throughout - some of a stick figure in action, others more detailed and artful - provide visual aid to the various physical challenges the book advocates. Among these are such fabled activities as "Horse Exercise," "Leaping with the Pole," and "Giant..... More
Wendell, MA: J. Metcalf, 1832. 64mo. 18pp. Engravings as title device and final tail-piece. Prefaced by an alphabet is the story of Little Harry, whose uprightness bears fruit among his friends. Lacking wrappers, evidence of light dampstaining at edges, half-inch tear at tail of spine, else a good copy. Ownership..... More
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1855). 64mo. 16pp. Five engravings throughout, four of them full page, illustrate scenes of wilderness adventure. The accompanying tale provides both suspenseful and moralistic overtures to keep the young reader hooked. Bound in gray wrappers, which identify the book as "Second Series. - No. 9"..... More
Gainesville, FL: Crooked Letter Press, 2018. Square 24mo. A maze book printed on all sides with text, typographic details, and layered circles whose style mimicks bullet holes. Of an edition of ninety copies, this is one of thirty finished as a book. Signed by the artist. Letterpress printed from polymer..... More
Santa Cruz, CA: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1997. One of forty copies. Six sheets wrapped around six dowels, so that the viewer can read the Latin aphorism, "Ars est longa / vita est brevis," first, then can twist each dowel to see the English translation and publication information. An innovative..... More
