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 about A Ghost Story of Christmas: Being a Christmas Carol

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 about Type Specimens of Caliban Press: On the Occasion of its Sixth Anniversary

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 about A Treatise on Printing Extracted from Cyclopaedia: or an Universal Dictionary of the Arts &...

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2016. 3 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 a whale and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Moby Dick!" 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 about If there were no books ... there would be no Moby Dick! PRINT

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2016. 3 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 a unicorn and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Unicorns!" 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 about If there were no books ... there would be no Unicorns! PRINT

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 2018. 3 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 a cat and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Black Cat!" This broadside references Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story "The Black Cat." 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 about If there were no books ... there would be no Black Cat! PRINT

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 Alice with the hookah smoking caterpillar and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Alice in Wonderland!" This broadside references Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." 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 about If there were no books ... there would be no Alice in Wonderland! PRINT

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 a Tom and Huck and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Tom and Huck!" This broadside references Mark Twain's novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Printed by Master Printer Art Larson from a relief etching by Alan James Robinson on on archival Cranes Lettra paper. TAKING PRE-ORDERS NOW. THIS WILL BE AVAILABLE THE FALL OF 2018. Size: 11 x 14 inches. PRI/062016. Fine. More about If there were no books ... there would be no Tom and Huck! PRINT

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 ancient mariner on his ship and the quote "If there were no books ... there would be no Ancient mariner!" This broadside references Coleridge's famous poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." 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 about If there were no books ... there would be no Ancient Mariner! PRINT

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 about An Odd Bestiary, or a compendium of instructive and entertaining descriptions of animals, culled...

Toronto: Cheshire Cat Press, 2019. Hardcover. Number 4 of 42 copies. Signed by Walker, Burstein, and printer Andy Malcolm. Quarto. This is the latest version of The Hunting of the Snark to be published by the Cheshire Press. Carroll's famous nonsense poem has been subject to numerous interpretations over time. In this truly snarky edition, Walker has chosen President Donald Trump and his White House cabinet and advisors for his 21st century lineup of the characters. He writes: "...I think they match up nicely to to the crew of the ship. When you read the poem and think of Trump's cabinet, it's hard not to see the parallels. The political arena in the USA could be described as nonsense, which is exactly the type of poem [this] is. The plot follows a crew of ten unqualified professionals trying to hunt the Snark with a blank map." Thus such familiar names as Scaramucci, Sessions, Priebus, Pence, Mnuchin, Bannon, Sanders and Trump himself appear in parts that reflect their real-life attributes and roles. Bound in grey textured cloth with leather title label to front cover and gilt title to spine. Printed in New Caledonia type on Velin BFK Rives paper. With thirteen engravings by Walker and "The Snark Map" in a sleeve affixed to front pastedown. Housed in slipcase covered in same cloth as book with gilt titling to cover and spine. In fine condition. 71 pages. PRI/090619. Fine. More about The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits

Toronto: Cheshire Cat Press, n.d. Number 50 of 71 copies signed and numbered by the book artist. A charming broadside from master designer and printer George Walker. Donne's famous quote "no man is an island" is paraphrased in this broadside and printed both pictorially and in text. There is an image of a bee, an knot, and an eye for those words. Printed in black and yellow on handmade paper. In fine condition. Measures 7.5 x 14.75 inches. PRI/091919. Fine. More about Be Not an Island] Broadside

Toronto: Cheshire Cat Press, 2017. Number 19 of 42 copies. Signed by the printers and the author of the introduction, who are ardent and well-known Carroll admirers. The Cheshire Cat Press was formed by book designer and printer George Walker in 1991. The press began when he and two colleagues produced new editions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Edward Wakeling, who wrote the introduction, is an internationally known authority on Carroll. From the prospectus: "Here finally is a book collecting all the Alice associated images into one volume. In this book is the work of the other PUNCH illustrators who were influenced by John Tenniel’s pictures for Lewis Carroll’s Alice. Oh yes we include Tenniel too! Through the many decades that Punch existed (1841-2002), references to the Alice books have been a common feature. Now you can have them all in one volume. The images are printed by hand directly from polymer plates made by Boxcar Press, except Alice Reigns Supreme (page 27) which is printed photo-mechanically. The plates were created from high resolution scans made directly from the original PUNCH publications. Printed on 115 gsm Rives Lightweight Buff 100% rag paper using a Vandercook Sp15 letterpress." Bound in green cloth with gilt title to spine and gilt ruling and Punch figure to front cover. Punch figure repetitive design to endpapers. Housed in a green cloth slipcase. In fine condition. 10 x 13 inches. 57 pages. PRI/010819. More about Alice's Adventures in Punch 1864-1950