The Deconstruction of Biblio Borders

works from the Special collections of the Newark Public Library

Exhibition Checklist

Pat  Baldwin

Code, The / Excerpts from The Italian Code of Chivalry by Colonel Jacopo Gelli
(1996) BINDINGS

Koko by Gilbert and Sullivan
(1994) TECHNIQUE Printed on Tableau paper. The covers are Fabriano and Japanese block printed papers. The Japanese structure, sewn in silk, was produced at Waterleaf Mill and Bindery.

Will  Barnet

Child Reading — Red
PRINTS AND BROADSIDES Silkscreen: Artist’s Proof. What a perfect picture for lovers of books! Comfort combined with contentment. Who wants to take a computer to bed? And the cat just might not like it.

Ivan  Bilibin

Fairy Tale About the Czar Sultan by Alexander Pushkin
(1905) THE JOY OF ILLUSTRATION

Giambattista  Bodoni

MANUALE TIPOGRAFICO DEL CAVALIERE GIAMBATTISTA BODONI, Title page and illustrated portrait of Bodoni, Two volumes
(1818) MONUMENTAL BOOKS This remarkable book so important to the history of fine printing was purchased by the Library several generations ago. The two volumes are regarded by printers and type designers as the greatest book of type specimens ever produced. It was limited to 290 copies with 285 different fonts and marks created by Boldoni. It marks the crowning achievement of his professional life and distinguished career. During the final years of his life, he prepared the layout for this publication and also wrote a long introduction. However, he died on November 30, 1813 and it is not surprising that this sad occurrence delayed publication. In 1818, five years after his death, his widow Margherita published the work. She was assisted by Luigi Orsi, Bodoni’s foreman who had taken over the typographical direction of the press after Bodoni’s death. These Newark Public Library volumes are nicely bound in a workmanlike manner and wile not in perfect condition, the pages of fonts are as crisp and clean as they were when issued in 1818. There are probably only about 20 copies of this great typographical manual in North America. It is therefore a special pleasure to display this relatively unique Newark treasure in a celebration at the Center for Book Arts.

T. M.  Cleland

End papers for “The Locomobile Book”
(1915) END PAPERS Book designed and executed by T.M. Cleland of New York

M. C.  Escher

Regelmatige Vlakverdeling by M.C. Escher
(1958) MONUMENTAL BOOKS The widely popular illustrations of Dutch artist, Escher, are an essential part of this book limited to 175 copies. Trained as a mathematician, the artist evolved sort of trompe-l’oeil prints which are instantly recognized around the world with young people especially “turned on” by the intricate patterns and double images splendidly blended for fascinating visuals which hold attention. This copy came with an additional set of loose prints which are ideal for exhibition purposes.

Stanley William  Hayter

Death of Hector by Brian Coffey
(1979) THE JOY OF ILLUSTRATION With nine original illustrations by Stanley William Hayter produced on copper plates with a mixture of burin engraving and etching techniques. A truly beautiful book which captures the essence and purity of the Classic world.

Patrick  Hughes

“Pink Art” in the Studio
(1975) PRINTS AND BROADSIDES Serigraph

Dard  Hunter

Papermaking By Hand In America
(1950) PAPER Dard Hunter is widely known as an authority and author on paper and papermaking.

Papermaking in Southern Siam
PAPER This book includes specimens of Khoi Bark and Siamese Mould Cloth. Mr. Hunter has written the following at the end of this monograph: “Due to my strong aversion to the monotony of presswork only 115 copies of this book have been made.” The Newark Public Library has ten books by Dard Hunter in addition to those two on exhibition.

Ronald  King

Bluebeard’s Castle
(1972) MONUMENTAL BOOKS Verse by Roy Fisher, designed by Ronald King. Illustrated with nine pop-up designs printed in 75 silkscreenings. This notable book is inspired by the famous Bartok/Maeterlinck operatic telling of the Bluebeard story. All of the constructed images are made to symbolize each scene represented by the secret rooms. The multicolor pop-ups, together with the varied types, are interspersed and interactive which result in a surprise in each fascicle. Now over a quarter of century old, this publication is a pure delight and of great interest to members of The Movable Book Society (which is organized to provide a forum for the greater appreciation of paper engineering and for pop-up creations in particular).

Utagawa  Kunisada

From “Collection of the Five Elements Compared: Wood”
(1852) EHON An album of color woodblock prints issued in 1852. This remarkable album is made up of a series of prints in triptych format so that the viewer may turn pages in sequence in the three sections and enjoy a superb variety of subjects. In this highly amusing river scene full of activity and color, traditional divers surface with small curiosities for the pleasure of an elegantly dressed small group of people anxiously awaiting the results of the underwater searches by the scantily clad expert swimmers.

Armin  Landeck

Studio Interior
PRINTS AND BROADSIDES Lithograph, acquired by purchase from the Weye Gallerin in 1932.

Jeffrey  Lew

Four Book Articulaton
(1978) PRINTS AND BROADSIDES Hand-pulled color lithograph.

William  Morris

Title Page for Tennyson’s Maud
TITLE PAGES This drawing by William Morris is accompanied by the following note: “The design herewith being the original design by William Morris for title page of Tennyson’s “Maud” was given me by him as a memento of the completion of the Kelmscott press edition.” Signed Halliway Sparling/ 168 Quai d’Auteuil/ Paris. June 3, 1900. Nearly all the title pages prepared by Morris for his Kelmscott Press were deposited in the British Museum in London. This is one of the very few to be outside that London museum.

Wood Beyond The World, The by William Morris
(1894) TITLE PAGES The opening pages of this book written and printed by William Morris at The Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith, England in May of 1894. Morris regarded each two facing pages as one design unit. This is one of a dozen books designed by William Morris in the Library’s collection.

Robin  Price

Boating with Bogart by Gloria Stuart
(1993) MINIATURE BOOKS This is a witty account from 1938 when four couples rented a yacht to sail to Santa Catalina Island over Labor Day weekend. At the time, Gloria Stuart was a leading lady at 20th Century Fox Studios. Other crew members were Humphrey Bogart and his wife in 1938, Mayo Methot. It was a fun-filled voyage on the former yacht of John Barrymore which had a sail area of 4,600 square feet. In February 1998, Gloria Stuart was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as a senior survivor of the TITANIC — a memorable performance. She loves the book arts and wrote this truly fascinating reminiscence of life in Hollywood in a naïve, but dangerous era.

Bruce  Rogers

Sonnets and Madrigals of Michelangelo Buonarroti
(1900) TITLE PAGES The colophon of this book contains the following not written in green ink and signed by Bruce Rogers: “This is a copy of the regular edition, of which I painted the title page for the binder — the only one so done.”

Emanuel  Schary

George and Burr Miller in Their Lithography Studio
(1978) PRINTS AND BROADSIDES Lithograph

Jan  van Toon

Poppetgom: Theater Scarabee / Foundation “Octupus”
(1970) BINDINGS Composition and lay-out by Jan van Toon of Amsterdam. This publication in the domain of the plastic arts arrived from Holland encased in a can which also serves as the cover for a handsome catalog of avant-garde art in the Netherlands of the early 1970s. The catalog had to be opened with a can opener which left very sharp edges. The publication also came with a bright yellow pillow to further assure its safe arrival after a long journey across the Atlantic. This sort of unique cover quickly garners one attention.

Hermann  Zapf

An Alphabet
PRINTS AND BROADSIDES Drawn at La Casa del Libro in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “The diversity and level of skills displayed by Hermann Zapf in the book arts is extraordinary. During the past half century Zapf has been a recognized leader in the fields of type design, calligraphy, book design, and typography none can be said to have exerted such a strong and far-reaching influence on all the book arts as Hermann Zapf.” — Jerry Kelly in “Matrix 17”

Support for the Center for Book Arts’ visual arts programming is provided, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

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