Riverside CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2015. Hardcover. Number 29 of 50 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. This is a delightful miniature book from the Bo Press. Book artist Pat Sweet is a master of inventive and intricate miniature books, bookish objects, and globes and tellurions. She describes her book as follows: "Three Rats At Sea' is a product of my love of illuminated manuscripts and their creators. As a maker of miniature books, I can't help feeling a kinship with those anonymous artists of the past (and the present). The detail and imagination of these works is something I have always tried to achieve in my own books, to add dense layers of idea and image to the main story; a counterpoint to the melody. I've told the story of my three brave rats in three parts. The first is the introductory text: the story, told in a miniature book. The next is the “real” illuminated manuscript, ' Mures ad Mare (Rats at Sea),' from which I took my story and its world, where rats embark upon voyages of adventure. The third is the pop-up version of the tale told by Sir Bruno’s manuscript and its miniatures, with 8 pop-ups. . Given time, I’m sure I could bake more layers for this little mock-medieval cake, but for now, here’s the story of brave Sir Bruno, his squire Whitby, their servant Pebble on a voyage and adventure upon the sea. The book is bound in turquoise and gold Japanese chiyogami paper, with a metallic gold paper spine and a brass magnetic closure. " The illuminated manuscript is a laid-in booklet. In fine condition. 2 5/8 x 2 1/4". Unpaginated. [14 pages] ARTISTSBOOK/060619. Fine. More

Pasadena: The Castle Print. Softcover. 1 of 300 copies printed by Grant Dahlstrom as a limited edition for fellow typophiles, friends of the press, and the author. This charming work recounts famed artist and illustrator Will Bradley's early days from childhood until his early 20s. In light green paper wrappers with a string binding and title on front cover. Interior pages clean and bright with frontis photograph of a young Bradley. Some pages are unopened. In near fine condition. 21 pages. PRI/082319. Near Fine. More

New York and Roslyn, N.Y. The New York Public Library and The Stone House Press, 1989. Hardcover. Limited Edition, #196 of 200 copies. SIGNED by Printer and Compiler. Fine red buckram backed gray & white patterned paper boards, 8vo. Bright gilt to spine; very light rubbing to spine ends. Interior is like new: crisp, clean and bright. Strong, tight binding, protective mylar cover. Publisher's ephemera laid-in. 113 pp. Books on Books. BOB/12163. Fine. More

Ogdensburg, NY: Caliban Press, 2017. Number 28 of 104 copies signed and numbered by the highly regarded book artist and printer Mark McMurray. This is a beautifully produced new edition of A Christmas Carol that captures the power of this timeless story through the inventive use of text, images, paper, type, and binding. McMurray writes in the prospectus: "We know the story, we know the characters, but the language of the text offers new rewards with each reading. This edition of Dickens' classic returns to the dark, sleep-deprived angst of the original complete text." The prospectus states that the text in this edition comes from the 1843 edition with minor corrections. Printed on a variety of handmade and mould-made papers including Zerkal Ingres and papers from La Papeterie-St. Armand. The text is printed entirely from metal and wood types, including monotype Bell plus many from the 19th century. There are wonderful images of the ghosts that visit Scrooge on that fateful night, and many other ornaments and designs throughout. They are done in various media including pochoir, collage, wood engraving, and relief blocks. Bound in black ribbed flexible covers with a red morocco leather spine with title in gilt on spine and inside a cutout on the front cover. Housed in a stiff black paper slipcase with a subtle chain design. Prospectus and errata slip inserted. In fine condition. 7.5 x 10.5 inches. 107 pages. PRI/010419. More

Montclair, NJ: Caliban Press, 1991. Softcover. Number 65 of 100 copies numbered and signed by the book artist. This early book from Mark McMurray's distinguished Caliban Press celebrates its achievements thus far, offers McMurray's philosophy of book design and content, and serves as a reference catalog for the press. To these ends, he has written and printed this handsome type specimen book from the many types he has purchased or received by donation. There are sections on text faces such as Garamond, Caslon, Palatino, and Weiss; cursives; display initials such as Erasmus and Caxton; sans serif; and wood type. They are followed by a bibliography of the sources used to research the description and history of each of the types and sample pages from previous Caliban Press publications. There are displays of versions of a type in various point sizes, often accompanied by texts from literary sources. These are printed on different colors and types of paper. The book was hand-set and printed on a Vandercook proofpress and bound by McMurray in stiff white paper covers with a stiff paper dust jacket in a colorful splatter design. The papers used are Curtis Rag, Mohawk Letterpress and Tyvek machine mades; Nideggen mouldmade; and Bhutan Resho, Iyo Glazed, Barcham Green, and Fabriano Roma handmades. A beautiful production in fine condition. Measures 9 x 12.5 inches. 52 pages plus six sample pages from the press. PRI/032519. Fine. More

Seattle, WA: Paul Hayden Duensing, 1961. Paperback. One of 150 copies. Issued for Christmas. Very good in pink paper wrappers with white title label to front cover. Minor wear and creasing to covers. Includes Italian Old Style type specimen to rear. PRI/113016. Very Good. More

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2018. Limited to 100 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. This is a letterpress printed broadside featuring an image of Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Ophelia" Printed by Master Printer Art Larson from a relief etching by Alan James Robinson on archival Cranes Lettra paper. Size: 11 x 14 inches. PRI/041317. Fine. More

Easthampton MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2014. Hardcover. Number 15 of 150 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist Alan James Robinson. This wildflower alphabet book is the first book issued by Alan’s highly regarded Cheloniidae Press in several years, and the first produced using the Giclee printing process, which he calls a “new direction” in our ever changing world. It is intended to be the first in a series of Natural History Abecedary Editions. There is also a Fine Art edition of Wildflowers with twenty-eight original watercolors. The illustrations for this Giclee edition are printed from the artwork created for the Fine Art watercolor edition. The illustrations in this edition show the lovely renditions of a flower, often accompanied by a butterfly or other insect, for each letter of the alphabet. Each page is headed by a calligraphic letter in red, designed originally by Master Calligrapher Suzanne Moore for the press’s A Fowl Alphabet in 1986. This accordion style book is bound in pale yellow cloth with the title in gilt to the front cover. It is housed in a green cloth slipcase with the title in gilt to the spine. In fine condition. 8.5 x 5 inches. Unpaginated. PRI/071817. Fine. More

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2018. 1 of 100 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. This is one of the Cheloniidae Press's first new works in twenty years. It is a letterpress printed broadside featuring an image of wolves and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Call of the Wild" This broadside references Jack London's novel "The Call of the Wild." Printed by Master Printer Art Larson from a relief etching by Alan James Robinson on archival Cranes Lettra paper. Size: 11 x 14 inches. PRI/062016. Fine. More

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2018. 1 of 100 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. This is one of the Cheloniidae Press's first new works in twenty years. It is a letterpress printed broadside featuring an image of the Jabberwock and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Jabberwock!" This broadside references Lewis Carroll's sequel to "Alice in Wonderland" - "Through the Looking-Glass" Printed by Master Printer Art Larson from a relief etching by Alan James Robinson on on archival Cranes Lettra paper. Size: 11 x 14 inches. PRI/062016. Fine. More

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2016. Limited to 100 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. This is one of the Cheloniidae Press's first new works in twenty years. It is a letterpress printed broadside featuring an image of a raven from Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Nevermore!" Printed by Master Printer Art Larson from a relief etching by Alan James Robinson on archival Cranes Lettra paper. Size: 11 x 14 inches. PRI/062016. Fine. More

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2017. Limited to 100 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. This is one of the Cheloniidae Press's first new works in twenty years. This is a letterpress printed broadside featuring an image of the hound from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Hound of the Baskervilles" Printed by Master Printer Art Larson from a relief etching by Alan James Robinson on archival Cranes Lettra paper. Size: 11 x 14 inches. PRI/041317. Fine. More

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 1982. Hardcover. UNIQUE COPY WITH A SET OF THE 26 ORIGINAL PENCIL DRAWINGS BY ALAN JAMES ROBINSON. There were 300 copies of this book published; 200 were regular copies, 50 were deluxe copies with quarter leather binding and 50 others bound in full leather. The deluxe editions were issued with a set of proofs of the wood engravings and a set of proofs of the line-cut initials, with a large calligraphic manuscript initial beneath each image. The wood engraving proofs are lettered and signed by Robinson, and the line-cut proofs are signed both by Robinson and the calligrapher, Elizabeth Curtis. This copy shows some variation from the copies described in the prospectus. The colophon has been signed and numbered VI of L and internally seems to be a straightforward copy of the deluxe full leather edition. The binding varies somewhat from that pictured in the prospectus but uses many of the same elements. Also, the chemise is thicker that the regular chemise because it contains the 26 pencil drawings. This may have been a special copy prepared by Robinson for a particular subscriber/collector. This wonderful abecedary illustrates each letter of the alphabet with a masterful wood engraving by Robinson. Each animal is described at the bottom of its page in texts chosen primarily from the earliest first-hand accounts of the animal depicted. The descriptions are printed in red. The printed source of each text is identified, and at the end of the book there is a detailed and useful bibliography of these sources. A page with a small, different illustration of the animal precedes each animal’s page, with the calligraphic letter written in red by Curtis. The animals depicted are often wondrous and strange, and some, such as the basilisk, may never have actually existed. This is a two volume folio (including a chemise containing an additional suite of illustrations, and the group of original pencil drawings). The bound volume is in full red morocco, done by David Bourbeau of the Thistle Bindery. The covers have a large central, slightly sunken panel, with the title in red and black and with a Sea Turtle device blocked in blind (Cheloniidae is the name for a species of sea turtles). The proofs contained in the chemise are unbound as issued within the original red morocco-backed, linen cloth covered boards. Both volumes are housed in a red morocco-backed cloth covered box, with the spine lettered and dated in gilt and a small Sea Turtle device in blind. “The blocks were cut by the artist at the Cheloniidae Press & printed by Harold P. McGrath in the summer of 1982.... Mackenzie-Harris set the types in monotype with some hand-setting by Arthur Larson. The text was compiled and annotated by Laurie Block. The hand calligraphy is by Betsy Curtis. The paper is Rives lightweight” (from the colophon). The 8-page prospectus is laid in. A remarkable production from this press. In fine condition. PRI/020112. Fine. More