Cambridge: Thomas Dreier Service, 1912. Dreier compares company executives with chemists - one can manipulate his staff and the other his chemicals - for desirable results or explosions and failure. An interesting metaphor. Bound in tan paper covered boards with title pastedown to front cover. Browning to spine and boards, rubbing to boards, stain to spine, wear to edges and corners, and heavy chipping to hinges and spine ends. Spine panel is still attached, but weak. Foxing throughout interior. A small book: 4.5 x 3 inches. 33 pages. LIT/061319. More

New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2011. Hardcover. First edition in dust jacket. Quarto. Cloth boards boldly illustrated in red, black and white, with titles on cover and along spine. Bottom edge of front cover and spine shows slight edgewear. Interior pages are clean, unmarked and fresh. Generously illustrated. Dust jacket in very good condition replicates the front cover design. Jacket is titled in white with a mostly red spine panel. 288 pages. ART/083019. Very Good / Very Good. More

Santa Cruz: Foolscap Press, 2019. Hardcover. Number 22 of 90 copies, numbered and signed by the binder and printer. The press describes the book: "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville follows a journey that began in 1322 and continued on for more than thirty years. This edition commences as Mandeville leaves the Holy Land and travels east to the lands beyond Egypt, which were mostly unknown to Western Europeans at that time. It is a strange journey and one that has kept his book alive and in print since it was first published in manuscript form in 1357.... His was a piece of European literature rather than a history of exploration... The book was carried aboard ship by Christopher Columbus and others on their voyages of discovery, adding to their confidence that they could safely circumnavigate the globe. Our edition is illustrated and illuminated by Peggy Gotthold following Mandeville’s observations of strange flora and fauna and the remarkable beings he encountered; and especially of the wondrous and powerful kingdoms he chanced upon, which held more gold and jewels and strange customs than his contemporaries could imagine; here are kings and emperors with power at their finger tips beyond the reach of any autocratic ruler in Medieval Europe. Our text is based mainly on the Cotton MS, a translation that was first edited in 1725 and continues to be a starting point for serious study of Sir John Mandeville. Though imperfect, it adheres very closely to the original... As no inventive travel book should be made without including a map or two, we have supplemented Mandeville’s narrative with five imaginative maps created for this edition. These are maps that would make sense to a fellow traveler of Mandeville’s time. They are not modern maps where one might expect to identify one’s place on land or the sea. There are no precise coordinates of latitude and longitude. These maps are also narrative and allow the reading traveler to follow Sir John Mandeville, whoever he was, through an unfamiliar landscape. The modern reader will also discover the bizarre and unexpected in the world and share in Mandeville’s amazement and curiosity while traveling alongside him." Bound in flexible red paper covered boards with paper title label to front cover. Includes five double-page maps printed on handmade linen paper from Papeterie St. Armand. Hand-applied illuminations appear throughout. Letterpress printed on paper handmade at the University of Iowa's Center for the Book under the direction of Timothy Barrett in Silentium text, designed by Jovica Veljovic. Housed in a red cloth covered clamshell box. Size of book: 9 x 12.75 inches. 104 pages. PRI/061319. Fine. More

San Francisco: Gazelle and Goat Press, 2016. Number 17 of 30 copies. Signed and numbered by book artist and author Rhiannon Alpers. She is a papermaker, letterpress printer and book artist, with an MFA in Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago and a BA in Book Arts from UC Santa Barbara. In addition to creating books and providing custom commissions from her California studio, Rhiannon has taught book arts at numerous institutions and has been exhibited nationally. The artist says that "this book was inspired by sleep-deprived dreams as a new mother in the Summer of 2016. It explores an imagined journey, being carried through the comfort of one's dreams. A journey guided by a murmuration of a thousand starlings, undulating and wisping through the evening sky, their soft voices calming and cooing as they head into the unknown." She further states that the book abounds in metaphors and symbolism. This lovely work is letterpress printed with photopolymer plates and monotype, with an under layer of hand painted stars beneath, on Somerset Velvet Black. The endsheets are Fabriano Tiziano Anthracite and bound in Asahi Grey Crepe bookcloth. Foil stamped birds and title, this false accordion book is masquerading in a Secret Belgian binding with Italian film yarn. In fine condition. Unpaginated. ARTISTSBOOK/080417. Fine. More

San Francisco: Gazelle and Goat, 2018. Number 20 of 40 copies. Signed and numbered by Rhiannon Alpers, the book artist. Rhiannon has been a book artist, maker of paper, and bookbinder based in San Francisco for almost twenty years. She is fascinated by structures and boxes, and much of her work is focused on nature. This beautifully designed and executed book is emblematic of Rhiannon's artistic interests and aesthetics. She writes of her book, which was inspired by author Glynis Ridley: "When Jeanne Baret stepped on-board the Etoile ship in 1766, she didn’t set out to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. Alongside her colleague, accomplice and lover, Philibert Commerson, she took on many roles during the expedition as a botanist, herb woman, nurse, and cataloger of the more than 630 specimens they brought aboard. This limited edition artist book traces the expedition of the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, through the lens of the botanical discoveries she made along the ship’s journey. Jeanne Baret was not able to document the expedition herself, due to the forbidden nature of her passage on this journey, but her legacy has inspired many, and spurred the creation of this book." The book has a removable magnetic spine binding that opens completely back-to-back, with a digitally produced specimen chart hidden within. Hahnemuhle Bugra Fawn folio maps are letterpress printed from polymer plates, adapted from French expedition maps from the published logs “Voyage Autour du Monde par la Frégate du rio la Boudeuse et la Fluté L’Etoile.". Crane’s Lettra Ecru 90lb specimen folios letterpress printed from linoleum blocks and polymer plates. Plant outlines are laser cut and secured with Japanese tissue. Laser cut specimens were adapted from the original plant specimens collected by Commerson and Baret on the expedition, archived in the Museum of Natural History in Paris. Interleaved vellum sheets with macro photography by the artist laser printed on Neenah UV Ultra II. Spine bound with Gmund Bier Paper [colophon]. In fine condition. Measures 8.25 x 9.5 inches. Unpaginated. ARTISTSB/072419. More

Charlottesville: For the Mariners Museum by the University Press of Virginia, (1976). First Edition. Hardcover. FIRST EDITION. 8vo. Beige cloth covered boards with brown title to spine. Minor fading to spine panel, minor bumping to spine ends and corners and minor foxing to boards. Inside flap of dust jacket is pasted to front free end paper. Previous owner's address sticker to top corner of front paste down. Else is clean and bright. Index, 306 pages. MAR/081319. Very Good. More

Oregon: Anne Greenwood, 2019. Number 2 of an edition of twelve unalike books made in collaboration; prompted by Kit’s poem, ‘In the Time it Takes’ and our shared obsession with textiles. Signed by the book artist and the poet. The materials are hand-dyed silk thread, muslin with machine stitched text, walnut ink, scorched crinoline and Abaca paper made by Helen Hiebert. Thanks to our friends in Corvallis, Oregon who joined us for an evening of stitching, scorching, and mending the pages of these books. Anne Greenwood Kit Stafford "(from the colophon). The book indeed incorporates scorching, with several hot iron images on the bi-fold cover and on a separate insert. The poem is stitched in brown threads on a cloth that may be unfolded when the covers are opened. Kit Stafford is a poet and artist from Sisters, Oregon. She is the daughter of William Stafford the poet and pacifist, who served as the Poet Laureate of Oregon from 1985 to 1990. 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. 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. An inventive production that pays homage to the artists' devotion to textile arts. In fine condition. ARTISTSB/092719. Fine. More

Studio City, CA: State of Man, 1995. Hardcover. Filled with artistic but erotic black and white nude male photography. "The men within these pages are not professionals. They are real men of incredible beauty, from the artist's hometown of Minneapolis" (jacket). Fine in blue cloth boards with gilt title to spine and front board. Black and white illustrated jacket with gilt title to spine and front panels. Minor rubbing to jacket and minor wear to edges including a few short closed tears. Old price sticker to rear panel of jacket. Clean and bright interior and binding. Unpaginated. Size: Quarto. PHOTO/070919. Fine / Very Good. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer, 2013. Hardcover. This is a set of twelve binding models using leather and various papers and sewing supports, wooden boards, museum board. This reference set of twelve binding models is based on book artist Karen Hanmer's popular workshop "Biblio Tech: Reverse engineering historical and modern binding structures." The models remain uncovered and only partially completed so methods of board attachment, sewing, spine lining, and end sheet construction are visible. The set is accompanied by a forty-five page illustrated guidebook outlining key structural features of each binding, and providing numerous references for further study. The hand-bound booklet is sewn in three signatures and presented in a German stiffened paper binding. These models are a valuable reference for libraries, book arts programs, or for anyone who is interested in learning more about the engineering aspects of the book. Structures include: Tacketing of a thick single signature into a leather wrapper, Ethiopian Binding, Medieval Binding, Laced-on boards Binding, Colonial American Scaleboard Binding, Early Nineteenth Century Publishers Boarded Binding, German Case Binding with double fan adhesive text block, Split Board Binding, Simplified Binding, Crossed Structure Binding, Sewn Boards Binding, and Non-Adhesive Paper Case. Each binding is approximately 5 x 3.25 x .5” inches. Housed in a white cloth covered clamshell box. ARTB/10/25/17. Fine. More

Glenview, IL: Karen Hamner, 2003. Number 16 of 20 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. An engaging tunnel book by Karen Hamner who is well known for her expertise with various book structures. "Her artist-made books are physical manifestations of personal essays intertwining history, culture, politics, science and technology. She utilizes both traditional and contemporary book structures, and the work is often playful in content or format" (from online biography). For this playful work she created paper cut-outs of the letters of the alphabet that were colored using pigment inkjet prints to run through the color spectrum and back. Book is 5 x 5 x 18 inches when expanded; 5 x 5 x 1 inch when closed. Housed in an archival square grey box with title label giving book artist address and number of this copy. In fine condition. ARTISTSBOOK/080119. Fine. More

Marvadel Publishers, (1979). Hardcover. SCARCE. Maroon cloth covered boards with gilt title to spine. Minor foxing to end papers and to a few pages. Else is clean and bright with black and white illustrations throughout. White illustrated dust jacket with brown title to front and spine panels. Wear to dust jacket includes minor soiling and two closed tears to the edges. 219 pages + index. MD/071119. Very Good / Very Good. More

London: Phaidon, (1954). Second Edition. Hard Cover. Thin 4to. Includes 93 illustration in color and monochrome. Purple patterned cloth boards with blue and gilt title to spine. Minor wear to edges of boards and spine ends. Interior is very clean with many tipped-in illustrations. Tight binding. Grey illustrated dust jacket with white title to front panel and black title to spine. Minor rubbing, chipping and creasing to edges and spine of dust jacket as well as minor toning to edges of dust jacket. ASART/091719. Very Good+ / Very Good. More