A SPRING 2009 LIST

TWENTY

SPLENDID
&
BEAUTIFUL

BOOKS

Susan Allix
Maureen Cummins
Editions Balance
Timothy Ely
Vincent FitzGerald
Flying Fish Press
Rose Folsom
Karli Frigge
Gehenna Press
Louise Genest
John Gerard
High Tide Press
Janus Press
Paul Johnson
M.K. Publishers
Lois Morrison
sailorBOYpress
Ilse Schreiber Noll
Carol Schwartzott
Sande Wascher-James

PREVIEWING OUR FORTHCOMING CATALOGUE 37

JOSHUA HELLER RARE BOOKS, INC.

WASHINGTON DC
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 A new book by Susan Allix - more than a bit of nonsense!
1. (Allix, Susan) Nonsense & Nonsense. Artist’s book by Susan Allix.London. 2008. 75p. 11.25” x 9”. Four etch-
ings (one handcolored and one with a second shadow printing), a linocut, block prints and various bor-
ders, dots and signs. It is made up of a variety of mould-made papers, including Arches, Somerset and
Zerkall, which vary in size and sometimes have cutouts. Typefaces include Grotesque, Granby, Gill and
Gallia, with Caslon, Bodoni, Engravers Roman and altered and un-altered wood letters. These are printed
letterpress, by hand; with new intaglio plates and linocuts and old printer’s blocks. Binding is of paper of
assembled squares over boards; the spine black leather and board edges of black lacquered paper making
a wavy-line frame for the paintings which are mounted and applied off-centre to the squares. [Special
copies have all edges in leather.] Endpapers of bronze paper with handmade bronze-flecked paper dou-
blures, cream flyleaves and lettered in red. Contained in a cream, portfolio-style folder. One in an edition
of 24 copies, signed by Susan Allix. Fine. New. $1450.00
“Five small paintings were made, relating to the text, and then printed digitally using archival inks. The book and
binding were then working together without the paintings necessarily being moveable, so this is the main edition
binding, with a few copies made with magnets set into the front board over black and white drawings and the paint-
ings mounted on magnetised squares.“ - Allix.
“On a nonsensical scale this book is not deeply nonsensical. It looks like a book; it has pages that turn conventionally
and its contents are not gibberish. Most of the words have been around for many years, some so long that their authors
are now forgotten. But they are set in a variety of arrangements, using more typefaces than are usually expected in one
book. There is a new piece of punctuation I invented, some wood-letter I altered and some old printers’ blocks reprint-
ed.
“The initial idea for this book was for the reader to be able to do more than turn the pages; to be able to move or change
images. Small pictures on the binding would be turned or re-located over others by the use of magnets. As the results
of this were not intended to be serious, they would be accompanied by some nonsensical words. [Available in the
Special Edition.]
“The different sizes, shapes and tones of the various papers used sustain a vitality in the flow of the pages, while the
limited colour scheme of terracotta, red and cream unifies the collection of odd, puzzling or humorous verses and
extracts. If these may be seen as somewhat inconsequential, a small voice announces every few pages “I’m hungry”,
and does not find satisfaction in the poetic reply (in French).” - Allix.

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 An early Cummins classic
2. Cummins, Maureen) The Garden: A Visual Meditation on Man and Nature.
Illustrated, printed and bound by Maureen Cummins. Inanna Press.
[New York.] 1993. 40 pages hinged accordion-style and secured into the
back cover or released to be unfolded for exhibition. 11” x 7”. 30 handcol-
ored woodcuts printed on white Arches Cover. Case bound into covers of
block-printed paper; outer covers leaves of grass, inner covers are dark
thorns. Linen spine with title stamped in gold. Endpapers of handmade
paper from Nepal. Linen slipcase with inset, handcolored illustration and
title stamped in gold. One in an edition of 30 copies. Fine. $1750.00

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 Henry Günther of Editions Balance takes a new look at Allen
Ginsberg’s famous New York poem
3. (Editions Balance/Henry Günther) Erwachen (Waking in) New York.
[German and English texts.] [Poem] by Allen Ginsberg. Graphics by
Christiane Baumgartner. Gotha. Germany. 1996. n.p. 19.75” x 10”.
Designed by Henry Günther. Full-page frontispiece, four full-page mixed
media black, gray and cream/yellow illustrations, one double page
spread in black, gray and cream/yellow, and 2 smaller woodcuts. Handset
and printed on Zerkall-Bütten in Garamond and Helvetica by Thomas
Glöss, printed in black for the German text and gray fro the English text.
Black cloth spine, gray paper boards with title and woodblock in black on
front cover. Blue cloth dropback box. No. 30 in an edition of 38 numbered
copies, signed by Baumgartner, Glöss and Günther. Fine. $2500.00
A wonderful edition of a famous Allen Ginsberg poem. Highly recom-
mended.

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 An early Tim Ely edition
4. (Ely, Timothy C.) Scighte. Joe Napora, writer, Timothy Ely,
artist/bookbinder and Ruth Lingen, printer/papermaker. The
Poote Press. New York. 1987. 12 leaves. 9” x 8.5”. Set in foundry
type, printed on handmade paper. With line engravings. Sewn on
tapes and bound with leather strips to handmade paper boards;
tooling in gilt on the covers. One of 64 regular copies in a total edi-
tion of 85 copies. Fine. $450.00

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 An early book by Nance O’Banion for
The Flying Fish Press

5. (Flying Fish Press) Domestic Science: Idioms. Written and

illustrated by Nance O’Banion. A collaboration between
O’Banion and The Flying Fish Press. Berkeley. 1990. 12” x
6”. Two-sided, with pop-up elements on one side and
fold-out chapter sections containing most of the written
text on the other. Printed letterpress using handset metal
type, and linoleum blocks of various colors carved by the
artist. Unusual book structure designed by Julie Chen,
who also engineered the pop-ups. Opens out for display
- 12” x 7’. Dropback box of black and white check cloth.
One in an edition of 150 signed and numbered copies, in
a total edition of 165.Fine. $750.00
O’Banion treats the book as a three-dimensional sculptural
object which can be manipulated to allow the reader/viewer a
wide range of experiences. Here, one side examines the idioms,
the other portrays the icons connected with house and home.
Her work is in numerous public and private collections in the
United States, Europe and Asia.
An exciting contemporary book of great visual appeal.

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 A noted calligrapher pays homage to great figures of the Twentieth Century

6. (Folsom, Rose) My Century in Your Face. Poem by Maria Elena Cruz Varela. Book design,
calligraphy and binding by Rose Folsom. Silver Spring. Maryland. 1998. 108p. 10.5” x 8”.
Xerography on vellum paper, photography. Cream cloth boards with stitching on spine. In
an ochre card folder, with title written in calligraphy on front. No. 8 of 15 signed copies.
Fine. Inscribed to a previous owner by the artist. $650.00
This book won First Prize at “Book Explorations ‘99’”, sponsored by The New Art Forum in
Kingston, MA.
Folsom writes: “ In 1996, I began to reflect on the end of the century. My century. Even though I have
only lived half of it, I identify with the 20th century as I do my country of birth. I cannot picture
myself outside of it. I am aware of how it has formed me, and how I cannot separate myself from it.
The next century will, in a way, belong to somebody else. It will be mine only second-hand. There
will be people born in the 21st century who never knew the 20th, my century. This book is a collec-
tion of larger-than-life photos of faces of the people who formed my century, ranging from Elvis
Presley to Igor Stravinsky; from Mahatma Gandhi to Robert Oppenheimer to Rudolf Nureyev. The
photos are accompanied by a poem entitled ‘Love Song for Difficult Times’ by a Cuban poet who
was born the same year I was.
“This book is a way of saying farewell to my century, as all of us, about to be refugees, are nudged
by time over the border from our own century into the unknown of the next.”

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 An early book from one of today’s
greatest marbling talents
7. (Frigge, Karli) Marbled Paper. By Karli Frigge. [Translated
by Tanya and Hans Schmoller]. Antiquariaat Frits Knuf.
Buren. Netherlands. 1985. Frontispiece, 9 leaves of bilin-
gual text, [1], 33 tipped-in samples. 9.75” x 11”. Designed
by Willem de Valk, printed by Van Marken Printers.
Bound by Karli Frigge in full harness-leather with laced
leather strips, after the old Dutch style; title in blind on
front cover. One in an edition of 100 copies signed by
Karli Frigge. Fine. Scarce. $1950.00
Frigge states: “My marbled papers must not be garish, or shy
away from the pattern set for them. The eye must be able to
pass over them lightly, without having to blink.”
With technical virtuosity Karli Frigge has created exceptionally
beautiful marbled papers of great artistic value.

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 A great collaboration - Leonard Baskin,
Ben Shahn
- and poetry by Wilfred Owen
8. (Gehenna Press) Thirteen Poems. [By] Wilfred
Owen. With Drawings by Ben Shahn. Printed
at the Gehenna Press. Northampton
Massachusetts. 1956. n.p. 13.5" x 10". Printed
by Esther and Leonard Baskin and Richard
Warren. Drawings printed by Meriden
Gravure. The portrait of Owen wooden-
graved by Leonard Baskin from a drawing by
Ben Shahn and printed from the wood block.
Press logo in red on a free endpaper at the
back. Red leather spine with gilt title; green-
gray paper boards. No. 189 in an edition of
400 copies. This is a regular copy; signed by
Leonard Baskin. Fine. Prospectus laid in.
Bookplate of previous owner. $850.00
With a special inscription in pencil fro m
Leonard Baskin done in 1966.
“Dylan Thomas in his essay on Owen says
“Wilfred Owen was born in 1893 and killed in
1918. Twenty-five years of age he was the greatest
poet of the first Great War ... selfless, decrying and
exalting, infinitely tender, humble, he was the har-
rowed seer and stater of the Anthem for Doomed
Youth and for himself ... he is one of the four most
profound influences upon the poets who came
after him; the other three being Gerard Manley
Hopkins, the later Yeats and T.S. Eliot.” -
Prospectus.

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 A feat of creative and technical brilliance by a winner of the Bronfman Award for Craft
- Louise Genest
Louise Genest was born in Montréal in 1949. After majoring in Education at university, she put her Master’s degree on
hold in order to live in Paris for a year. Once there, she took a bookbinding course in the XVI arrondissement, and dis-
covered her true vocation. Returning to Montréal, she continued to improve her skills by studying with Monique
Lallier. After four years of meticulous, solitary work, she moved to New York for two years, where she studied vari-
ous techniques related to book restoration and conservation. Her experiences there enabled her to open her own work-
shop and teach. That same year, she founded the Association des Relieurs du Québec, and served as its president for
three years. During her mandate, she created the ARQ Journal and worked closely with various organizations in order
to bring internationally renowned bookbinders to Montréal.
Her work and reputation earned her the title of Master Bookbinder, granted by the German-based International
“Meister der Einbandkunst” Association. She has won many prizes, including the ‘Grand Prix des Métiers d’art du
Québec’, the Canadian Bookbinders’ and Book Artists’ Guild Design Award, and the prestigious Saidye Bronfman
Award.
Genest is currently living in France, where she is still continuing with her bookbinding - albeit at a slower pace!

9. (Genest, Louise - Bookbinder) Match in a Bottle. Poems by Tracey Knapp. Illustrated by Kurt Gohde. Kat
Ran Press. North Andover, Massachusetts. 1997. 11” x 8”. No. 42 in a signed edition of 50 copies.
Unique variant binding by Louise Genest in gray Oasis leather. Laced-in binding with partial exposed
spine and sewing. Design of cut-out boards and covering leather. Tooled onlays in relief in marbled papers
and tooled onlays in patinated shaded copper leaves. Insertion of brass mesh colored in copper between
the boards. Exposed sewing on copper wires with exposed wires to add to design. Loose gray threads at
top of spine. Top edge painted. Doublures echoing cover board design, in colored Arches chiffon paper
with recessed inlays in marbled paper and tooled onlays in colored and lacquered Japanese paper. Binder’s
stamp in relief at base of back doublure. Dropback box of gray cloth and gray marbled paper to a design
matching the binding, with copper colored trim to box; title on spine. Fine. $9500.00
See Printinging History, Vol. XXVI, Number 2, p. 54 & 55, for an interesting article by Prof. David Pankow, which illus-
trates the variant binding.

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 A stunning interpretation of Lord Byron’s
Venetian story.
10. (High Tide Press/John Ross) A Venetian
Carnival. Designed and illustrated with colla-
graphs by John Ross. With excerpts from “Beppo,
A Venetian Story” by Lord Bryon. [New York.]
1991. Loose in portfolio form. 20” x 15”. 7 dou-
ble spread collagraph images (20” x 30”), plus
title-page and colophon sheets. Printed from col-
lagraph 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. $4000.00
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.

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 An amusement from a great pioneer of the modern pop-up book
11. (Johnson, Paul) Sailing to the Dance of Day. Pop-up book by Paul Johnson.
[Manchester. 2005.] 9.5” x 6.75”. Handpainted pop-up book designed and made
by Paul Johnson. Laser printed on mouldmade 90lb Hahnemühle Aquarell. Hand
assembled and hand bound on mouldmade hand dyed red Waterford paper over
board. Maroon spine. Deep red protective card envelope. Second redesigned edi-
tion of 20 copies containing original hand coloring by the aartist. Signed. Fine.
$185.00
Paul Johnson, the British artist, writer, researcher and book artist travels around the world
dividing his time between researching the book arts in education, running the Book Art
Project in England and producing his own work. His published work includes: A Book of
One's Own, 1993; Pop-up Paper Engineering, 1992; Literacy Through the Book Arts, 1993; and
Books Searching for Authors, 1994. [See Paul Johnson's article, The movable, three-dimen-
sional, multi-experimental Book, in The New Bookbinder, Vol. 16, 1996.]
His personal work embraces the areas of paper sculpture, paper environments, books and
paper furniture. He has exhibited at major one-man and group exhibitions of work in paper
in England, Europe and Japan. He was elected to the Crafts Council Index of Selected
Makers in 1989 and in the same year was profiled on BBC TV's 'Handmade' series on
British Crafts. Johnson's work is in public and private collections internationally.
Johnson thinks of his books as 'interior architecture' - because they can be opened up and
experienced as three-dimensional forms. He feels that paper is by far the most versatile of
all art materials. His use of a brilliant and glowing color palette makes his work a visual
treat.

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 Vincent FitzGerald’s magnificent homage to James Joyce
12. (Joyce, James/Vincent Fitzgerald) James Joyce: The Epiphanies.
I n t e r p reted by Susan Weil & Marjorie Van Dyke. Vincent
FitzGerald & Company. New York. 1987. 12 signatures of text, 4
signatures of illustrations with loose covered introduction pages,
colophon. 14” x 12”. Printed at the Wild Carrot Letterpress, with
calligraphy by Jerry Kelly, on Moulin du Gue and Japanese papers
All laid in a gray-brown cloth dropback box with Joyce’s profile
limned in silver on its cover and ‘JJ’ in silver on spine made by
David Bourbeau of The Thistle Bindery. No. 45 in an edition of 50
numbered copies, signed by Susan Weil and Marjorie Van Dyke.
Fine. $15000.00
“The forty epiphanies here (never before published in a group), were writ-
ten by Joyce between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. A few of them
were incorporated into Dubliners and Ulysses. For Joyce, both as man and
writer, they were of major importance. In the Fitzgerald edition, one reads
a text of paragraphs ... that cumulatively take us through Joyce’s experi-
ences as a boy ... to and beyond his personal confrontation with the death
of his brother and its meaning for him and his family.” - Corinne Robins,
Arts Magazine, May, 1989.
“The visual images are grouped after the text under the headings of Death,
Dreams, Planes and Games. Numbers connect the headings with the rele-
vant epiphanies. From the title page where Joyce’s eyes became his glass-
es with images from all four sections, the impact and strength of the cut-
out, lift-off, paste-on an accordion-fold images of Weil and Van Dyke,
together with the text, combine to form “a unique reading/seeing experi-
ence.” - Corinne Robins.
This magnificent production was sold out on publication. We are fortunate
to be able to offer this copy.

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 One of the few specially bound copies of an important Janus Press book
from the early 1960s
13. (Kafka, Franz/Janus Press) Ein Landarzt/A Country Doctor. By Franz Kafka. With an English
translation by Willa and Edwin Muir. Illustrated with twelve relief etchings by Claire Van
Vliet. Printed at the Philadelphia College of Art. 1962. 32p. 12.25” x 8.75”. Printed in black
on Rives Cuve Velin. Cream linen dropback box with title on spine; lined with handpaint-
ed paper to match the binding. An edition of 250 copies numbered and signed by the artist.
Fine. With a handwritten inscription by Van Vliet to a previous owner on the Colophon
page. A separate handwritten note to the previous owner signed by ‘Claire’. Fine.
$1500.00
This book was unsatisfactorily bound by a commercial binder, William Marley Co. in Philadelphia
in 1962. Claire Van Vliet, Nancy Southworth and Stephanie Westnedge disbound, di-acidified, sized,
and repaired 20 copies, of which 10 were for sale. The new binding was sewn through alum tawed
pigskin spine with wooden boards that have the snow storm of the story scratched and painted on
them. The first notable book from the Janus Press.

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 A beautiful poem about love at the end of a lifetime
- a superb production
14. (Kinnell, Galway/Ilse Schreiber Noll) Promissory Note.
[Poem by] Galway Kinnell. Woodcuts [by] Ilse Schreiber-
Noll. New York. 2007. n.p. 13.25” x 9.75”. Woodcuts on
pastel and pen drawing. Conceived, printed and bound
by the artist on Mulberry and Rives Paper. The poem
reproduced from the handwritten manuscript, written
out by Galway Kinnell for this book; poem also printed
letterpress. Four-page color fold-out of the large wood-
cut. Dark blue wraparound cover with darker blue wood-
cut across the wrappers; title in white. Laid in a gray cloth
covered board folder with round blue and yellow-green
illustration and title on front board. Signed by Galway
Kinnell on the reproduction of the handwritten poem.
Signed by Ilse Schreiber Noll at the back of the book. An
edition of 16 copies. Fine. $950.00

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 The collision of Russian and Italian
Futurist movements
15. (M.K. Publishers) The Drama of Marinetti or
the Story of how the Leader of World Futurism
flopped in Russia. A feature-documentary-compi -
latory-comedy from the Life of Italian and
Russian Futurism in eleven scenes. Album by
Mikhail Karasik. [St. Petersburg. Russia.]
2008. 22.75” x 15”. 13 leaves in an illustrated
card cover with black cloth spine and two
brass screws. Twelve compositions with the
combination of lithograph and author’s off-
set on BFK Rives Cream paper; text -
author’s offset. Text inside the book is print-
ed in Russian; the separate English version
is printed on blue paper and laid in a print-
ed cardboard box. One in an edition of 15
numbered and signed copies.Fine. $4900.00
Karasik writes: “’The Triumph of Futurism’ was the title of a show planned by the director of the new mechanistic and
urban movement in modern art. In Russia, however, the production unexpectedly underwent a change of genre, tak-
ing the director himself by surprise. The Russian performers - Futurist poets and artists - had been allocated technical
walk-on parts. The Italians had a poor opinion of Futurists ‘of the Slavonic race’. Following his trip to Russia, where
‘the apostle of the electric religion’ counted on acquiring pupils and associates, Marinetti found himself up against sab-
otage and misunderstanding. In a show of aggression and freethinking, the Russian Futurists not only refused to rec-
ognize Marinetti as their leader, but, it transpired, themselves counted on taking new territory and conquering new
minds. As a result, the expected triumph turned into a drama of a different kind.
“The Drama of Marinetti has been composed from newspaper and literary sources of the beginning of the 1910s.
Fragments of texts, memoirs, and manifestos have been turned into lines spoken by the characters. The chain of events,
meetings, lectures, and receptions has been recreated. The monologues and one-liners reveal both the relationship
between the Italian and Russian Futurists and the conflicts which were tearing apart the Russian Avant-garde move-
ment. Marinetti expected a more Futuristic reception, and all the tokens of success showered upon him - the bouquets
of flowers, crowded auditoria, and the attention from students and high-society salons - conflicted with both the spir-
it and ideas of Futurism. Marinetti had the feeling that the leaders of Russian Futurism were spending the first few
weeks hiding from him, avoiding contact, and shunning the meetings that had been organized. It was only towards
the end of his trip that the situation improved, but the result was the realization that Russian and Italian Futurism had
little in common. Italian Futurism promoted urbanism, the cult of technology and machines, the destruction of tradi-
tion and old culture, and militarism. Russian Futurism, on the other hand, focused on folk culture and the Russian icon
and was oriented more to the East than the West, while its belligerence was directed against old forms of art, but not
against politics, and it was not naturally inclined to aggression (Futurist works of a patriotic character appeared at the
beginning of World War I). Artistic life in Russia was itself more dynamic and radical than in Italy. Italian Futurism
existed until the end of the 1930s, while the Russian version, modified and politicized and stripped of its artistic
essence, survived only until the beginning of the 1920s. After the October Revolution Futurism’s political direction also
changed. The Russian branch became Communist (Komfutu was a Communist Futurist organization led by
Mayakovsky), while Italian Futurism turned to Fascism.
“The illustrative material in the album consists of collages of well- and less well-known photographs of the Futurists.
There are visual allusions to the texts, documentary materials, and famous pictures. The pages of the album have been
designed to look like the old postcards which Marinetti and his Russian correspondents used in their correspondence
with one another. The result is a graphic version in which the author tries to evaluate Marinetti’s legendary visit to
Russia.”

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 A great example of Morrison’s artistry in fabric

16. (Morrison, Lois) Japanese Rabbits. A fabric book by Lois Morrison.

[Leonia, New Jersey.] 1992. 8.75” x 5.75”. 11 fabric leaves.
Collaged Japanese and vintage fabrics, woodcut rubbings,
embroidery. Text sewn in black. Open spine bound with black
thread in four places; attached round red disks, small yellow
beads and ‘tails’ of black thread. Housed in a protective fold-out
boxing, covered in handmade, antique Japanese paper and lined
in deep purple paper. Closures of multi-colored cord which wind
round red flower-like button with turquoise button enters. Laid in
a protective handmade cream cloth bag. In an edition of 2 copies,
this is the only one for sale. Signed by the artist. Fine. $2750.00
Fine examples of Morrison’s fabric books have become unob-
tainable. Japanese Rabbits is a particularly fine example of her
work in this medium.

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 A stunning new book from the studio of John Gerard
17. (Rilke, Rainer Maria/John Gerard) Herbst. (Autumn.)
[Text in German.] [Poem by] Rainer Maria Rilke.
[Reinbach. 2008.] Leporello format. 22” x 10.5”. Design by
Ati von Gallwitz with paper paintings and cut-outs.
Calligraphy by Rol Lock. 6 handmade papers by John
Gerard. Bound in pale lemon cloth over board, with a
copper leaf recessed into the front cover. Laid in a match-
ing pale lemon cloth dropback box with black title on
front and spine. No. 11 in an edition of 20 copies, signed
by Ati von Gallwitz. New. English translation laid in.
$1950.00
A visually beautiful book with superb poetry. As each sheet
of paper is made individually each copy will have slight varia-
tions.

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 A powerful new book from Jeff Morin
18. (sailorBOYpress) 14 Stations. Artist's book by Jeff Morin. Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 2008. 62p. Book - 9.5" x
9". Box - 12.5" x 10" x 3.5". Printed in Gill Sans on Indian Village paper. The 14 double-page color illustra-
tions are from reduction linoleum blocks that are printed with a heavy hand to produce a more painterly
image. Made by Brian Borchardt, the spike-like shapes in the brown cover stock emulate the crown of
thorns. The book encased in a black leather box, lined with black cloth with a matching separate lid. Laid
in the bottom of the box is a metal crown of thorns which is painted red/brown in parts, with a Rosary
wound round it. An edition of 45 copies. Fine. $1500.00
Morin writes: "Why this book and why in this incarnation? My work will on occasion remain about the AIDS pandem-
ic because I believe that it is a dangerously robust force that is consuming parts of our population here and abroad.
Some worry that there is activist fatigue so less attention is being focused on this subject. I also believe that artists have
a dialogue with the past and must bring something new to the conversation. The 14 Stations of the Cross are among
my earliest memories of going to church because they were set at the outer aisles and my family always sat in the same
outer pew across from a station and across from a particular stained glass window. The 14 stations are so well known
so the question becomes: What can one bring to the historic dialogue that has not been presented or said before? This
is my attempt to add to the conversation and make the historic relevant.
"Whenever I can, I draw from the figure and have done so for the past 30 years. It has been a constant as I work through
several media: design, paint, print, paper etc... It is also a way to problem-solve in a quick way. I engaged two models
to work through this project and had them pose together with simple instruction about the particular station that I was
working on. Because this is a story about a contemporary couple, they would be the constant characters throughout
the story regardless of the original reference. I would give the biblical reference to the models and then my take on the
reference as regards the "new" story. When models have not been comfortable posing together, I have had to create the
interaction so it was a great opportunity to find two models that were friends and comfortable working through this
content. I transferred the reference material (some photo, some drawn) to linoleum blocks, did the reduction cuts and
edition-printed the color. Reduction printing is interesting/challenging because the final result is not known until the
last color is printed. And at that point, the linoleum block has been completely destroyed. This final book is actually
the second version. In the first, I transferred the text to the blocks as well with the intention of hand-cutting the typog-
raphy. The limitation with this idea was that the text was to be shorter and larger (a practicality of cutting the letter-
forms). The reason for the abandoned format was to emulate block books which predated letterpress work in Europe.
"I wanted to create a story that was both new and familiar so took some references directly from the New Testament
and then began to deconstruct the story - looking for a way to deal with confession, accusation, and reconciliation.
These are fairly basic interactions that most people can relate to. I was also intrigued by the changing nature of the
name, Jesus. In the Latino culture it is common today. In the non-Latino community it seems to be a sacrilege to name
someone after Christ. The relationship between the sacred and profane has always been compelling to me."

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 A 10th century Japanese tale
beautifully illustrated
by a contemporary book artist

19. (Schwartzott, Carol) The Old Bamboo Hewer: A

Japanese Romance of the Tenth Century. Artist’s
book by Carol Schwartzott. [Freeville. New
York. 2000.] n.p. 13” x 7.75” x 1.625”. Made
with a combination of Japanese papers, some
are chirogami or of printed design, others have
been decorated by the artist; these include
paste, stencil, water marbling, handmade
Japanese papers, linen and mitsumade combi-
nations.

Letterpress printed from plates, with some of the Kendo decorative ini-
tials gold leafed or gilded. Illustrations started as linoleum cuts in black
and white, and were hand-colored and collaged to represent small hang-
ing scrolls, using watercolor, gouche, acrylic paint, gold and silver lead.
Accordion fold book in tan-blue Japanese cloth with endpapers of
paste/stencil and block printed motifs. Decorative paper label on front
board. Laid in a board box with sliding door, covered and lined in a com-
bination of decorative papers. Inset at the bottom of the box is a piece of
bamboo, serving as a divider for the two replications of the actual texts in
Japanese and English. These are soft bound with variations of paper on
their covers. No. 6 in an edition of 10 signed copies. Fine. $1250.00
Schwartzott states that she is a strong believer in the philosophy that a book
should not only be beautiful, but should contain some sort of information. Those
who know and collect her books can confirm that this is the case with all her work.
This book is a delight.
Schwartzott decided to include the facsimiles of both the English and Japanese
versions as she felt the footnotes are very interesting and helpful, and for those
that can read Japanese, the subtle nuances of that language are available.

39
40
 After a long absense - a welcome new work from
Sande Wascher-James
20. (Sande Wascher-James) Remember the Ladies. Artist’s fab-
ric book by Sande Wascher-James. [Washington.] 27 flo-
ral fabric leaves. 10.25” x 4.25”. Each leaf is of a different
multi-colored floral fabric and is edged with toning
stitching, creating a rainbow-like effect when the book is
viewed closed. Each leaf has appliqué of fabric text, fac-
simile fabric stamps, and/or lace and sequins. Hand
printed, digitally printed and embroidered by Sande
Wascher-James. Laid in a floral fabric box with a drop-
down side and a separate lid with an onlaid fabric illus-
tration and quote. One in an edition of 10 signed copies.
Fine. New. $1200.00
Each stamp is of, or a homage to, a woman. The text reads:
“Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable
to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power
into the hands of the Husbands ... If perticuliar care and atten-
tion is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a
Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in
which we have no voice, or Representation.”

41
 JOSHUA HELLER Rare Books, Inc.
P O Box 39114 Washington D C 20016-9114 U S A
Telephone: 202/966-9411 Fax: 202/363-5658
E-Mail: HellerBkDC@aol.com
www.joshuahellerrarebooks.com

AFTERWORD

In the Introductory Statement to our Winter 2001/2002 Catalogue, we wrote

that after the traumatic events of September 11tth we had decided “to proceed
with the best catalogue we could write at that time and with the best collec-
tion of books we could assemble under the difficult conditions in which the
USA and its people found themselves”.
Our sentiments are the same with a different set of circumstances, no less
painful, that we, and for that matter the world at large, are now facing.
Nevertheless, we submit for your consideration – with this list – a sampling of
what we intend publishing in the Spring: our 37th catalogue – which will con-
tain over 150 fine and beautifully illustrated books by a roster of talented prac-
titioners of the Art of the Book. It will be amplified with over 200 color photo-
graphs.
Please email us for a free copy – in the meantime we hope you will find one
or more of the 20 books in this list of interest.
We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.
Phyllis & Joshua Heller.

Conditions of sale:
All items listed in this catalogue are offered subject to prior sale.
Each item has been carefully described as to condition. Any purchase may be returned within
ten days after its receipt;
if unsatisfactory for any reason - safe return shipment is client's responsibility.
Payment terms for new clients are "remittance with order" or from our pro forma invoice.
A finance charge of 1.5% per month will be added to all bills not paid within thirty days of the
date of invoice.
Libraries and institutions will be accommodated by special billing on request.
Prices are net, in U.S. dollars. Postage and handling are extra on all orders.
Overseas orders will be shipped airmail unless otherwise arranged.
D.C. residents will be charged 5.75% Sales Tax.
Possession of title remains with Joshua Heller Rare Books, Inc. until books are paid for in full.
We purchase single volumes, collections, or libraries in our field of interest.
We are pleased to welcome visitors by appointment and are centrally located near convenient
bus and Metro stops.

We accept Visa and Mastercard

© Joshua Heller Rare Books, Inc. 2009.

Our special thanks to Neil Greentree.

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