Petersham, MA: Lone Oak Press, 2022. Hardcover. Number ix/xiv of the fourteen deluxe copies that are accompanied by an extra suite of prints. Signed and numbered by the book artist. There were also fifty-six standard signed and numbered copies. Master wood engraver Abigail Rorer is considered one of the finest engravers working today. She founded her Lone Oak Press in 1989 and has published many beautiful works that often focus on nature - animals, flowers, trees, and water. Abigail has also provided lovely illustrations for other private and commercial presses. Her fine press books have been in numerous exhibitions in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland. They can be found in many public and private collections.    Abigail writes in her prospectus about this important new work, saying that it is the first book in the "Extinct Pentalogy" series. Originally she had planned one larger volume covering five diverse animals, four that are extinct and one that came perilously close. But she decided that each animal deserves its own tribute. The western black rhinoceros was declared extinct in 2011 and all remaining rhinoceroses are endangered. She writes on her website: "Extinction as a theme has been a focus of The Lone Oak Press for a few years now, beginning with the publication of our book Extinction in 2015. We are living in the age of the Sixth Extinction, the Anthropocene: the Human Epoch. Human activity has made such an impact on our planet that climate patterns are changing, glaciers are melting, the ozone layer is thinning, and species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. For such a magnificent and noble animal as the rhinoceros to be on the verge of total extinction is tragic and unacceptable. The rhinoceros has lived and flourished on this earth for tens of thousands of years. Within only a relatively short period of time, the last two hundred years or so, with the advent of guns, the Industrial Revolution, exploding populations, and other factors, we have decimated the rhino population and brought it to the brink of total extinction. This book is a way to honor a subspecies of the black rhinoceros that disappeared in 2011 and to highlight the plight of all species of rhinoceros.”   Bound in a gray and black paper created from a hand-draw closeup image of rhinoceros skin over boards with a stamped gray leather spine. The rear board includes a bullet sized hole in the paper with red showing underneath – a visceral reminder of the contents of the book. The text was set in Dante and Othello type. The text and engravings were printed on Zerkell paper. Many of the engravings are multi-block color with some hand-coloring. Amy Borezo of shelter Bookwords bound the books. This copy from the deluxe edition comes in a special clamshell case covered in gray Cave Paper with cloth sides and a stamped red leather title label. It includes the book, a set of the prints in a portfolio, and a unique recessed well with a trap door called the "Cache of Curiosities." Contained within are seventeen small engravings and two stamps with images of rhinos. With prospectus. In fine condition. Measures 7 x 9 inches. 52 pages. ARTISTSB/040623. Fine. More