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(High Tide Press/John Ross) A Venetian Carnival. Designed and illustrated with collagraphs by John Ross. With excerpts from “Beppo, A Venetian Story” by Lord Byron. [New York.] 1991. Loose in portfolio form.  20” x 15”.  7 double spread collagraph images (20” x 30”), plus title-page and colophon sheets. Printed from collagraph plates on a Charles Brand etching press by Joss and Ann Marie Farinacci at the High Tide print workshop on Rives BFK; text type in Garamond Italic. Headlines are in various antique wooden fonts set by John and Tim Ross and printed on a Vandercook 219 press. Green cloth dropback box with paper title label on front; lined with brilliantly colored carnival images. No. 2 in an edition of 10 signed and numbered copies. Fine. Scarce.

Ross has used 7 stanzas relating to the Carnival from the approximately 55 stanzas written by Lord Bryon in his long poem “Beppo, A Venetian Story”. This poem tells of Beppo, the Venetian who leaves his wife for many years while travelling; she takes up with a Count and the verses recount the results thereof. Ross names every palazzo depicted in each spread, while the  character shown on the same spread is a depiction of one of the many character  masks used in the Venetian carnival, such as the ‘Minotaur’ and ‘Doctor’ masks.

A marvelous portfolio of exciting images.

Related items: Fine Printing & Private Press, Illustrators/Artists, Poetry, High Tide Press, John Ross, Lord Byron