A powerful John Clare poem beautifully bound

(Paul Delrue – Bookbinder) John Clare: the Flitting. Edited by Eric Robinson. The Tern Press. Market Drayton. 1991. n.p. 5.25” x 7”. Printed on T.H. Saunders papers from a variety of ancient sources of Caslon type. With prints from combinded techniques. Set, printed and illustrated by Nicholas Parry. No. 46 in an edition of 100 copies signed on the colophon page by Nicholas Parry and Mary Parry in pencil, as well as by Paul Delrue in ink with his address and date.

Unique binding by Paul C. Delrue. January 2009, with his stamp on the inside front cover. Bound in gray goatskin ‘oasis’ sewn on tapes with colored end leaves. Design of a free flowing abstract landscape with onlays of green, yellow and tan, held together with black lines. Blind tooling and cross hatch form an ‘open door’ to nature on both covers. Title in black on spine. Laid in a green buckram dropback box lined with mustard suede; title in black on front and spine. Fine.

From Robinson’s Introduction: “Clare’s word ‘Flitting’ or ‘to Flit’ is characteristic of him, it is direct, short and dialect. For some of us it will be associated with ‘a moon light flit’, a night time move to avoid paying the rent, but for Clare it did not have such dubious associations. Perhaps it reminds him rather of a bird hopping from twig to twig. …“The Flitting” is the archetypal poem of dislocation and disenchantment and one of the most powerful Clare ever wrote.”

A fine example of de Beauclair’s powerful work

(Edition De Beauclair) Reden Und Gleichnisse Des Tschuang-Tse: übertragen von Martin Buber. Mit Fünf Mehrfarbigen Radierungen von Ferdinand Springer. Erschienen in Der Edition De Beauclair. Frankfurt A.M. 1970. 44 pages loose in 4 signatures. 16.5” x 11.25”. Printed in black on handmade light tan paper. Laid in a textured brown cloth protective casing, with double-lid; gilt decorative device on front board. No. 99 of 120 numbered copies. All engravings signed by Springer and the book signed on the Colophon page by Gotthard de Beauclair. Fine.

“…it is surprising that Gotthard de Beauclair, one of the most significant and prolific book designers of this century, is scarcely known in the United States. For almost thirty years,he was associated with the famous German publishing house, Insel Verlag, and other commercial publishers, and he has produced superb limited edition books under several imprints.

“De Beauclair is one of the foremost proponents of a post-war German style that emphasizes elegance and taste. … They favor classic types (such as Bembo, Garamond, and Walbaum) or modern types in the classic vein (such as Palatino, Diotima, or Trump). They also have a traditional respect for materials – fine papers … and exquisitely crafted bindings. The type arrangements are simple but often novel, breaking out of the traditional mold. The result is a functional, beautiful, and timeless volume which is distinctly modern.” – Fine Print, April 1986, Vol. 12/#2, p.80.

A memorial to the destroyed Historical Archives of Cologne

(John Gerard) House of Cards. Artist’s book by John Gerard. [Rheinbach.] 2009. 15p. 9.75” x 4” x 1.25”. Letterpress printed in black on handmade paper. The book pages have the form of a house sidewall and are printed with Latin texts from the bible. A handwritten register in red Lombard letters on each page. Pages are interlocked with binding strips; this binding was inspired by the work of Claire Van Vliet. In a gray dropback box with title in black on front and spine. Each copy signed and dated by John Gerard. Fine.

Gerard writes: “On March 3, 2009, the entire building of the Historical Archives of the City of Cologne (one of the largest Archives in Northern Europe) collapsed into a pit for a new subway.

“House of Cards” is my memorial book to the Historical Archives and for the two men (Kevin and Khalil) who died. The Lombards are without the letter K (Kof Koeln, Kevin, Khalil) and therefore the title is in English. (Otherwise it would be called “Kartenhaus” in german. (Latin also has no ‘K’).”

A Glaister gem in layered mylar and paper

(Donald Glaister) A Few Questions. Artist’s book written and made by Donald Glaiser. Foolsgold Studio. Vashon Island, Washington. 2009. 9 leaves. 7.75” x 8.5”. Computer set text printed on gray Ingres paper which has been gone into with airbrush and drawing designs, overlaid with black and white hand brush work. Some color. Each sheet enclosed with sanded mylar and layered to produce an effect of depth and space within each page. The sanded film encapsulations envelop paintings, drawings and type on paper and transparent film. The binding with cover boards made with encapsulations similarly constructed and the spine bound with 3 strips of stitched cream vellum, plus two small rows of white stitching near the top and bottom of the spine. Laid in a black cloth dropback box lined with black felf; paper title label on spine. As the brush work is hand done each copy is a slight variant. An edition of 12 copies, numbered 1 – 10 and 2 A.P. signed by Donald Glaister. New.

A Few Questions is an informal exploration of the nature of matter, existence and time in a prose piece of 99 words. The book is a progression of polyester encapsulations, similar to those used in document conservation, which are bound with paper hinges.

Donald Glaister makes bindings and artist’s books on Vashon Island Washington, near Seattle, and teaches book arts classes privately and at the American Academy of Bookbinding in Telluride CO. His career has centered on making work that explores the use of materials and techniques not usually associated with bookmaking, and with the use of humor and irony as drivers of his designs, while honoring the traditional European book forms.

One of our favorite books by Ines v. Ketelhodt – a photobook of great artistic charm

(Ines von Ketelhodt) Album. Photographs by Ines von Ketelhodt. Flörsheim. 2008. 72p. 11. 75” x 8.25”. Photographs digitally printed on parchment paper (for the twenties they are in black-and-white, later in the fifties and sixties they are in color); handset and letterpress printed. Bound in gray linen boards with two black shapes reflecting old photograph holders in an album. One in an edition of 45 copies, signed by von Ketelhodt. Fine.

Ines von Ketelhodt selected 15 photographs from different family photo albums. It is always her father in the photos: with his own father, when he was a baby; as a little child with all his sisters and brothers; when he got married; with his children; when he was on holidays; and finally with a grandchild. The chosen motto by the French philosopher Maurice Blanchot deals with remembrance, with presence and absence of a person.

Translation of the quote by Maurice Blanchot, which von Ketelhodt used in ALBUM: “… the essence of the image is to be altogether outside, without intimacy, and yet more inaccessible and mysterious than the thought of the innermost being; without signification, yet summoning up the depth of any possible meaning; unrevealed yet manifest, having that absence-as-presence which constitutes the lure and the fascination of the Sirens.”

An important reference of a remarkable enterprise

(Ines von Ketelhodt/Peter Malutzki) Zweite Enzyklopädie von Tlön. Ein Buchkunstprojekt von Innes von Ketelhodt und Peter Malutzki 1997- 2006. [Flörsheim.] 355p. 12” x 8.5”. Gray cloth over board covered with words in lighter and darker gray; white paper title label on spine. Fine.

This book contains the history, development and completion of the major project of 50 volumes comprising Zweite Enzyklopädie von Tlön. Details of each volume are shown in color with descriptions of what the text is and relates to. Sources are given, as well as places and institutions where the actual project has been shown, along with the names of purchasers up to the time of publication.

Joshua Heller Rare Books is also pleased to represent the Zweite Enzyklopädie von Tlön – see our Special Presentation on this website.

Two unique collage books produced with a fine sense of humor

(Peter Malutzki) Collagebuch eins. 14 original collages and letterpress graphics (printed with brassrules) by Peter Malutzki. Flörsheim. [Germany.] 2008. 36p. 11.25” x 8”. Original pages from different old books (some over 200 years old), red Lunabu?tten, and old correction labels were used for the collages, which are on green Lunabu?tten. Orange patterned endpapers. Red/green mottled cloth over board with paper title label on front. Green paper board slipcase with dark green title label on side. One in a variant edition of 20 numbered and signed copies, plus 5 not for sale. Fine.

Each book unique with Fifteen original collages

(Peter Malutzki) collagebuch zwei (2). 15 original collages and letterpress graphics by Peter Malutzki. Flörsheim. 2008. (36p.) 11.25” x 7.75”. Collages and graphics printed in black and red with brassrules. Original pages from USA comics were used in the making of the collages. Blue/black linen over board with recessed illustrated paper title label. Beige paper slipcase with title on side. One of 20 numbered and signed copies, plus 5 copies not for sale. Fine.

A great creative work from Peter Malutzki.

2009 is Darwin Year – the bicentenary of his birth and the sesquicentenary of the publication of On the Origin of Species

(Rudy Pozzatti) Darwin’s Bestiary. Rudy Pozzatti: Artist – Philip Appleman: Poet. Eleven poems by Philip Appleman. The curator for the project was Pegram Harrison. Published in 1986. Printed in Bloomington, Indiana, by Echo Press & The Private Press of Frederic Brewer. 12 loose leaf folios. Box – 18.875” x 14” x 1.5”. Five woodcuts, one relief etching and 11 aluminum-plate and stone lithographs on pale green Kitikata paper. Most images printed in toned ink. Text and images printed on handmade Kitikata mounted on BFK Rives. The poems were handset in Victor Hammer’s American Uncial and handprinted by Fredric Brewer who also printed the woodcuts. The lithographs were drawn on stone and printed by David Keister, master printer, and David Calkins, assistant printer. The main title was drawn by Darlene, calligrapher. James Canary designed and hand-constructed the textured cream cloth dropback boxes at his Cold Mountain Bookbindery; paper title label on spine and illustration on front. The feeling of limitation given by the closed spine is offset by opening the back of the book, thus allowing a series of shaped pages. Of 191 copies printed, 174 are numbered with Arabic numerals and 16 copies with Roman numerals. This is copy number 101. Signed by the artist and poet on the front fascicle. Fine.

The artist will add a free proof of one of the images from the ‘Bestiary’ to purchasers of this book. The poems are from ‘Darwin’s Ark’ by Philip Appleman and Rudy Pozzatti. Rudy Pozzatti has been an artist and teacher in Bloomington, Indiana for many years; he is one of Indiana’s living legends. He had a major Retrospective at the Indiana University Art Museum IN 2002.

“Pozzotti’s career is extraordinary … in the media of drawing, printmaking, monotypes, collages, oils, watercolors, and sculpture.” – Norman A. Geske, p.14, Rudy Pozzatti: A Printmaker’s Odyssey.

A superb production of an important work illustrated by a Master German wood engraver

(Otto Rohse Presse) On puppet-shows. [By] Heinrich Von Kleist. Copper Engravings by Otto Rohse. Translated by David Paisey. Hamburg. 1991. n.p. 14” x 10.5”. Handset in 14p Amsterdam Garamont and printed at the Otto Rohse Press. Engravings printed by Peter Fetthauer. Bound by Christian Zwang with a linear design in deep red leather. Gray Fabriano paper board slipcase with the Otto Rohse press logo on the side. No. 65 in an edition of 75 copies, signed by Otto Rohse and with the press logo stamp. Fine. An elegant and beautiful book.

The translation by David Paisey was done in 1990. Heinrich von Kleist was born in October 18, 1777, Frankfurt an der Oder, Brandenburg [now in Germany] and died November 21, 1811, in Wannsee, near Berlin. He was among the greatest of the 19^th century German dramatists. Poets of the Realist, Expressionist, Nationalist, and Existentialist movements in France and Germany saw their prototype in Kleist, a poet whose genius had foreseen modern problems of life and literature.