In their broadest sense, the book arts are at the core of our inventory. To be sure, the category encompasses the specialties that you see on our homepage, such as Fine Printing, Fine Binding, and Illustrated Books. However, it also includes such things as writing books and calligraphy, fore-edge paintings, books on papermaking, and leaf books.
Read more about one of the book arts, Fore-edge Painting
San Francisco: Kneedler-Fauchère, (c. 1950). Quarto. (38)ff. An impressive collection of sample sheets of khozo, mitsumata, and gampi papers in a variety of designs and colors. Samples are heralded by three pages of illustrated steps to Japanese papermaking, which at the outset provide plastic-covered specimens of the plants from which..... More
San Francisco: Kneedler-Fauchère, (c. 1950). Quarto. (38)ff. An impressive collection of sample sheets of khozo, mitsumata, and gampi papers in a variety of designs and colors. Samples are heralded by three pages of illustrated steps to Japanese papermaking, which at the outset provide plastic-covered specimens of the plants from which..... More
Leipzig: Poensgen & Heyer, Feinpapier, (c. 1900). Quarto. (28)pp. Catalogue from Poensgen & Heyer, a fine paper company, with seven advertisements for German companies printed in brilliant color, gold, and silver on heavy Mitsumata paper. The paper is made from the short fibers of the Mitsumata bush, and therefore has..... More
(Washington, D.C.): Hand Papermaking, Inc., 1996. An impressive array of papers and printing styles, produced by the likes of Inge Bruggeman and Bridget O'Malley, Karla Payne Elling and Alberto Ríos, John Risseeuw, and Peter and Donna Thomas. This marks the second portfolio from Hand Papermaking, Inc., here exploring the creative..... More
(N.p. c. 1930). Oblong octavo. (24)ff. bearing 241 specimens of decorated papers, which are mounted into preprinted grids. The header of each page bears a Sorte number and the name of the particular paper style. The forty-eight different styles sport a variety of colors and patterns, ranging from highly textured..... More
NY: Lasher & Lathrop, (1903). Octavo. Unpaginated. A substantial collection of papers, each presented both printed and plain and in varying weights. Some are offered in colors, and some bear illustrations, including a full page, full color image of a ship, an Art Nouveau nymph, and extracts of title pages..... More
NY: Keller-Dorian Paper Co., Inc., 1939. A sample catalog of foils, with forty-eight embossed examples tipped-in. These are grouped by style, displaying patterns of checks, leaves, florals, and waves, and ranging in color from customary silver and gold metallics to pinks, greens, and blues. Each section overlaid with black paper..... More
(Vancouver): Heavenly Monkey Editions, 2007. Small quarto. (14)ff. One of twenty-five copies signed by the artist, Reg Lissel. A specimen book of eleven different paste papers, of varying color and design. The paper is made from cotton blotters with a small amount of hemp bast and cotton rag added. The..... More
Tübingen: Jäckle-Sönmez, (1987). Square octavo. 107pp. One of 230 copies signed by the artists, Nedim Sonmez and Yvonne Jackle-Sonmez, with an additional sheet of ebru paper, signed and dated by Sonmez, bound in. A catalog with thirty-eight color reproductions of marbled pictures, nine photos in black and white on the..... More
(N.p.): Tideline Press, 1983. Quarto. 17pp., + (10)ff. One of 70 copies, signed by the papermaker, Delight Rushmore Lewis. Printed on Fabriano paper and illustrated with seventeen tipped-in samples of the original paste papers used on Golden Hind Press publications from the 1920s and '30s. Foxing to linen binding, shelf-toning..... More
Buren, The Netherlands: Frits Knuf, 1985. Oblong quarto. (22)ff. One of 100 copies, signed by the author. Containing two black & white photographs of Karli Frigge at work and thirty-four total tipped-in samples of intricate marbled papers in a rainbow of hues. After apprenticing with a Dutch binder, Karli Frigge..... More
Batenburg & Joppe, Netherlands: Karli Frigge, 1984-1992. Frigge's periodical sample books, with prices, for samples #1 through #73 and #126 through #225, with #150-152 presented twice, but with one different paper and in an alternate format. A remarkable and near-comprehensive collection of Frigge's papers, exhibiting her unique technical mastery and..... More
(N.p. n.d.). Forty distinct samples, detailing a variety of patterns and colors, with particular attention to variations of the snail pattern. All but one cut down from larger sheets into strips; the other is wrapped around them. Some rubbing to edges, else a near fine collection, housed in an envelope..... More
Woodside, CA: Heyeck Press, 1986. Quarto. 65pp. One of 150 copies, signed by Robin Heyeck. With twenty-eight mounted specimens, thirteen of which are large sheets measuring 6 3/4 by 4 7/8 inches. With a bibliography of marbling projects by the Press. Bound in quarter gray morocco with patterned paper covers..... More
NY: Pynson Printers, 1939. Quarto. 134pp. One of 370 copies, signed by Hunter and by Elmer Adler, the printer. Contains 85 photogravure illustrations, many from photographs taken by Hunter, and twenty-seven paper samples tipped-in. In this companion to his "Papermaking Pilgrimage to Japan, Korea and China," Dard Hunter highlights the..... More
(Chillicothe: Mountain House Press), 1936. Quarto. (36)pp., + 25ff. plates and specimens. One of 115 copies printed on Hunter's handmade paper and signed by the author. Hunter was the first Occidental traveler to visit the Niltongkum family, who had been "making paper by hand along the small canals of Southern..... More
Kasama, Japan: Cannabis Press, 1981. 24pp., + 5ff. One of 200 numbered copies. Explores the Nepalese process of fine papermaking. With two black-and-white illustrations, one of a paper mould and one of sheets drying in moulds. Also includes five paper specimens. Fine in brown, stab-sewn wrappers of handmade paper, with..... More
Cambridge, MA: Houghton Library, Harvard College, 1942-2007. Octavo. xciii, (14), 171, (84)pp. One of 250 copies. Eight plates of pre-1800 decorative papers, and twenty-five samples of marbled, pattern, and paste papers from a range of eras. Bound in quarter-cloth with paste paper covers. Slight rubbing to edges, else fine in..... More
Andoversford, Gloucestershire: Whittington Press, 1987. This publication was inspired by the discovery of a cache of Curwen Pattern Papers. It contains a history of the papers with 32 large samples by fifteen prominent artists, such as Eric Ravilious, Enid Marx, Thomas Lowinsky, and Paul Nash. Quarto. xii, 105pp. From an..... More
(North Hills): Bird & Bull Press, 1963. Octavo. 59pp. One of 169 copies. A collection of five essays on hand papermaking, with contributions by Dard Hunter, J. Barcham Green, John Mason, Henry Morris, and Norman H. Strouse. Six wood engravings and many amusing drawings illustrate the process of hand papermaking..... More
Oldham: Incline Press, 1997. Quarto. vi, 120pp. One of 300 copies. Contains seven essays on the subject of patterned paper by Paul Nash, Phyllis Barron, Sebastian Carter and others. With numerous samples of paper tipped in. Bound in yellow and red patterned paper backed in yellow cloth. Housed in a...... More
Hawaii: Printed for the author by Andrew Hoyem at the Arion Press, 1983. Folio. From an edition of 95 copies, this is one of twelve containing thirty-five samples. Includes tapa samples from the Hawaiian Islands, Fiji, Futuna, Marquesas, Mangreva, Tahiti, Samoa, etc. Each sample is identified and housed in its..... More
Santa Cruz: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1993. Quarto. (120)pp. One of 195 copies. With an introduction by Peter Thomas. The book highlights a variety of visual and textural qualities found in today’s handmade papers, and includes thirty-two folio-size samples, each of which has a statement from the papermakers printed on..... More
Santa Cruz: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1999. Quarto. 20ff., + 30 specimen sheets. One of 150 copies. Illustrated with line drawings by Donna Thomas. Published as a companion volume to the Thomases’ A Collection of Paper Samples from Hand Papermills in the United States of America (1993), this work contains..... More
Rutland, VT and Tokyo: Tuttle, 1952. Four small folio volumes. No limitation indicated; Schlosser (No. 63) notes that 250 copies were planned, "but there is no indication as to the final size of the edition." This is one of the finest studies of Japanese papermaking, brimming with specimens, including old..... More
