Pasadena, CA: Deeply Game Productions, 2012. Hardcover. Number 1 of 7 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. Sara Press is a photographer, printer, and book artist whose work addresses science, nature, and the intricacies of our culture. This is a suite of four etchings by Ms. Press that depict contemporary mixed-martial-arts fighters. The accompanying text has been appropriated from a panther / bear fight advertising poster from the 1850s. The text describing animal fights is juxtaposed with the prints of human fighters to make an important statement on violence. The typeface is designed by Dan Mayer. Letterpress printed on a Vandercook No. 3 Proof Press. The loose prints and text pages are housed in a solid maple box with title burnt into the lid. Unpaginated. ARTISTSBOOKS/030613. Near Fine. More

San Francisco: Deeply Game Publications, 2012. Hardcover. Number 45 of 55 copies. Signed by the author and book artists. Book artist Sara Press collaborated with Andrew Rottner to create this exquisite tribute to printing’s golden age. "The story, by Christina Lauritsen, mis-remembers H.C. Andersen’s classic tale of the same name, transforming it into a story of revelation and madness. The visual progression of the book mirrors the plot, pitting the beauty of the decorative arts against the intense and unpredictable messiness of human experience. This book confronts the inevitability of loss and bows to intellectual freedom and its attendant risks." [artists' statement]. The book is printed in Garamond and Bembo types on Moab Entrada paper. It features two 26 inch wide foldouts with illustrations by Rottner. The striking cover is done from a cut-marbled-paper and brocade. The book measures 7 x 9 inches. It is unpaginated. Deeply Game Productions creates and distributes the art works of Sara Press and her collaborators. Sara L. Press is a photographer, printmaker and book artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of her projects examine peculiar areas of overlap between nature and culture (for example: dog fighting, feral children, and our co-evolution with snakes). Sara has also wrestled with the relationship between creativity and the scientific method. Recently, Sara has turned to constructions of masculinity and femininity in our culture (such as human bloodsports and altered fairy-tales). Her work can be seen in public collections around the country and are also in many library and private collections. A lovely book in fine condition. PRI/021919. Fine. More

Israel: Even Hoshen, 2009. Someck, Ronny. Hardcover. Number 35 of 88 copies. Signed by the author and printer. A collection of five poems by Ronny Someck about ballet with two hand-colored illustrations. Someck is an Israeli poet, musician, and artist who has won multiple awards for his poetry including the Prime Minister's Award, the Hans Berghhuis prize for poetry, and the Yehuda Amichai Award for Hebrew poetry. He is internationally renowned with poems published in over thirty-five languages and ten books of poetry published in English. The Even Hoshen press was founded in 1994 by Uzi Agassi, who was later joined by his son Ido. Their work is letterpress printed on high quality paper with hand made bindings and illustrations. Pointe Shoes is a dos-a-dos structure printed in both English and Hebrew. It is bound in black cloth boards with inset cloth ballet slippers to both boards and decorative pink and black ribbons to spine. The center of both signatures features four black and pink flourishes. Printed on Grandee paper and handset in Alt-Mediaval and Margalit type. Housed in a black cloth slipcase. A fine production. Unpaginated. [18 pages.] PRI/032713. Fine. More

San Jose, CA: 2007. Paperback. A UNIQUE ARTISTS’ BOOK which has been signed and dated by the artist. The words “Star Spell” are written largely in resist and have been watercolored over to reveal the words across the twilight sky background. The familiar rhyme reads: “Star light / star bright / first star / I see tonight / I wish I may / I wish I might / have the wish / I wish tonight.” Fine in grey paper wrappers with white hand lettered title to spine and silver star to front panel. The interior is bound accordion style and is hand painted and lettered in white on Zerkall Book paper. This is a charming book by well known calligrapher, Cari Ferraro. In addition to her unique artists’ books and small limited editions, she has written several books detailing her calligraphy techniques. [16 pages.] ARTB/012408. Fine. More

Guerrero, Mexico: 2013. Number 1 of 10 copies signed and dated by the artistic director, Joel Rendón. There were ten copies numbered one through ten, with six additional copies going to the participants. This haunting book produced in Mexico was a collaborative effort, with photography by Adónimo, text and design by Antonio Guerra, binding by Ana Laura Rubio, and silkscreen printing by Jorge Matias. The book artist Antonio Guerra Gonzalez trained as an architect and also studied sculpture and graphics. In 2009 he began working in the book arts. His books are completely handmade in his workshop, either as unique pieces or in very limited series. They are impeccably produced and each one is signed and numbered. This poignant poem in Spanish writes of the dead, saying they are not dead, and not just memories - and they cling to life as if there were no other. They walk among us, talk to us, and kiss us. The poem is accompanied by several pages of original old silver gelatin photographs of people posing for their portraits, but whose images have been altered with the addition of the heads and bones of skeletons. This was done by etching the bones on the negatives. The photographs are mounted on black paper in what appears to be an old photo album. Each copy was made by hand with a full leather binding with the title printed in silver on the cover. The interior black pages are heavy Canson Mi-Teintes paper. The fore-edges are coated with silver. The text uses the Handwriting-Dakota type face. A poignant production in fine condition. Measures 7.25 x 9.5 inches. Unpaginated [15 pages using the versos only]. ARTB/030223. More

Moscow: Emil Goozairow, (2020). Small unnumbered limited edition. Goozairow is a Russian artist who paints and draws, produces movies, and creates exceptional handmade books that are printed on rare types of paper and published in limited editions. His techniques create unique designs that often are made with natural materials alone or in combination with relief decorations made from metal or polymeric clay. He creates books that he describes as "pop up," “kinetic carousel," “liporello” or “3D origami.” He also writes fairy tales, stories and mystical scenes. A playful alphabet book with something embedded in both covers, causing it to rattle when read. Delightful illustrations with alliterative phrases (many comical) for each letter such as: Angel's Acorns for A, Creeping Cats, Delightful Desire for D, and Ugly Unicorn for U. The book has a special folding design that seems to unravel as you open each page. The book must be turned and flipped as you read in order to see all of the letters in order. Both boards are pyramid shaped relief designs in colored polymer clay. The book is held closed with braided brown cord straps that fasten with a metal clasp. In fine condition. Each side of this triangular shaped book measure about 2.25 inches. The depth of the book is about 3 inches. The book is painted white and blue. ARTB/021921. Fine. More

2008. Hardcover. A unique hand written manuscript describing the legend of the Sawfish, a medieval tale about resisting evil temptations. This book includes two hand written pages with a history of the Sawfish legend on the first page and an illustrated passage in Latin on the facing page. The six line Latin passage begins with an illuminated initial and beneath it is a hand painted miniature illustration of a ship with a saw fish flying above it. The illustration is based on a medieval miniature. This book has been hand lettered on exquisitely prepared calfskin vellum. It was lettered and decorated with 23K gold leaf over gesso, Winsor and Newton designers gouache, Moon Palace Sumi ink, and Soennecken pen nibs. Bound in red silk by Bexx Caswell of the White Sparrow Bindery (Somerville, MA). Signed and dated by the artist. Calligrapher and book artist Maryanne Grebenstein (Marblehead, MA) is a student of Sheila Waters, Jeanyee Wong, Robert Boyajian and others. She owns The Abbey Studio which offers professional calligraphy services and classes and Turn-in-the-Path Books which produces unique and limited edition books and broadsides. Maryanne also teaches at the North Bennet Street School in Boston and is a Visiting Artist at the Corcoran College of Art+Design in Washington, DC. ARTB/092911. Fine. More

2011. Hardcover. Unique Artists' Book. Signed and dated by the book artist and binder. This is a hand-lettered manuscript of Poe's classic poem "Annabel Lee" which was designed, hand-written, gilded, and decorated by Maryanne Grebenstein. Each page is decorated with an elaborate floral motif border with flourishes and initials in gold. Bound in three quarter purple cloth with marbled paper covered boards by Elizabeth Rideout of Charlotte, VT. This manuscript was hand lettered in the Italic style using Moon Palace Sumi ink and Leonardt and Soennecken pen nibs on Pergamenata stationery weight paper in antique. The gold leaf is 23.75 karat on gesso and the decorations are with Winsor & Newton gouache. Unpaginated [8 pages] Calligrapher and book artist Maryanne Grebenstein (Marblehead, MA) is a student of Sheila Waters, Jeanyee Wong, Robert Boyajian and others. She owns The Abbey Studio which offers professional calligraphy services and classes and Turn-in-the-Path Books which produces unique and limited edition books and broadsides. Maryanne also teaches at the North Bennet Street School in Boston and is a Visiting Artist at the Corcoran College of Art+Design in Washington, DC. ARTB/081711. Fine. More

Portland, OR: Anne Greenwood, 2008. Number 8 of 30 copies. Anne Greenwood is a well-known artist who has exhibited widely and whose works can be found in museum and library collections around the country. She was born on the high Dakota Plains and was led to an art degree by her artist grandmother. In 1990 she moved to Portland, Oregon and began her career as an artist and horticulturalist. Anne’s artwork explores an interest in folk art and speaks of her kinship with the natural world and how this influences her connection to daily life. In 2002, Anne set up a textiles studio integrating handwork, book arts, and textiles into an interdisciplinary practice. From Anne's artist's statement: "My artistic practice navigates an infinite network of connections: narrating the simple and complex, physical and ephemeral, past and present, within the context of place, history, and transformation. I form relationships that expand and fortify admiration and reverence, leading to the discovery of new truths about the world around us." This interesting and evocative work exemplifies how Anne integrates her textile skills with book arts. She explains that Winter Counts were historic calendars used by the Plains Indians to record time pictographically. This book is Anne's interpretation of the Sioux tradition to record her personal history using hand-stitched embroidery and letterpress printing. The 41 embroideries were scanned and then made into print form from hand-processed photopolymer plates run on a Vandercook Universal hand press. Printing was done by Inge Bruggeman. Each is printed in the same color as the embroidered version. The loose images and text pages are housed in a light red clam shell box. The text pages are printed in Goudy Sans type and include the title page, artist's statement, two commentary pages for images titles and stitch identification, and colophon with quotes relevant to the winter count tradition. An impressive production in fine condition. PRI/031819. Fine. More

Portland, OR: Anne Greenwood, 2016. Number 2 of 12 copies in the special edition portfolio signed and numbered by the book artist. There were also 138 copies of the chapbook. This beautiful and complex work was inspired by the poetry of the Portland poet and seamstress Hazel Hall (1886-1924) and pays homage to her to writings and resilience. She survived either scarlet fever or a fall at the age of 12 and used a wheelchair for the rest of her short life. The poems are republished by permission from The Collected Poems of Hazel Hall. From the colophon: "The special edition portfolio is made of crinoline; it is machine sewn, hand-dyed in fustic, and pressure-printed with machine-stitched text from poems originally written by Hall and then pieced together by Anne Greenwood. The chapbook cover is machine-stitching on crinoline; the under print is pressure-printed, hand-stitched embroidery with pochoir and the book is hand-bound using the pamphlet stitch. The decorations are hand-stitched embroidery sigils by Greenwood and Shannon Ayuyu pressure printed on washi paper. The tapestry is made of crinoline hand-dyed in madder, fustic, cochineal and indigo, with hand stitching and pochoir. The applique: the moon is pressure-printed, found, hand-made doily, and the poem Loneliness is written by Hall and printed with a polymer plate. The machine-stitched texts are cut-ups of Hazel Hall’s poetry made by Shannon Ayuyu and Anne Greenwood. The printing is all by Clare Carpenter (2016) in Portland, Oregon." Anne Greenwood is a well-known artist who has exhibited widely and whose works can be found in museum and library collections around the country. She was born on the high Dakota Plains and was led to an art degree by her artist grandmother. In 1990 she moved to Portland, Oregon and began her career as an artist and horticulturalist. Anne’s artwork explores an interest in folk art and speaks of her kinship with the natural world and how this influences her connection to daily life. In 2002, Anne set up a textiles studio integrating handwork, book arts, and textiles into an interdisciplinary practice. From Anne's artist's statement: "My artistic practice navigates an infinite network of connections: narrating the simple and complex, physical and ephemeral, past and present, within the context of place, history, and transformation. I form relationships that expand and fortify admiration and reverence, leading to the discovery of new truths about the world around us." When the tapestry is folded the work measures 8 x 12.25 inches. In fine condition. ARTISTB/031819. Fine. More

Portland, OR: Anne Greenwood, 2018. Number 28 of 30 of the regular edition, signed and numbered by the book artist. Vestiges was conceived in Iceland where Anne was an artist-in-residence in April and May 2018. This striking work includes folded, sewn, dyed, and printed crinoline cloth pieces accompanied by text. They beautifully capture the almost intangible nature of vestiges - things disappearing or no longer in existence, printed by Diane Jacobs of the Scranton Press in Portland. The book's wrap-around cover is white crinoline. The book is printed with Weiss Italic type on Mohawk Superfine paper. The text is hand-written and authored by the artist as are the hand-dyed fabric manipulations (from the colophon). Anne Greenwood is a well-known artist who has exhibited widely and whose works can be found in museum and library collections around the country. She was born on the high Dakota Plains and was led to an art degree by her artist grandmother. In 1990 she moved to Portland, Oregon and began her career as an artist and horticulturalist. Anne’s artwork explores an interest in folk art and speaks of her kinship with the natural world and how this influences her connection to daily life. She makes objects, installations, and works with her community. In 2002, Anne set up a textiles studio integrating handwork, book arts, and textiles into an interdisciplinary practice. From Anne's artist's statement: "My artistic practice navigates an infinite network of connections: narrating the simple and complex, physical and ephemeral, past and present, within the context of place, history, and transformation. I form relationships that expand and fortify admiration and reverence, leading to the discovery of new truths about the world around us. I enter into inquiry-based community engagement through arts education, residency, public work, studio practice, and collaboration. " A lovely work in fine condition. ARTS/031419. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2002. Paperback. Open Edition. This book was created for the 2002 exhibition BEAUT.E(CODE). It documents interviews conducted with computer software developers to explore the aesthetic values in, and their fond feelings for, computer programming. Artist Statement: "I am a visual artist. My husband is a software engineer. For years I have listened to his conversations with colleagues about hardware and software, what is good or pleasing and what is not and why, what they find new and exciting or classic and exciting. I am able to sense, but am unable to experience the excitement they feel. I wanted to find a point of entry into this world, and find a way to convey their excitement to other non-technical people. I gathered information by conducting group interviews with and sending questionnaires to computer professionals to explore aesthetic values in the art of computer programming and how they are similar to (or different from) aesthetic values in art. Or more plainly, “what excites these guys?” Three elements are combined to create the pieces in this show: quotes from the interviews which I thought best or most colorfully expressed these aesthetic values, representations of artifacts I remember fondly from my college days working in the machine room of the university’s computer center circa 1980, and my simplistic understanding of the basic inner workings of a computer." A collection of scantron forms with text keypunched onto the cards and "bound" with a custom printed rubber band reading "it is a living thing." Size: 3.25 x 7.25 x 5 inches. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: 1998. Hardcover. 3 of 20 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. A collection of quotes and photographs of three generations of men reminisceing about hunting and fishing trips. Bound accordion style with marbled paper covered boards. Measures 6 inches by 30 inches by 3 inches when fully extended. Housed in an archival paper case with the artists' contact information and edition number on the front panel. Unpaginated. [10 pages.] ARTB/060111. Fine. More