An Idea of Geometry: Celebrating the Gannets of Cape St. Mary's
2017. Hardcover. Number xvii of xx copies of the deluxe edition, signed and numbered by the book artist. There were also two hundred copies in the regular edition. Abigail Rorer attended the Rhode Island School of Design concentrating on etching and lithography. After graduation she taught art in several schools for a few years until leaving to concentrate on pen and ink book illustrations and etchings. She had always been drawn to woodcuts and wood engraving through the work of the German Expressionists and Leonard Baskin. Although she had only done a few woodcuts in high school and none in college, she had a desire to learn wood engraving and was fortunate to have met the noted wood engraver Barry Moser through a mutual gallery. He very graciously explained how one wood engraves and the tools needed to make a print. She purchased the necessary materials and had at it. Learning the art of wood engraving is basically a case of practice, practice, practice and looking at the work of other engravers. In 1989 Abigail established The Lone Oak Press in Petersham, Massachusetts. The press publishes limited edition, letterpress printed books and broadsides illustrated with her relief engravings and etchings. All of the images are printed by Abigail from the original blocks and plates with many of the images being multi-block color engravings incorporating reduction printing and frequently having some hand coloring. The design of a number of the books and all of the bindings are collaborations with others more knowledgeable in those aspects of bookmaking. Abigail has also taken up the fine art of silverpoint drawing, a medieval art form. [From the press website: "The idea for this book was conceived after a visit to Newfoundland and the famous gannet rookery at Cape St. Mary’s by wood engraver Abigail Rorer, proprietor of The Lone Oak Press. Abigail was taken by the beauty of the birds, so magnificent in their white plumage with black detailing, their fierce eyes and lethal bill and decided to illustrate and publish a small book honoring these incredible seabirds." The result is this beautiful book with Abigail's exquisite illustrations of these amazing birds. This deluxe edition has a special binding of the book with a white leather spine and a white leather circle with a bird image on the blue paper cover. The engravings and text are printed on Zerkall Book paper using Van Dijck and Goudy Open types. The engravings are multi-block with some hand-coloring. Amy Borezo of Shelter Bookwors designed the binding and bound the books. Housed in a blue cloth clamshell case with title label to spine, along with an extra suite of signed prints, and an original silverpoint drawing of gannets encased in a special folder. Each silverpoint drawing is different. In fine condition. Book measures 5.25 x 7 inches. Unpaginated [about 18 pages] PRI/030524. Fine. More