Basel, Switzerland: Romano Hänni, 2007. Paperback. 1 of 306 copies. This work by Swiss book artist, Romano Hänni, is a hand printed eight page altar fold with banderole and a card with a poem. The text is in German and an eight page pictorial supplement with translation in English is also included. This work is about the horrors of war and military injustice. There are multiple stories about war and murder including a piece about 306 British soldiers who were court-martialed for ‘cowardice in the face of the enemy’ and shot during World War I by their comrades. In 2006 - ninety years later - these men were pardoned. The enclosed poem is “Glory of Women” by Sigfried Sassoon. The banderole, which is printed on toilet paper, represents the blindfolds of the executed men. It features a wood engraving of a French Military Cross on the front and a statement about four French soldiers who were court-martialed in 1915 and shot in the back. A powerful piece. [8 pages]. Swiss book artist and typographer Romano Hänni (1956 - ) has been experimenting with unusual compositions of letter forms and symbols since the early 1980s. His designs can seem somewhat whimsical but often are reactions to society, politics, and traumatic events. Creating things manually with the participation of all of the senses is very important to him. A master of visual poetry, he enjoys teaching to pass on his knowledge and skills. ARTB/020212. Fine. More

Basel: Romano Hänni, 2010. Hardcover. Number 34 of 175 copies. Swiss book artist and typographer Romano Hänni (1956 - ) has been experimenting with unusual compositions of letter forms and symbols since the early 1980s. His designs can seem somewhat whimsical but often are reactions to society, politics, and traumatic events. Creating things manually with the participation of all of the senses is very important to him. A master of visual poetry, he enjoys teaching to pass on his knowledge and skills. This work offers a commentary on various aspects of life, some of which are illustrated with design elements. For example "with ritalin" shows a series of small, numbered pill shaped designs. It faces "without ritalin" which shows a variety of animals and other creatures. One unillustrated quote from the jacket reads "The daily misconduct: It is not the large catastrophes, it is he daily mistakes in the details that cause the global problems." Bound accordion style in boards with white illustrated dust jacket. Handcomposed and handprinted in black, red, blue, and gold. The text is printed in German; however, a pictorial booklet supplement with English translation is included. A thought provoking, well designed book. ARTB/092117. Fine. More

Basel: Romano Hänni, 2008. Hard Cover. Swiss book artist and typographer Romano Hänni (1956 - ) has been experimenting with unusual compositions of letter forms and symbols since the early 1980s. His designs can seem somewhat whimsical but often are reactions to society, politics, and traumatic events. Creating things manually with the participation of all of the senses is very important to him. A master of visual poetry, he enjoys teaching to pass on his knowledge and skills. Number 197 of 290 copies. This book was hand composed and hand printed in black, red, and blue ink. An accordion structure bound in boards with an illustrated white dust jacket and a paper band closure. Includes a two page laid in supplement featuring the title of the work and the colophon. A small book measuring 3.25 inches wide by 5 inches tall. In fine condition. Unpaginated [10 pages]. ARTB/060111. Fine. More

Montgomery Village, MD: Shireen Holman, 2013. Paperback. Number 15 of 20 copies signed and numbered by the artist. This complex and beautiful artist's book explores time from the viewpoints of religion, literature, science, and philosophy. The book artist, Shireen Modak Holman, has been a printmaker for more than thirty-five years and a book artist for more than twenty. She was born in India, and her work often involves the interaction of her Indian and American cultures. She states that she is fascinated by time and spent several years reading, sketching, and selecting texts to illustrate the imagery she was creating as she tried to visually express time. She has used texts from the writings of Shakespeare, Tagore, Einstein, Thoreau, Hawking, and others. As the design of the book came together, she created a full-sized colored pencil mock-up. The finished book consists of woodcuts printed onto pulp-painted handmade paper. The text was letterpress printed on gampi paper and then pasted onto the handmade sheets. The pages are folded in such a way that one can see a little of each of the subsequent pages from the current page. Thus from the beginning to the end of the book one can see a little of the future from the present. Each page has semicircular areas cut out so that the calendar at the bottom right of the colophon page is visible at all times. Housed in a cream paper clamshell box with the title "Time" in raised letters affixed vertically to the cover. Linen spine. In fine condition. Accompanied by a softcover book titled "The Making of the Artist Book 'Time.'" Unpaginated. [16 pages]. 13.75 x 19.25 inches. ARTISTS/041916. Fine. More

Cairo, NY: Editions, 1999. Number 20 of 32 copies. Signed by the book artist. Book artist Ed Hutchins is known for his inventive and fanciful books that are made from found materials and that use untraditional methods and structures. This miniature tunnel book exemplifies his work. The book's theme is stars and although they are seemingly the same, in fact each really is unique - like humans. A star cutout on the cover reveals a tiny galaxy of varied color stars floating in the air when the tunnel is expanded. The sides of the tunnel are made with different bright colored papers and have the words of the text printed that are also revealed as the tunnel expands. Black covers with yellow title label on front and green label on back with quote about stars, Hutchins's signature, and edition number in pencil. In an orange slipcase and both housed in a purple slipcase with star cutout and title on front. Fine condition. 2 x 3 x .5 inches. ARTISTSBOOK/090717. Fine. More

New York: Intima Press, 2014. Hardcover. Number 4 of 12 copies signed and numbered by well-known book artist Mindy Belloff, This superb book from Mindy's Intima Press was inspired by and taken from Hieronymus Bosch's renowned three-panel painting, the Garden of Earthly Delights (1490-1516). This famous work, full of symbolism and subject to endless interpretation, depicts the Garden of Eden, earthly pleasures and pursuits, and humanity's punishment in Hell. Mindy created eleven color intaglio prints of deep bite copper etchings with hand painting in watercolor, gouache, and ink. Each beautiful print is unique within the limited edition, printed on Somerset cotton rag papers corresponding to the painting's three panels from left to right, progressing from white (Section I), to tan (Section II), to gray (Section III). The book also has three original poems by Amy Lemmon, Steven Gentile, and Rich Turnbull, each preceding a section and also inspired by Bosch's painting. Letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal III Automatic A/B Press. In a concertina sewn spine binding in quarter-bound pink buffalo skin over Somerset white papers, with leather tip corners and leather ornamental onlays, bound by Celine Lombardi. Protected by a paper tri-fold enclosure with light grey leather spine with title label. Housed in a pink buffalo skin slip case. In fine condition. ARTISTSBOOK/041916. Fine. More

Simi Valley, CA: Pie in the Sky Press, 2014, 2016. Hardcover. The book's writer and illustrator, Rebecca Chamlee, states: "Like the self-taught naturalists of the Victorian era, my recent work examines the intersection of my artistic and scientific interests by collecting and cataloging the natural world. I am inspired to record, interpret and celebrate nature. My new letterpress printed artist book project records and observes the natural world around me." Her creative aesthetic is beautifully complemented by Karen's own. Karen Hanmer’s artist-made books are physical manifestations of personal essays that intertwine history, culture, politics, science and technology. She utilizes both traditional and contemporary book structures, and the work is often playful in content or format. Karen was the winner of the Jury Prize for Binding in the 2009 Helen Warren DeGolyer American Bookbinding Competition. One of only ten graduates of the American Academy of Bookbinding’s Fine Binding program, she has studied with many notable fine binders. She exhibits widely, and her work is included in collections ranging from Tate Britain and the Library of Congress to UCLA and Graceland. Her masterful bindings wed the ancient art of book binding with the high tech use of the computer to aid her process. This beautifully executed unique binding was done from a few printer's proofs that the writer left in sheets for hand bookbinders. Karen's binding uses a design of Quercus lobata (valley oak) leaves and vintage botanical instruments that reference the author's documenting of the native flora surrounding her home in an arid inland valley in Southern California. In a German Bradel binding with a green goatskin spine, boards covered in orange Khadi handmade paper with Cave paper onlays and pigment inkjet printed illustrations. With three-color hand-sewn silk endbands, and the top edge decorated with sponged gilt acrylic, acrylic pochoir on spine, and hand-titling in gold foil. Roma endpapers. The book measures 9 x 6 x 1 inches. Housed in a brown cloth bound clamshell box with leather title label to spine. In fine condition. Fine. More

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981, 2018. Karen Hanmer’s artist-made books are physical manifestations of personal essays that intertwine history, culture, politics, science and technology. She utilizes both traditional and contemporary book structures, and the work is often playful in content or format. Karen was the winner of the Jury Prize for Binding in the 2009 Helen Warren DeGolyer American Bookbinding Competition. One of only ten graduates of the American Academy of Bookbinding’s Fine Binding program, she has studied with many notable fine binders. She exhibits widely, and her work is included in collections ranging from Tate Britain and the Library of Congress to UCLA and Graceland. Her masterful bindings wed the ancient art of book binding with the high tech use of the computer to aid her process. Karen designed and constructed this exquisite unique signed binding for this first trade edition of the famous Arion Press's 1979 edition with its striking illustrations by renowned illustrator Barry Moser. Her binding is based on the non-adhesive “clip-on cover” structure developed by UK binder Kathy Abbott. To create this binding the text block is disbound, the outer folios guarded and then sewn with long stitch using blue linen thread into the calf vellum wrapper, covered in limp calf vellum case, with tabbed corners. Hand titling to spine is done in 22k moon gold, with a blue acrylic line applied through stencil along the bottom edges of the front and rear covers. The endpapers are of handmade Ruscombe Mill pale wove paper in a single folio with hooked flexi endleaf. The top edge of the text block is covered with graphite. Karen writes: "The pale vellum references the white whale, and the blue line a turbulent sea. The stark contrast between these elements mirrors the horror steadily building in anticipation of the Pequod’s encounter with Moby Dick. Use of blue inside and out also references the color of the initial caps in the Arion Press and Deluxe California editions of this text." This is an impressive binding that beautifully pays honor to one of the great American novels. Book measures 10.5 x 7 x 1.5 inches. Housed in a dark blue clamshell box with a white gilt and blue title label to spine. In fine condition. FINEBINDING/080618. More

Eugene, OR: Knight Library Press / University of Oregon, 2000. Robin Eschner. Paperback. 62 of 125 numbered copies. Signed by the author and artist. An additional 10 lettered artist’s copies were also printed. This wonderful short story by Lopez was originally published in the Fall 1997 issue of The Georgia Review. In the story, a Peruvian man writes of the effects on his life and faith from having read at different points in his life, secret love letters written in the 17th century between Rosa and Martin. The two were later canonized as saints, and the writer comes to understand their divinity and love of God as expressed in the letters. The book is a beautiful production from the Knight Library’s fine press publishing program. It was designed, printed, and bound by Sandy Tilcok. It is printed on Heine paper using Bembo types. There are five lovely tipped-in hand-colored etchings done by Robin Eschner. Marilyn Reaves did the calligraphic title, headings, and ornaments. The colophon describes the cover as being made by laminating two handmade papers of brown and rose. The covers are fastened by thin leather straps for which instructions are provided on a laid-in card on how to re-tie them in the original intricate fashion. Unpaginated. ARTB/120209. Fine. More

Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Viewpoint Editions, 2017. Paperback. Number 8 of 10 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. Dorothy Krause is a painter, collage artist and printmaker who incorporates digital mixed media into her art. Her work is exhibited regularly in galleries and museums and featured in numerous current periodicals and books. Krause is Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts College of Art where she founded the Computer Arts Center and a member of Digital Atelier®, an artists collaborative, with Bonny Lhotka and Karin Schminke. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and symposia and a consultant for manufacturers and distributors of products which may be used by fine artists.This is a powerful book about prostitution with striking altered photographs of twin performance artists, Abigail and Emily Taylor, depicting ladies of the night. Their color photographs appear on the front pages of this accordion structure book.They are printed in glossy inks against a black glossy background. The text on the back of Ladies has a long list of facts about prostitution, which can be divided into three categories: street, brothel, or escort prostitution. The text goes on to provide disturbing facts about the treatment of prostitutes working in the US, such as statistics about how often they are physically assaulted, raped, arrested, and murdered. According to this book "prostitution in the US is estimated to generate $14 billion a year, more than drugs and guns combined." The book was printed at Roland DGA, with the text pages done on their VersaUV LEC-330 and the aluminum box in which the book is housed done on their LEF-300, a flatbed printer with white and gloss inks. The box's cover has one of the glossy images from the book on its top cover. Size: 57 inches when open and 9.5 x 11.5 when closed. The aluminum box measures 10 x 12 x .5 inches. In fine condition. [12 pages] ARTB/082217. Fine. More

Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Viewpoint Editions, 2015. Number 2 of 10 copies signed and numbered by the book artist. This handsome and intriguing work is from well-known artist Dorothy "Dot" Krause. In her artist's statement she describes her work: "My work includes large scale mixed media pieces, artist books and book-like objects that bridge between these two forms. It embeds archetypal symbols and fragments of image and text in multiple layers of texture and meaning. It combines the humblest of materials, plaster, tar, wax and pigment, with the latest in technology to evoke the past and herald the future. My art-making is an integrated mode of inquiry that links concept and media in an ongoing dialogue - a visible means of exploring meaning. " "PreScribe" exemplifies her artistic philosophy. This work perhaps offers a statement on the medical and pharmaceutical professions and also the impact of opioid drugs in our current society. As Dot states on the title page, Prescribe "is from the Latin prae +scribere to write previously, to recommend, advise, authorize or order the use of a drug or other remedy." In this portfolio, images are printed on pages from a prescription ledger kept by a pharmacy in the late 1800’s and housed in a black paper over boards box covered with prescription images and lined with red handmade paper. The imagery is taken from work that was produced during an Artist-in-Residency at Harvard’s Countway Library, one of the world’s leading collections of medical history. Photographs of their anatomical specimens, medical artifacts, rare books and manuscripts are incorporated. The processes include prints onto the ledger pages using Pronto, Toray and Solar intaglio and planographic plates and Gocco screens. The title page, introduction and colophon are letterpress printed on Rives BFK tan. The font used for the title is “Ambulance Shotgun” by Guillaume Seguin. Completed at the Jaffe Center for Book Arts, Boca Raton, Florida. The book measures 11.5 x 17.25 inches and is housed in a box 12 x 18” inches. 9 pages + title/introduction and colophon. In fine condition. Fine. More

Montreal: les editions du silence, 2004. Number 4 of 26 copies. The artists began working on this project in June of 2002 and did not complete the edition until nearly two years later. This is an unusually long period of time given the small number of the edition, though it can easily be understood given the detail and craftsmanship of this work of art. A custom-made paper covered file box with a removable lid contains a booklet for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet. Each booklet is filed in order alphabetically within the box. Thick handmade paper is accordion folded to create a separate compartment for each letter. Each booklet represents its letter differently with various papers, fonts, binding styles, cutouts, movables, and pop-ups. For example, the book for ‘W’ is stab bound in black paper wrappers with ‘W’ printed in a pattern on the front wrapper. The interior page is bright orange and is folded to create a pocket that holds a large, removable, black paper W. An artistic and innovative exploration of the alphabet. ARTB/100616. Fine. More