(Susan Allix) Rosas: Roses Real and Imaginary, with Poems
(Susan Allix) Rosas: Roses Real and Imaginary, with Poems. Poems by Robert Herrick, Thomas Moore, William Blake and Edmund Waller, with other words, arrangements and prints by Susan Allix. London. 2010. 46p. 14.5” x 10.25”.Printed in Garamond, Castellar and Script, with an invented letter-form title; they have been handset and printed letterpress on Arches Velin and Arches Aquarelle papers. Nine images of roses and one watercolor painting; the painting in each books is a different original. Some of the prints are more imaginary than others, and have been achieved by hard and soft ground etchings and lino print combined with air brushing and hand coloring in watercolor and acrylic. Each copy has a different original binding, using materials such as silver, mirror, aluminum and embroidery, with leather and appropriate endpapers and doublures. The sterling silver roses, which have varied considerably in their making, will inevitably tarnish with time; an action in keeping with the themes of the books (unless their owners care to keep them polished and defy time). This copy bound in black leather with a red spine which has the title in blind. Silver three- dimensional rose on a silver panel, worked with color, and a painted mirror. Red cloth dropback box lined with black felt and with a recessed hole to protect the rose; leather title labels on front and spine. One in an edition of 10 variant books signed by Susan Allix. New.
“This book was originally made as a companion for a silver rose. It then grew into a small edition. It is exclusively about roses, but it is not a series of pages on beautiful flowers. Poetic writings about roses frequently link them with brevity and decay; their exqui- site forms recall youth and beauty and their fading the shortening of life. Some of the best known and happiest of first lines have more serious endings.” – Susan Allix. .
Related items: Artists' Books, Catalogue 38 - Summer 2010, Susan Allix, William Blake