San Diego: Bay Park Press, 2006. Hardcover. Number 10 of 10 copies. This is a charming and beautifully produced book by Carolyn LaFrance, a San Diego architect who is affiliated with the gallery at the Bay Park Press. Maxine is Carolyn’s beloved feline friend and companion, and the book describes a day in Maxine’s life through text and illustrations. Maxine begins her story: “Sun’s up, I get to go out. Yes, yes, I know, ‘Be careful,’ the howling creatures may still be about. What, you think I don’t know that? What I need to know is, who has been in my yard? Mr. Smushy-face? Walter? Or that grey and white bruiser? ...” Each page includes a hand-colored intaglio print of Maxine at various moments in her day (11 prints altogether). The text is Bernhard Modern type on lovely Fabriano Rosapina Bianco paper. Oblong folio bound in grey linen with black spine. Paw prints decorate the front cover and endpapers. Housed in a black portfolio with a grey cloth square label illustrated with paw prints affixed to front and cream ribbon closure. In fine condition. Unpaginated. PRI/072012. Fine. More

San Diego: Bay Park Press, 2010. Hardcover. Number 4 of 10 copies. Book artist Sibyl Rubottom grew up on Long Island Sound where Esther Williams was her hero. She grew up watching her movies trying "to relive the fabulous water ballet sequences." As an adult her love of water continued and she began swimming in La Jolla Cove near her home and later in an olympic sized outdoor pool in Mission Valley. She dedicates this book to La Jolla Cove, one of her regular swimming spots when the water is warm enough. Illustrated with six etchings and three unique oil paintings on mylar. Printed on Fabriano Rosapina Bianco paper using letterpress and intaglio prints, some with chine colle. Set in Bernhard Modern. Oblong folio. Housed in a blue clamshell box. Unpaginated. Fine. More

Brooklyn, NY: Anne Beck, 2000. Hardcover. Anne Beck is an interdisciplinary artist working collaboratively & independently in a wide variety of media from paper, print & book making to painting & textiles to social practice. Through her work, Anne explores the roles of amateur naturalist and lay surveyor of the current landscape – collecting specimens & recording data, cataloguing that which seems useful, and investigating further that which seems impermeable. This is all in the context of envisioning a sustainable path forward for herself and the planet, which is often a playful exercise in the face of absurd & complex circumstance. Anne lives & works in Northern California. She also a core member of The Printmakers Left, an international collective working together for over 20 years now on artist books, printed matter & installations. She is also half of the collaborative team behind The Rhinoceros Project exploring the communal & revolutionary power of sewing circles & hand papermaking. This provocative work is a unique manuscript. It begins with whimsical pictures and apocalyptic visions of a high-tech synthetic mechanized culture and evolves into a loose social history and critique. The pages were originally painted in a studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn as individual paintings but then coalesced into this evocative book. The images are varied in design and image, and sometimes mysterious as there is no text. They were hand painted and drawn with casein, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, ink, graphite, and collaged intaglio on heavy watercolor paper. The endpapers are hand-made cotton rag paper. It is handsewn and casebound in found gray suede printed with a black outlined map of the American West. In fine condition. Measures 12.375 x 8,75 inches closed. 56 pages. ARTSB/040623. Fine. More

Freeville, NY: Carol Schwartzott, 2022. Hardcover. Number 14 of 24 copies. A miniature digitally printed reproduction of a unique hand painted and hand-sewn folio sized artist book by Schwartzott. The text written by Belting relates the native American themed creation myth of the origin of shooting stars. In this tale they are the falling bodies of coyotes that unsuccessfully desired to dance in the sky with stars. Bound in black handmade paper with paper title label to spine illustration with hand painted embellishments, collage and stitchery to front board. Housed in a navy blue, red, and black paper covered box with decorative paper featuring a star pattern. Paper title to spine and collaged elements with sewing to panels. Unpaginated. [30 pages.] Carol Schwartzott has been creating artists' books for over twenty-five years. Her work appears in many museums, libraries, and private collections including the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Natalia Belting (1915-1997) taught history for 43 years at the University of Illinois until her retirement in 1985. Dr. Belting really had four careers: she was a history professor, a writer, a lay minister, and an environmentalist. She published 24 children's books about history and mythology. Book size: 3 x 2.75 inches; Box size: 3.75 x 3.25 inches. ARTB/051723. Fine. More

Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 20102016. Hardcover. Signed by the book artist. This is a story by Prue Batten, an Australian award winning writer of fantasy and historical fiction. In this lovely story-within-a-story by Batten, a medieval troubadour tells his master's young son a legend of Occitan: A queen suspected of sorcery and shape-changing and how she was vindicated. The story is loosely based on the legend of Pedauque that has been part of the Occitan legend for centuries. The tale has ten illustrations with historiated initials drawn from medieval manuscripts. Pat writes that this is the sixth book that she and Prue have published together, and she has marked the event with an illustration opposite the title page with a Latin motto including both our names. The beautiful binding is an embroidered fabric of gold, turquoise, and dark blue, with a twisted ribbon spine that echoes the illustrations inside. In fine condition. Measures 2.75 x 2.25 inches. 45 pages. ARTISTSBOOK/021518. Fine. More

Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2020. Pat Sweet describes herself as creating illuminated miniature books of curiosity, humor, and delight. She creates both miniature (under 3 inches) and macro-miniature (under 1 inch) books. This book is from a small open edition, which is signed by the artist. According to the book artist: " " inches. ARTB/091123. Fine. More

Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2022. Pat Sweet describes herself as creating illuminated miniature books of curiosity, humor, and delight. She creates both miniature (under 3 inches) and macro-miniature (under 1 inch) books. This book is from a small open edition, which is signed by the artist. According to the book artist: "The Eiffel Tower was the main entrance for the Exposition Universelle, organized to celebrate the anniversary of the French Revolution. A competition was held for the design of the tower, which was won by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nougier. Gustave Eiffel got the construction commission for a very small fee in return for a portion of the gate for the length of the Exposition plus twenty years. In 1890, Sir Edward Watkin, a British MP, held a design competition for a ”Great Tower of London” that would have rivaled or surpassed Eiffel’s tower in Paris. Sixty-eight designs were submitted. The Great Tower of London was, of course, meant to be taller than the Eiffel Tower, and like the Eiffel Tower, temporary. It was meant to be the centerpiece of an amusement park in Wembley, easily reachable by train (Watkin was Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway). As with the Eiffel Tower, the design would be decided by a competition. In spite of many of the designs being slightly loony, or VERY similar to Eiffel’s design, Stewart, McLaren and Dunn’s practical design, number 37, was eventually chosen to be awarded the 500 guinea prize. Construction began, but the funding slowly petered out. The full extent of the building, called the London Stump or Watkin’s Folly, is shown on the title page - all 154 feet. The remains were eventually dynamited and buried under Wembley Stadium" Printed on Mohawk superfine paper in Garamond 1911, and bound in a gold-on-black Art Nouveau paper. The slipcase is bound in matching paper. 85 pages. Size: Book - 2 1/2 x 1 5/8 inches; Case - 2 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches. ARTB/091123. Fine. More

Riverside CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, [2015]. Pat Sweet describes herself as creating illuminated miniature books of curiosity, humor, and delight. She creates both miniature (under 3 inches) and macro-miniature (under 1 inch) books. She also makes miniature pocket globes, astronomical instruments, orreries, tellurions, and occasional oddities. "Catalog #305 from 1889" with Price List laid in. This inventive book is purportedly an actual catalog from Nightengale & Sons business. From the book artist: "The history of the Nightengale company began in the late16th century, when they supplied Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley with 'shew-stones' or crystal balls. The company flourished during the European alchemy boom of the late16th and early 17th century, and expanded into optical tools and occult mathematical devices as alchemy gave way to modern chemistry and the beginnings of Mad Science. In the 19th century, they achieved, if not fame, at least notoriety, as purveyors of a line of monster abatement equipment.. They also began courting collectors of antique metaphysical artifacts, and at one point had almost cornered the market in rare editions of C'thuliana. After the turn of the 20th century, Enoch Nightengale, then president of the company, became so concerned about the advent of modern rationalism that Nightengale's catalogues became difficult to come by, passing from hand to hand among the adept, with word-of-mouth their only advertising. The 1889 catalogue is the last to have achieved a general circulation, and even copies of this edition are increasingly difficult to come by. To have discovered a copy with the laid-in price list is very unusual indeed. Traces of Nightengale's continued existence occasionally turn up. Some printed items bearing their name have come to light from the Infernal Regions (see Welcome To Hell!), and their label is sometimes found on the Vampire Hunter Kits of Bo Press Miniature Books. It is to be hoped that a company as old and storied as Nightengale's is still around in some nearby dimension, ready to supply . . .the explorer of uncanny places, magimetician, philosopher, alchemist, monster hunter, or wizard." This copy is bound in Nightengale's distinctive white-on-black skeleton paper and is printed on Mohawn superfine paper. In fine condition. 80 pages 2.5 x 2 inches. PRI/090523. More

Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2022. Hardcover. Pat Sweet describes herself as creating illuminated miniature books of curiosity, humor, and delight. She creates both miniature (under 3 inches) and macro-miniature (under 1 inch) books. She designs, prints, and binds all of her books. Hollow books, or book safes, have been used to hide jewelry, important papers, or more dangerous things like bombs, contraband, or secret messages. It can sit on the shelf of a library for years with either an innocuous title or one that reflects on the contents, like “A History of Handguns” or “Large Wads of Cash.” This Hollow Books Safe is half-bound in cream-colored leather and a white and gold paper decorated with brass and red glass beads. It is lined with the binding paper. Size: 2 5/8 x 2 5/8 x 5/8 inches. In fine condition. 50 pages. ARTB/032023. Fine. More

Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2016. Hardcover. Pat Sweet describes herself as creating illuminated miniature books of curiosity, humor, and delight. She creates both miniature (under 3 inches) and macro-miniature (under 1 inch) books. She also makes miniature pocket globes, astronomical instruments, orreries, tellurions, and occasional oddities. “It’s Istanbul, not Constantinople now, but from the 11th century BCE and the foundation of the Thracian settlement known as Lygos, the world’s richest and best-defended city has stood at the meeting point of Europe and Asia. Sailing To Istanbul is a history of the city told in maps, from the earliest known depiction of the city in the Tabula Peutingeriana to the modern map of the Istanbul rapid transit system. The maps, both Eastern and Western, speak volumes about the city’s history, past, and future” (Pat Sweet). This open edition is bound in blue and gold Italian marbled paper covered boards with paper title labels to spine and front cover. This book features an overflap binding style that was inspired by a 17th century edition of Reis’s Book on Navigation. It includes twenty-eight tipped-in folding maps, ranging from the Nuzhat map of 1154 to the map of Constantinople by Christoforo Buondelmonte - the first map of the city itself. A map by the explorer and artist Piri Reis makes an appearance, and one of the loveliest maps, by an unknown hand, is from the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The most unsettling map, an Ottoman Empire census map from 1914, shows the proportional population figures of Muslims, Armenians, and Greeks. It also contains a fold-out timeline of the city, and a copy of Yeats’s famous poem ”Sailing To Byzantium,” from which this little map collection gets its name. In fine condition. Size: 2 3/4 x 2 3/8 inches. 74 pages. ARTB/090523. Fine. More

Riverside CA: Bo Press, 2009. This is a limited edition photographic pocket Wunderkammer, a cabinet of objects - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, and Debatable Historical, Mythological, Fictional, and Legendary Artistic, Psychological, Political, and Scientific - each mounted on a Victorian microscope slide. There are 42 illustrations showing the objects in this collection. Some highlights include a test tube containing the poison of a New Guinea toad unknown to science, Philomena, the celebrated singing flea of L. Bertaloto's Flea Circus in Regent Street, 1834, a dropped stitch found beneath a Revolutionary guillotine, Paris 1786 (from the Crafts of Terror collection), an unlucky four-leaf clover ("Has killed three and injured countless others!") among many others. Most of the items in the collection are at least partly real, and not always the ones you'd think. They all create the atmosphere of original wunderkammers - not always science but always interesting. There are two charts included, one showing the distribution of the items in the collection by location, and the other showing their distribution in time.There is also a black and white illustration of the complete cabinet (thanks to the small size of the exhibits, housed in an actual cabinet), and a larger color print folded into a slipband inside the back cover. The book is bound in gold, light blue, and green Florentine paper and a spine of dark blue lizard paper piped in gold. With decorative endpapers, and a paper title pasted on the spine In fine condition. 2.75 x 1.75 inches. PRI/091123. Fine. More

Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2022. Hardcover. Pat Sweet describes herself as creating illuminated miniature books of curiosity, humor, and delight. She creates both miniature (under 3 inches) and macro-miniature (under 1 inch) books. She designs, prints, and binds all of her books. Treasure bindings, or jeweled bindings, were produced for wealthy abbeys or princes using real gold and gems. Jeweled bindings were rare to begin with, and only a few remain intact. This miniature example used brass and glass to decorate its covers. The book is blank inside. The book is bound in a mottled gray and metallic gold paper with antique bronze decoration. Size: 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches. In fine condition. Unpaginated. ARTB/032023. Fine. More

Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2021. Hardcover. Pat Sweet describes herself as creating illuminated miniature books of curiosity, humor, and delight. She creates both miniature (under 3 inches) and macro-miniature (under 1 inch) books. This book is from a limited edition, which is signed by the artist. Number 24 of 30 variant copies. Each copy is in a different box, bound in papers to match the box. According to the book artist: "Bo Press Miniature Books began in 2007 with a little book called Celestial Variations. Since then, another one hundred and forty-seven (one hundred and forty-eight now) books have emerged with subjects as diverse as maps of real and imaginary places, poetry, architecture, history, flea circuses, and books themselves. The History of Bo Press is a collection of every book I’ve ever written, illustrated, designed, and published (that I can remember) since then. This is a fairly easygoing bibliography, and a few lacunae are to be expected from someone like me who hates to keep records. The book listings include title, author, illustrator, pages, dime." Both volumes are bound in tan marbled paper with paper title labels to spines and front boards. Housed in a box with removable lid covered in tan marbled paper with green dragon skin patterned paper onlay. The box is lined with green and gold marbled paper. Slight bump to one corner of box lid, else fine. Each volume is 170 pages. Size: Books: 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 inches; Case: 3 x 2 1/4 x 1 5/8 inches. ARTB/091123. Fine. More