Artists' Books in Crossett: Arion Press, May 1 - August 30, 2024

"The Nose" is a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol. Artist William Kentridge provided 16 altered and collaged images for the book, composed on tear sheets of the 19th-century tabloid The Illustrated London News. The flipbook depicts Kentridge in the guise of the socially climbing Nose, ascending a ladder and tumbling down. The typeface for the text is Gloucester and Cheltenham for display. Letterpress printed on mouldmade 160 gsm Magnani "BFK Rives," and the drawings, and video stills have been reproduced by offset lithography. 81 pages, 14 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations ; 24 x 28 cm + 1 flipbook. Edition of 250. Crossett Library owns number 127.

A short story, “Morte de Smudgie,” by Margaret Atwood, is paired with the 19th-century epic poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson that gives Smudgie his arc: “Morte d’Arthur.” Artist Audrey Niffenegger created illustrations and a four-panel, two-color landscape fold-out that depicts the author in a moment of reverie while re-imagining the poignant final stanzas of Tennyson’s poem. The typeface is Deepdene, both handset and in Monotype composition. The type has been printed by letterpress on vintage Utopian cream wove and the artwork reproduced by polymer plate on Hahnemuhle Ingres laid. 66 pages, 4 unnumbered pages, 2 unnumbered folded leaves of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 19 cm. Edition of 250. Crossett Library own number 65.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Gothic horror novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley that was first published in 1818. The Arion edition features an introduction by Todd Hosfelt, proprietor of The Hosfelt Gallery in San Francisco, and nine hypodermic ink drip drawings and a two-color title page vignette by Tim Hawkinson. The typeface for the text is Monotype Bulmer. Type and artwork have been printed by letterpress with a Miller TW cylinder press on Magnani papers: 90 gsm laid for the text and 180 gsm wove for the prints. 239 pages, 9 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations ; 26 cm + 1 print (1 leaf : illustration ; 26 cm) Edition of 220

The Sea of Cortez is record of novelist Steinbeck's and biologist Ricketts's experiences and scientific findings during an expedition into the Gulf of California. Wood engraver Richard Wagener has made original works and artist Martin Machado created the map that appears on front and rear endsheets. The book is printed by letterpress on Zerkall 120 gsm Frankfurt “wavy laid” white mouldmade paper from Perpetua metal types cast on site for the project in the M&H Type foundry. Six Boxwood and Maple engravings by Richard Wagener depicting marine specimens and the Western Flyer are printed in colors on Zerkall 170 gsm mouldmade. Endsheet artwork by Martin Machado maps the journey through the Golfo de California. Edition of 185.

Sense and Sensibility is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen. Augusta Talbot’s collages combine fragments of the black and white Hugh Thomson line drawings from the 1896 edition, providing recognizable faces and torsos for the characters, while their postures and placement express a modern insight into how pressures distort their behavior. The text type is Bell in Monotype composition and Union Pearl and Bulmer handset for display. The type was printed by letterpress on Mohawk Letterpress Text paper. The collages were printed by offset lithography in color on dull-coated Pacesetter Silk. Augusta Talbot’s collages combine familiar representational depictions of Austen’s characters with new imagery from sources both expected and unexpected. 431 pages: cloth bound 21 cm. Edition of 300.

A classic of American comic fiction, The Sundial exemplifies Jackson’s blend of humor, fantasy, and social satire. Miles Hyman is a painter and illustrator; he is also the grandson of Shirley Jackson and brings a deep understanding of her life and work to this project. The type is Fridericus for the text, composed and cast in Monotype by Mackenzie & Harris, and handset Winchell and Stylescript, printed by letterpress on Zerkall Book. The illustrations were printed by offset lithography on McCoy Silk Book. 223 pages, 28 unnumbered leaves of plates: 14 color illustrations; 27 cm. Edition of 300.

Virginia Woolf's fantastical novel about an Elizabethan nobleman who lives for three centuries and transitions into a woman. With 94 color photographs by Diana Michener. The types are Century Bold and Century Expanded. The Monotype composition was done by Mackenzie & Harris. The text was printed by letterpress. The photographs were printed by offset lithography. The paper is Mohawk Superfine. Edition of 400.

A new verse translation by Michael Taylor, with his commentary and introduction; with 21 duotone photographs by Dennis Letbetter. Letbetter’s photographs of sea stones venture comfortably far from literal illustration, and when paired with Taylor’s translations these runes invite new interpretations for old words. The typeface is Spectrum, handset and in Monotype composition. The type has been printed by letterpress and the photographs in duotone by offset lithography on 90 GSM Magnani cream laid. Edition of 150.

Woolgathering is a collaboration between two contemporary creative masters: author and singer-songwriter Patti Smith and visual and sound artist Christian Marclay. Smith’s first published prose work, written thirty years ago, is an incantatory memoir of the creative process and its wellspring in the world of childhood. Employing a variety of sound ephemera, acrylic LPs, and organic materials, Marclay’s crystalline constructions provide a parallel visual score that reflects and refracts the rhythms of Smith’s verses and tales. The typeface for the text is Monotype Veronese, cast onsite, with Corvinus composed by hand for display. The type has been printed by letterpress on mouldmade 125 gsm Zerkall book laid. 55 pages, 13 unnumbered leaves of plates; 27 cm. Edition of 300, Crossett owns number 150.

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston is a classic work from the Harlem Renaissance. Kenturah Davis created “text drawings” that fuse language and image by writing and rewriting meaningful phrases from Hurston’s prose to build up textured portraits of Janie Crawford at different stages in her life. Davis has selected salient excerpts from Hurston’s text which appear as intimate commentary along the bottom of every page. This continuously running line—printed from over 100 plates reproducing Davis’s hand-written manuscript—flows from the first page to the last as a surrogate heartbeat for the novel. Letterpress printed on 130 gsm Hahnemühle mouldmade Bugra from Monotype Garamont metal types cast for the project. 55 pages; 27 cm. Edition of 250. Crossett own number 196.

A selection of poems and stories by Edgar Allan Poe, illustrated and with a companion volume The Raven. Natalie Frank created 16 images in black-and-white gouache and seven gouache-and-chalk pastel drawings for The Raven companion volume features seven gouache-and-chalk pastel drawings focusing on Lenore. The paper is mouldmade Magnani Ingres 90 gsm printed by letterpress from Monotype Van Dijck cast onsite with handset Legend for display. Cover portrait of Poe imprinted on custom made pulp paper ovals incorporating bricks excavated from Poe’s now demolished home in New York. 171 pages; 32 cm + 1 volume. Edition of 300. Crossett owns number 165.

Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Artist Vincent Valdez created 20 original pen-and-ink drawings for the volume, which he describes as a “visual testimony of transformation, hope, love, and survival in 21st-century America.”. The type throughout is Univers, in Montotype and hand composition, printed by letterpress on Royal Sundance Birch. Twelve drawings, some with additions of color, have been reproduced on Magnani mouldmade by offset lithography, and an additional eight were printed by polymer plate from pen-and-ink originals. 189 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates; 24 cm. Edition of 210. Crossett owns number 150.