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~ News from the Rare Books Department of Special Collections at the J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah

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Tag Archives: photographs

We recommend — Book as Archive & Enclosure

04 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by rarebooks in Recommended Workshop

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accordion, Alicia Bailey, Aurora, Book Arts Studio, butterflies, Chester A. Reed, collage, Colorado, copper foil, Denver, drop-spine box, envelopes, handwritten, Hedi Kyle, J. Willard Marriott Library, mica, moths, Penrose Special Collections, photographs, rare books, Ravenpress, Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, Ruth Wheeler, seed, thread, tyvek, University of Denver


“…the continued existence of these birds in the form of skins, specimens and eggs at museums worldwide is perhaps indicative of a human tendency to preserve remains rather than…to protect life. I also considered that both impulses are as much a part of contemporary endeavor as statistic gathering.”

Extinct Extant
Alicia Bailey
Aurora, CO: Ravenpress, 2013
N7433.4 B265 E98 2013

From the artist’s statement: “Photographs of birds digitally printed, envelopes are hand printed, labels and spine text laser etched. Book based on an enhanced accordion binding structure designed by Hedi Kyle.” Issued in a drop-spine box with paper title label attached to the top and colophon attached to the bottom inside. Envelopes are attached to an accordion spine, forming eight leaves. The first envelope contains the preface and bibliographic information. The remaining seven envelopes contain single folios printed with information about an extinct species of bird, with a photograph of a specimen of that species laid in. A cropped image of each species is collaged to the back of each envelope. The name of each species is laser etched to the spine and back side of each envelope. Each envelope is a repurposed commercial negative envelope. Edition of eighteen copies plus two artist’s proofs, signed and numbered by the artist. Rare Books copy is no. 13.


Book as Archive & Enclosure
Alicia Bailey

Cosponsored by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers and the Book Arts Program

October 26 & 27
Friday & Saturday, 10:00 – 5:00
Book Arts Studio, J. Willard Marriott Library

$185, register here

Alicia Bailey has developed various ways of adapting traditional binding and structures to create books designed to hold dimensional objects. In this workshop, participants create two books to showcase and house both dimensional objects and flat artifacts. With great flexibility at the spine and sturdy, rigid pages, these books work well when handled or displayed as traditional book forms or as sculptural objects. Bring personal images and artifacts to build enclosures that are sculptural narratives or archives of memory.

Alicia Bailey is a studio artist working across multiple disciplines. She has focused on book arts, box constructions and assemblage since the mid-nineties, producing artists’ books, sculptural books and limited-edition books that incorporate a broad range of methods and materials. She is particularly interested in box and bookworks that include elements beyond surface printed images and text; that move beyond traditional book forms and embrace presentation flexibility, innovative page folding tactics, rigid-page construction and use of alternative materials. Her work has been featured in dozens of solo and group exhibits throughout the world and is held in numerous public, private, and special collections. An archive of her work in the book arts is under development at Penrose Special Collections, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado.

Rare Books is pleased to support the Book Arts Program with its collections.



Animal Mineral vegetable Book #1
Alicia Bailey
Aurora, CO: A. Bailey, 2013
N7433.4 B22 A7 2013

Made with mica, copper foil, thread, tyvek with surface applied color, seed fluff, moths and butterflies.



Wildflower Identification
Alicia Bailey
Aurora, CO: Alicia Baileyu, 2013
N7433.4 B22 W5 2013

Texts from the handwritten notes of Ruth Wheeler. Photographs scanned from 1946 originals taken by Ruth Wheeler. Color reproductions from flower guide published in 1916 by Chester A. Reed.

— Photographs by Scott Beadles

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Rare Books Help Illustrate VERVE, Season 6, Episode 1

23 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by rarebooks in Video

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Asbern, Barbara Hodgson, Bernard Moitessier, Book Arts Program, booklets, Florida, Florida State University, French, gum bichromate prints, intaglio, letterpress, Marnie Powers-Torrey, Michelle Ray, Neenah Environment, Optimal, photographs, photolithographs, photopolymer, Salt Lake City, Tallahassee, The Small Craft Advisory Press, Trajan, Twentieth Century Medium Italic, University of Utah, Utah, VERVE, yachtsman

Several pieces from the rare book collections were used to help illustrate “What Makes A Book So Special,” episode 1, season 6, Its All About the Book, from VERVE, featuring Marnie Powers-Torry, director of the Book Arts Program.

A Casual Commentary: front seat, u.s.a.
Marnie Powers-Torrey
Salt Lake City: UT: M. Powers-Torrey, 1999
N7433.4 P69 C37 1999

Typeface is Twentieth Century Medium Italic. Handset and printed on an Asbern letterpress. Photographs are gum bichromate prints, photolithographs, and intaglio prints from photopolymer plates. Edition of 15 copies, signed and numbered. University of Utah copy is no. 4.


God Created the Sea and Painted it Blue So We’d…
Michelle Ray
Tallahassee, FL: The Small Craft Advisory Press, Florida State University, 2013
N7433.4 R395 G63 2013

Title is derived from a quote by Bernard Moitessier, a French yachtsman. Eleven unpaged booklets issued in a basswood box attached to linen hardcover with embossed title and printed endsheet. Inside the box are two compartments. One contains a tunnel of cut-out illustrations. The second compartment holds a cardboard box with title printed above tab enclosure and which contains the booklets. Images and text created with photopolymer plates, using Trajan and Optima typefaces on handmade cotton/abaca, French Construction, and Neenah Environment papers.


Mrs. Delany Meets Herr Haeckle
Barbara Hodgson
Vancouver: HM Editions, 2015
N7433.4 H63 M77 2015

From the publisher’s website: [Mrs. Delany] is an “imagined collaboration between Mrs. Mary Delany (1700-1788), an English widow, woman of accomplishment, and creator of imaginative botanical ‘paper mosaics’ and Herr Ernst Haeckel (1852-1911), a distinguished and controversial German biologist and artist who devoted much of his time to the study and rendering of single-celled creatures.”

Cut paper image of a microscopic organism affixed to frontispiece with another cut-paper image affixed to the recto of the same sheet; eleven cut-paper interpretations of microscopic organisms tipped on to captioned plates; tipped-in cut-paper initials, numerous smaller cut-paper decorations. The paper cuttings are adapted from Ernst Haeckel’s Die Radiolarien (1862) and Kunstformen der Natur (1899-1904). They are cut from a variety of papers, including Yatsuo, Kozuke, mulberry, Gifu, Kitikata, and Kiraku kozo from Japan; Ingres and unidentified wove from Europe; and Reg Lissel handmade papers from Canada. Some were cut from papers previously marbled in the Turkish or Suminigashi styles. Some were dyed by the papermaker; some were dyed or otherwise hand-colored for this book. The cuttings are mounted on one of Arches text wove (white), Arches MBM Ingres (black) or Hahnemuhle Ingres (black).

Bound in full polished morocco, ruled and stamped decoratively in red and gilt with a gilt-lettered spine by Claudia Cohen. Marbled endpapers. Issued in orange clamshell case with a gilt-lettered spine label.

Edition of twenty-five copies plus six hors de commerce, each signed by the author, printer, and binder. Rare Books copy is XXII.

MrsD&HerrHCover2


Jabberwocky
Barry McCallion
East Hampton, NY: 2015
PR4611 J32 2015 oversize

India ink washes, various collage and drawing elements incorporating metallic gold paper and aluminum foil with text from newspaper type, copied on various papers, each letter cut out and collaged in a myriad of shapes and sized as well as colors. Richard de Bas cream wove paper. Bound by Joelle Webber: hand-sewn yellow colored silk over boards with title on front panel, a reduced reproduction of the title-page. Blue and silver endpapers by St. Armand, terracotta colored guards. Housed in tan linen over boards, clamshell box, title in red reproduced from the title-page with yellow and red reproduction of first page inset on front panel. Signed and dated by the artist.

Jabberwocky


The Arctic Plants of New York City
James Walsh (b. 1961)
New York City: Granary Books, 2015
N7433.4 W355 A73 2016

From the publisher’s website: “The Arctic Plants of New York City combines personal letters, poetry, prose essays, scholarly research, botanical exploration and artistic investigation, and ranges from the Doctrine of Signatures to the sleep of plants, and from Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Muir on mental travel to Giacomo Leopardi and Charles Baudelaire on the necessity of illusion for art and life. Interspersed throughout the book are a number of two-page spreads that focus on a single plant, such as Common Mugwort, with a mounted botanical specimen of that plant surrounded by texts drawn from earlier writers on botany and set in verse, creating a field of word-objects interacting with plant-objects. The letters that open the book lead into a prose essay that touches on the souls of plants, their use in medicine and as spurs to mental travel, their transience, their migrations, their meaning. A bibliography lists the most essential works from the author’s research and the book concludes with a reproduction of the index from Nicholas Polunin’s Circumpolar Arctic Flora (1959), in which the author has marked in red pen the eighty-eight Arctic plants that occur in New York City. Written, designed, and printed letterpress by James Walsh, with eighteen botanical specimens pressed and mounted by the author. Bound by Daniel Kelm at Wide Awake Garage.” From the colophon: “All the plants were gathered in Brooklyn.” Printed by the author using two Vandercook proof presses at the Center for the Book Arts. Text paper is Somerset Book White, endsheets are Hahnemuhle Ingres Blue Green. Cloth bound in Dover Oxford Black. Edition of forty copies, 34 of which are for sale.

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We recommend — The Book Restructured: Wire-Edge Binding

17 Thursday May 2018

Posted by rarebooks in Recommended Workshop

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Arthur Larson, Book Arts Program, Book Arts Studio, collage, Daniel Kelm, Easthampton, Garage Annex School for Book Arts, gouache, Granary Books, Greta Sibley, Horton Tank Graphics, J. Willard Marriott Library, Jane Sherry, Jill Jevne, Jospeh A. Osina, Korea, New York City, Philip Gallo, photographs, printing, rare books, Rives BFK, rubber stamps, Small Offering Press, Sonam Temple, South Cholla Province, Terence K. McKenna, The Hermetic Press, Timothy Ely, typography, Wide Awake Garage, wire-edge binding


“Everything corresponds. Sweet is easy: happiness. Tanginess is trickier: people going the wrong way and calling it right; the tendency not to complain while harboring envious and covetous feelings. Sourness is things you like and don’t like — woven together. Smokiness is slow vision, seeing gradually the good things in life. What we find distasteful? That’s bitterness.”

Tea: Time in Korea
Greta Sibley
Easthampton, MA: Small Offering Press, 1994
DS904 S53 1994

Text and photographs based on three trips to Sonam Temple, South Cholla Province, Korea. Binding and box designed and produced by Daniel Kelm, Wide Awake Garage. Edition of twenty-five copies. Rare Books copy no. 14, signed by the author and the binder.


“The Book Restructured: Wire-Edge Binding”
A Book Arts Program workshop by Daniel Kelm

June 1 & 2, 2018
Friday & Saturday, 10:00 – 5:00
Book Arts Studio, J. Willard Marriott Library, Level 4

$215, register here

Wire-edge binding utilizes a thin metal wire along the hinging edge of each page. The metal wire is exposed at regular intervals, creating knotting stations where thread attaches one page to the next. The result is a binding that opens exceptionally well and provides the option of producing unusual shapes. This workshop presents various wire-edge structures useful for books, enclosures, and articulated sculpture. Participants produce both a simple codex and an accordion model that forms a tetrahedron. All levels of experience are welcome.

Daniel E. Kelm is a book artist who enjoys expanding the concept of the book. He is known for his innovative structures as well as his traditional work. In the mid-1980s, Daniel invented a style of bookbinding called wire-edge binding in order to explore the nature of the book as articulated sculpture. His expression as an artist emerges from the integration of work in science and the arts. Alchemy is a common theme in his bookwork. Daniel received formal training in chemistry and taught at the University of Minnesota and is known for his extensive knowledge of materials. Daniel teaches widely, and founded the Garage Annex School for Book Arts (GAS) in 1990. Most recently, with long-time collaborator Timothy Ely, Daniel co-delivered a lecture on The Alchemy of the Handmade Book at the Getty Center as a complement to the exhibition The Alchemy of Color in Medieval Manuscripts.

Rare Books is pleased to support the Book Arts Program with its collections.



“Decadence is sophistication severed from genuine feeling.”

Synesthesia
Terence K. McKenna (1946-2000)
New York City: Granary Books, 1992
N7433.4 M4285 S95 1992

Drawn and painted images by Timothy Ely. Typography and printing by Philip Gallo at The Hermetic Press. Paper is Rives BFK. Bookbinding by Daniel Kelm and staff, Wide Awake Garage. Edition of seventy five copies, twenty hors commerce. Rare Books copy is no. 47, signed by the author, printer and binder.



“I decide to go down the mountain to get a jar of fig sugar. The houses below feel very flimsy. I am greeted in one, by a cat that chases me barking like a dog back up the hill with an empty peanut butter jar.”

Venus Unbound
Jane Sherry
New York City: Granary Books, 1993
N7433.4 S418 V46 1993

The writer dreams. From the colophon: “The images were printed from metal plates made from the artist’s original paintings then treated with extensive hand-work: gouache, pen & ink, rubber stamps and collage…” Typography and printing by Philip Gallo at The Hermetic Press. Binding designed by Daniel Kelm. Box made by Jill Jevne. Edition of forty-one copies, eleven lettered. Rare Books copy is “A/P 2/2, signed by the author.



“The moon empties of light and is called new.”

Four Chambers, Five Nights
Greta Sibley
Easthampton, MA: Small Offerings Press, 1999
N7433.4 S5453 F68 1999

Text designed and composed by the author. Imagery created by Joseph A. Osina. Letterpress printed by Arthur Larson of Horton Tank Graphics. Binding and folders designed by Daniel E. Kelm at The Wide Awake Garage. Edition of twenty copies. Rare Books copy is no. 14.

— Photographs by Scott Beadles

 

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Cuentos — Students Respond

12 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by rarebooks in Courses

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agriculture, analytic tool, Anna Paseman, Annie Bonebrake, anti-Modernism, Antwerp, art, atlas, Austrian, Bartolomé de las Casas, Bear Flag Revolt, Belgian, Benito Juarez, binding, biography, book, broadsides, California, Cameron Dower, Camille Morgenstern, Carlos Ixta, cartas de poder, cartographer, cartoons, Catholic Church, Chihuahua, Chile, colonization, Communist Party, Dawson's Book Shop, dictionary, documents, Dylan Slavens, Edwin H. Carptenter, encyclopedia, English, European, Fernando Núñez de Guzmán, folletto, forests, France, Francisco de Aefferden, Francisco Laso, French, Gabriel Gonzalez Videla, Galician, Giovanni Paoli, Greek, handmade, heretic, history, Indian, indigenous, iPhone, Isabel Dulfano, Italian, Italy, Jacome Croberger, Jake Tilson, Josep Renau, Juan Pablos, Latin, leather, Leon de Castrón, literary analysis, literature, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, magazines, Manuel Castañares, maps, Marc Jackson, Marisol Padilla Fragosso, marriage, Marriott Library, Mexican Republic, Mexican-American War, Mexico, Mexico City, Miguel Martinez, miner's strike, missions, muralist, news, newspaper, notarization, Olivia Blithell, Pablo Neruda, pamphlet, Pedro Ocharte, persecution, philosophy, photographs, Pierre Laval, poetry, Portuguese, posters, power of attorney, primary sources, printing press, propaganda, protocols, proverbs, Pueblo, Radical Party, Rare Books Department, religion, rivers, saints, Salt Lake City, Shakespeare, signatures, sixteenth century, slave trade, Spanish, Spanish Inquisition, symbols, The University of Utah, theater, torture, Tosh Noskowski, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, twenty-first century, Urbano Gonzalez Serrano, Utah, Washington, Woolley Dale, WWII


Students from Introduction to Textual Analysis (SPAN3070-1), taught by Prof. Isabel Dulfano, met in the Rare Books Classroom three times Spring Semester 2018 to work with three different sets of books from the rare book collections. Themes were “Narración de cuentos: literatura, historia, viajes, biografía,” “Hojas de Lenguas Sueltas,” and “Decir la verdad.” In all, students worked with 74 first and early editions of histories, biographies, poetry, documents and periodicals from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first century. Each session included an assignment, culminating with a short, informal response to one of the books and the impact working with physical primary sources had on the student’s understanding of literary analysis.

Many thanks to the students who participated with such enthusiasm. We will always remember one early exclamation, “Best day of college ever!”


Muchos misterios están escondidos en la historia, from Cameron Dower


Entre los remedios q do fray Bartolome delas Casas…
Bartolomé de las Casas (1484-1566)
Fue impressa…en…Seuilla: en las casas de Jacome Croberger, Año de mill y quinientos cinquenta y dos años [1552]
F1411 C32

El 29 de marzo, tuvimos la oportunidad, como clase, a visitar a la colección de libros raros en la biblioteca Marriott. El poder tener en mano un libro publicado hace casi quinientos años es una experiencia extraordinaria. En esta ocasión analizamos libros del género de ensayo. La examinación del libro físico nos permite ir más allá en el análisis de la obra que simplemente leer el texto mismo. Yo me enfoqué en el libro del fray Bartolomé de las Casas. Bartolomé es una figura importantísima en la historia de la conquista de las Américas por España. Fue uno de las primeras voces para luchar contra el mal tratamiento de los indígenas por los conquistadores. En este libro, él expone sus razones por los cuales los indígenas merecen tener derechos sociales.

Esta copia del libro parece tener una historia muy particular. Al examinarlo, encuentro una inscripción en la segunda página detrás del título. La descifro como . ¿Quién fue este Alonso? ¿Cuándo vivió? La inscripción no nos dice, pero podemos encontrar algunas pistas acerca de la vida de Alonso. Como el libro fue escrito en una época en el cual pocos fueron letrados, Alonso probablemente tenía mucho dinero. También podemos ver que Alonso tenía un interés en la reforma social y la igualdad. Siguiendo el trabajo de investigación, encontramos la firma de Alonso debajo de la inscripción. Con la firma se encuentra un símbolo. Al seguir leyendo, vemos este símbolo en cada página derecha del libro hasta que termina después de la octava razón. ¿Por qué terminó de escribir el sello? Puede ser que se le acabó la tinta, o que perdió interés y dejó de leer, murió o cualquier otra razón. También vemos que debajo de la razón séptima, escribió de nuevo <razón séptima>. ¿Puede ser que la razón séptima fue el que le inspiró más o es que simplemente estaba practicando sus letras en el libro?

Muchos misterios están escondidos en la historia. La mayoría quizás no tienen respuesta. Sin embargo, sabemos que Alonso es un ejemplar de los que fueron afectados por los escritos de Bartolomé de las Casas.


A Connection to the Past, from Gardner Lange


Sixteen Century Mexican Broadside
Edwin H. Carpenter
Los Angeles: Dawson’s Book Shop, 1965
Z240.4 C37 1965

Giovanni Paoli was born near the turn of the sixteenth century in Northern Italy, but became known in Mexico as Juan Pablos, the founder of the first printing press in the Americas. Pablos ran the press until his death in 1563, at which time his son-in-law, Pedro Ocharte of France, took over its operation. Ocharte has garnered historical attention on account of his detention and torture at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. Ocharte was labeled a heretic after allegedly printing a book that questioned the necessity of praying to saints. After lengthy court proceedings, he was acquitted of the charges and eventually allowed to resume printing, which he did until his death in 1592.

I encountered a 1560 print by Pablos and a 1587 print by Ocharte at The University of Utah’s Marriott Library in the Rare Books Department. Both are cartas de poder, or in English, power of attorney, documents. These broadsides may not initially be as thrilling as religious protestations that resulted in persecution and torture, but they captivated me for several reasons. First, I work part-time as a filing clerk for a law firm in downtown Salt Lake City. Nearly every day I read, copy, deliver and file documents that resemble these two broadsides. Handling these documents allowed me to form a connection to the past through experiences that I am familiar with as a legal clerk and aspiring attorney. Second, a close inspection of the documents and their details reveals historical insights that are sure to interest history enthusiasts.

The documents begin with the same phrase, which in English amounts to: Let it be known that the following individuals are witnesses to the authenticity of this document. This is followed in both documents by beautiful signatures of several individuals. Then the printed portion resumes, detailing what powers the client is agreeing to give to his or her attorney.

Interestingly, at the end of these sections, there is more handwritten cursive before the final signatures and notarization. This suggests that the broadsides were generic copies, which could be amended to the liking of the particular client by adding more legal wordage afterwards by hand. Being individual, double-sided sheets may also indicate that these were used for record keeping and not likely bound in books nor widely circulated. Fortunately for the scholars of our day, the publisher of this volume compiled information about many similar broadsides and in 1965 distributed several of them in copies of a book that details some of their history.

One of the most interesting differences I discovered between the two is the mention of slaves as assets in the 1560 carta de poder, which is not found in the 1587 version. Literary analysis textbooks are replete with encouragement to consider the historical context of the works being studied, and if we apply that principle here, it should cause any who examine these documents to consider what changed in the intervening decades regarding slave trade and issues of equality that would cause such a change to standard legal procedure.


A Universal Cultural Appreciation, from Annie Bonebrake


Refranes o proverbios en romance…
Fernando Núñez de Guzmán (ca. 16th cent.)
En Madrid: Por Iuan de la Cuesta, a costa de Miguel Martinez, 1619
PN6490 N8

Refranes o Proverbios en Romance is an encyclopedia of sayings and proverbs in Spanish, Italian, Austrian, Galician, French, Portuguese, Latin, and Greek. The book begins with a Spanish prologue written by Leon de Castrón, the “Maestro Leo.” The sayings are categorized alphabetically with their language of origin noted on the left side of each phrase in old Spanish. Some examples of proverbs documented in the book include “A cafas viejas, puertas nuevas,” in Spanish; “Boire iu fques a la lye-Frances,” in French; and “Comendo holgando, comendo trabalhando,” in Portuguese.

The physical qualities of this book contribute to an understanding of the text’s historical past. The outward appearance of Refranes o Proverbios en Romance is dilapidated, fragile, and used. The parchment cover of the book is creased and wrinkled, and has completely dissociated from the spine of the book. Gently lifting the detached cover from the spine reveals the book’s handmade string bindings. Finally, the text in the book was clearly produced with a printing press, as each individual letter was stamped into the book with visible force. All of these elements contribute to an awareness of a universal cultural appreciation for didactic proverbs and sayings since the book has survived over 300 years and has ultimately landed in the rare book department of a major university.

When considering objects spanning centuries of history, the object’s past must be analyzed in addition to the concrete characteristics of that object. Additionally, in order to conduct a literary analysis of a book able to withstand hundreds of years, one must consider what kind of abstract influence that book has had on a society to determine the author’s purpose for that work. For example, as I conducted a literary analysis of Refranes o Proverbios en Romance I first had to brainstorm for the reasons an encyclopedia of phrases and proverbs might be valuable to western European societies before I could begin to analyze any detailed text within the book; understanding an author’s purpose for writing the book is essential for fully comprehending a book’s literary worth. I determined that Refranes o Proverbios en Romance is an important work because it provides a reference for thousands of famous sayings across various cultures, which are valuable because they are tools used to convey morals or lessons.

My experience with Refranes o Proverbios en Romance allowed me to practice comprehension of an author’s purpose for a work in the greater context of a society or history. Because Guzman’s encyclopedia of phrases is more like a dictionary than a narrative with a plot, the process of literary analysis of this work was more abstract than concrete. In other words, an inferred understanding as to why a book of proverbs might be valuable to a society was more necessary for my literary analysis than the ability to interpret literary devices.


El arte didáctica, el arte para enseñar, from Olivia Blithell


El atlas abreviado, o compendiosa geografia, del…
Francisco de Aefferden (1653-1709)
En Amberes: A costa de Francisco Laso, mercader de libros, enfrente de S. Phelipe el Real de Madrid, año 1711
Fourth edition

[This work] was published in 1711, two years after author Francisco de Aefferden (a Belgian cartographer) died, in Antwerp by a book merchant named Francisco Laso. It is a leather-bound pocket atlas containing descriptions of the world and very detailed, ornate maps that fold out. They depict bodies of water, rivers, forests, mountain ranges, common trails, and the names of places.

The maps for their time are extremely accurate, with distance scales and longitude and latitude indications on every map.

The pages crinkle when you turn them and you can smell the leather of the binding as you read the book. The reader can see the years in the leather — the binding is wearing thin. You can take a trip around the world, your mind can visit anywhere.

The reader can learn about “El Mundo Nuevo,”

then see all of the forests and mountains in “Alemania” — a glimpse into the past world.

We can see the signatures and notes of previous owners. The waves of their cursive from ink and quill contrast with the Old English-styled font of text. This little pocket atlas was their only tool to get from point “a” to point “b,” when traveling in strange and foreign lands. In today’s world, our pocket atlas is our iPhone, a pocket-sized computer. We have the world in our hands, a technology unimaginable in 1711.

We can see how the world has evolved since the 17th century, both physically and intellectually. There are large cities where forests used to be, some of the towns have changed their names, but many remain. Even though our world has changed, the past is still with us.

We can read the words in the text and see how the people of the day thought. The Spanish text is very beautiful, like Shakespeare. It is different from how today’s Spanish is spoken. It is more poetic and meant to teach, el arte didáctica, el arte para enseñar.


Es Algo Incredible, from James Smith


Reales ordenanzas para la dirección, régimen y gobierno del importante cuerpo de la minería de Nueva-España, y de su real tribunal general. De orden de su majestad
Madrid, 1783
First edition
KC729.5 M48 1783

Como sugiere su titulo, este el libro era hecho con el propósito de ayudar el país de España ministrar sus minerías. Para entender este libro es necesario que primero entendemos porque la industria minería era tan importante por España durante el 18º siglo. La minería de plata pagaba mucho y por eso los indignos de España estaban muy interesado de minarlo. Por la potencia que la minería tenia durante esta época Nueva-España dependía mucho en la minería y por eso creía este libro para introducir reglas de cómo la minería debería funcionar.

Es algo incredíble a pensar que este libro que era publicado en 1783 ha durado por mas que 200 años con las mismas paginas, tinta, y encuadernación. No hay muchas cosas que pueden perdurar por siglos, especialmente los libros. Pero el hecho de que este libro todavía esta en buena condición lleva un mensaje y entendimiento de la importancia de este libro sin abrirlo.

El libro tiene mas que 200 paginas que son separadas por “títulos” que parecen como capítulos. No era escrito por mano pero imprimió con maquina que es algo interesante porque era muy caro a imprimir. Este también refleja que el libro llevaba mucha importancia. Sin leer la primera pagina el lector puede saber que este libro no era hecho con el propósito de entretener, pero algo muy serio.

Si vemos la pagina 23, titulo II, dice “jueces de minas lo serán las respectivas justicias reales, conforme a las leyes de la recopilación de indas, en todo lo que por estas Ordenanzas no se cometiere a las diputaciones del cuerpo de minería.” Aunque Nueva-España era una monarquía usaban jueces y otros formes de gobierno. Si leemos esta articulo parece como una oración aburrida respecto a un tipo de trabajo. Pero realmente este articulo, junto con el resto del libro, contiene muchísima historia.

Para entender la verdadero sentido de esta oración es necesario que primero entendemos los políticos de España, la economía, y la importancia que la minería tenia en la país.


Another Level of Depth, from Owen Orchard


Diario de Mexico
Mexico City: Oficina de Don Mariano Jose de Zuniga y Ontiveros, 1805-1817
AP63 D5

We as a class were given the opportunity to visit the Marriott Library’s rare book collections where we could analyze and observe amazing works of Spanish literature dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries.

The piece that I gravitated towards most was Diario de Mexico. This journal began publication in 1805 and was the first daily news periodical in Mexico. It discussed philosophical, moral, and artistic issues, such as the function of theater. The articles were written by a diverse collection of authors, adding depth to the conversations.

The physical condition and layout of the periodical is impressive. The Rare Books set is bound in a leather cover of a date later than the publication, very much intact. The issues themselves have almost no tears or stains.

Each issue begins with a poem. Many of the articles go into great depth in ways perhaps unexpected by the 21st century reader and perhaps even in the 21st century. Examples include, “Cosas que incomodan en Mexico” and “Falibilidad del la Medicina.”

The opportunity to view and actually touch these works is incredible. When you feel and turn the pages of these books its a totally different experience than just hearing about them. You are able to see whether or not a book was printed or handwritten and also what material the book was made from. This adds so much to one’s literary analysis because you can make guesses as to why it was written on that material or why it was written in that way based off of the time period it came from.

All in all, being able to interact with these pieces in person added another level of depth to my analysis. By looking and touching, I discovered that these texts contain centuries of knowledge and insight as well as an infinite number of underlying details. I have very much enjoyed my time with the rare book collections and now have a vastly greater understanding and interest in this type of study.


The Need to Spread Word, from Anna Paseman


Colección de documentos relativos al departamento de Californias publicados por el ciudadano Manuel Castañares
Mexico: Imprenta de la Voz de Pueblo, 1845

As its title suggests, the text Colección de documentos relativos al departamento de Californias publicados por el ciudadano Manuel Castañares consists of a compilation of letters, speeches, and essays written by Manuel Castañares. Castañares served as one of California’s represetatives to Mexico’s National Congress during the mid-1840s, and his compositions touch on a number of important historical and literary subjects. The physical text itself, a thin, fragile, paper pamphlet, one of only 11 known to exist, exhibits its own literary significance.

Among the text’s central themes are descriptions of various aspects of the California territory, including its indigenous population, Spanish missions, ports, agricultural sectors, and the 1843 discovery of gold. The mention of the discovery of gold is particularly important because this text is believed to be the first pamphlet to document the discovery and mining of gold in California.

While the documentation of the discovery is interesting, Castañares’s relevant commentary is of greater interest. In various letters, he repeatedly voices concern that the Mexican federal government must proactively safeguard California, such that a foreign power does not take interest in, and devastate, its precious resources.

Castañares’s concerns regarding California’s abundant resources extends to his broader discussion of foreign intrusion into the territory, and the failure of the Mexican government to sufficiently attend to its security needs. Describing the daunting threat posed by the United States, in particular, Castañares writes, “El estado que hoy guarda la república, las tendencias y conatos de una nación vecina para continuar usurpando nuestro territorio, el carácter de invasión que manifiesta toda la prensa americana y nuestra inercia, me hacen temblar por la suerte de la república, si no se atienden nuestras fronteras, principalmente mi Departamento.”

The concern that Castañares expresses for unrest in California in 1845, and the assertive nature of the American government on its frontiers, is foreboding; the next year, 1846, California experienced the uprising known as the Bear Flag Revolt. The Mexican-American War followed, lasting from 1846-1848, and by early 1847 California officially came into the possession of the United States. In this sense, Castañares’s writings serve as a valuable tool for understanding the events leading up to the transfer of California from Mexican to American hands.

The relatively small and cheaply produced nature of the pamphlet likely indicates that it was meant to be portable and read by many. While it is difficult to know with certainty Castañares’s intention in publishing his writings, it is apparent that he felt the need to spread word of what he perceived as a threat, and perhaps, to raise concern among others such that the issue of foreign intrusion would gain attention, and the Mexican government would respond sufficiently. By handling the text, and accepting Castañares’s intentions as previously described, it is easy to imagine the serious political conversations that must have been happening in California during the 1840s, and the types of information that would have informed Mexicans on the state of the territory. Moreover, the text serves as an interesting reminder that California was not always a part of the United States, and that the history of American expansion is not necessarily one of peaceful acquisition.


Somewhere, At Some Time, Someone, from Carlos Ixta

[
Tratado de Paz, Amistad, limites y, arreglo
Mexico: Impr. De I. Cumplido, 1848
Second printing
E408 M62 1848


Treaty of peace, friendship, limits, and settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic: concluded at Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, and ratified, with the amendments, by the American Senate, March 10, also ratified by the Mexican Congress, May 25, 1848
Washington, 1848
E408 U583

The Spanish version of this text was printed months after the English edition of the text. I had the opportunity to be able to look at both of them and to compare and contrast the two. The history of these texts is very powerful to me. As a Mexican-American, I have always had a special interest in the events surrounding the American colonization of the U. S., as well as the Mexican-American war, and other historical events. Seeing, reading, and holding the texts in the rare books collection was a profound experience for me. I imagine being back in such a time, perhaps living in California — or even Utah for that matter — both of which were Mexican territories at one time. Then, after years of war, and thousands of deaths, to receive a really small book, perhaps not even suitable to be called a book, somewhat of a 2-page decree from either the Mexican Republic or the United States government stating that the land I’ve lived on my whole life suddenly belongs to a whole different government. How peculiar that must be! Many people had a hard time believing what had just happened and for this reason the Mexican government printed an edition of the peace treaty with an added forward which basically stated that it was true, that this is really happening, and the people must accept it.

As I sat there imagining what it must have been like or how strange an experience that is, it only added to the feeling to be able to hold physical copies of a books such as these. I realized, that these are originals, that somewhere, at some time, someone had helf up the exact copy that I was able to hold and that this really happened to them. Overall, it was an honorable experience to see these and many other books like these at university. There is definitely a difference in reading about the history of things like this in high school history class and being able to hold the actual books published at the time being studied.


Same Event, Two Different Books, Two Different Ways, from Dylan Slavens


Tratado de Paz, Amistad, limites y, arreglo
Mexico: Impr. De I. Cumplido, 1848
E408 M62 1848


Treaty of peace, Friendship, limits, and settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic: Concluded at Guadalupe Hildalgo, February 2, and ratified with the amendments, by the American Senate, March 10, also ratified by the Mexican Congress, May 25, 1848
Washington, 1848
E408 U55 1848

I had the opportunity to hold in my hands these two books during my visit to the Rare Books Department in The University of Utah’s Marriott Library. Although these two books were printed examples of The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the U.S. and Mexican governments, I observed many differences between the two. One of these books was written and published in Mexico while the other was written and published in the U.S.

One of the first differences I noticed about the two books was that the physical quality and appearance of the one printed in the U.S. was a lot better than the one from Mexico. The cover and the paper of the U.S. copy were all in a lot better condition. The Mexican copy seemed to be falling apart and the physical materials used to make the book seemed to be cheaper. The U.S. copy had many more pages than the one from Mexico, which surprised me because the Mexican version had both the Spanish and English translations on both sides of the pages.

Having physical contact with these two books helped me process and analyze the differences between the two much more easily. The U.S. copy was written more like a dialog and a journal while the Mexican copy seemed to be more straightforward and official.

The book from Mexico officially explained the protocols necessary for the conclusion of the treaty, including the amendments made to the treaty by the United States. In my short 45 minutes of analyzing and observing these two books I can see many differences not only physically but also literally between the two. Same event, two different books, two different ways of writing and presenting the information of what happened. It was such a unique experience of actually having and holding the two books in my hands.


Revealing Something A Glowing Wall of Text Never Could, from Marc Jackson


Gobierno general: Ministerio de justicia
Benito Juarez (1806-1872)
Chihuahua: 1859
KG3035 A5 1859

The newspaper article is gently held in place by a protective sleeve. Frayed edges and discoloration characterize its tattered face. When turning the pages it almost seems like they could split in two if one was careless. The irony is that this article’s pages were never meant to be turned carefully. The thin paper and poor condition reveal something a glowing wall of text never could. They reveal that this article was not written for royalty, politicians, or clergy but for the masses. The Mexican government printed this newspaper cheaply so it could be sent to as many people as possible. Knowing that the author, Benito Juarez, wrote Gobierno general for the public opens up a deeper analysis. Instead of simply setting up new laws concerning marriage, the purpose of the text becomes gaining public support for dramatic social changes. Instead of the verse-like statements representing legal language, they can represent scripture and therefore the fight Juarez pushed to lower the influence of the Catholic Church on the government. In other words, the purpose of the article is to incite social change and the theme is the replacement of Catholic doctrine with democratic law.

Without feeling the thin pages and physically interacting with the original work it would be much harder to conclude that the audience is the general public. If the reader only had the words themselves it’s likely they would conclude that Juarez only wrote it for lawyers. However, touching the original page transports the reader to 1859. A lawyer doesn’t hand over the newspaper, an excited Indian does. He talks about how much it means to him that an indigenous Mexican is representing him and that the government is openly talking about issues that until recently were taboo. This newspaper article proves that information essential to understanding literature is hidden everywhere the words aren’t, preserving words isn’t enough, the physical objects and their connection to the past must be preserved or our understanding of older texts might never dive beneath the surface.


Bound Together in Honor of Its Memory, from Marisol Padilla Fragosso


Madrid Comico
Madrid, 1885-1897?
AP111 M347

The book that caught my eye on my third visit to the Rare Books section of the Marriott Library, or as I and several of my classmates have called it, the “Restricted Area,” was Madrid Comico, “Comical Madrid” in English, a Spanish magazine published between 1880 and 1923. This magazine contained anti-Modernism propaganda and was full of humorous stories and comics, as the title implies. The issues in Rare Books have been bound together in what appears to be a binding contemporary to the time period of the magazine’s run. At some point, the owner of these issues had them bound together, giving the sense of a commemorative book. Who did this and why they did so is not known, however, it would be appropriate to guess that this book came to be because the magazine shut down in 1923, as if the issues were bound together in honor of its memory.

From all of my experiences and interactions in the Rare Books area, I have learned to appreciate books even more than I did before. Some of these books are centuries old and are in incredible condition, which is great for the reader because this means the text is legible instead of smudged, pages contain no significant rips or tears (if any), and no pages appear to be missing. This is important to the reader’s experience. There is no gap in the flow of the text, due to illegibility, a condition that might ruin the world of the reader and what the author had in mind.

When you touch a book that is over a hundred years old, you can’t help but feel awestruck and humbled; of course, precautionary measures are taken so that the oils in human skin don’t harm the books (that’s what the baby wipes are for) and you have to be gentle with the binding — opening, closing, and flipping through the pages gingerly. Another thing that I realized from my experience with these rare books, is that books truly are precious treasures: If they were not to be treasured, someone would not have taken the time to carefully preserve them in the best condition possible.

While holding these amazing books, I couldn’t help but apply textual analytic tools that I learned in my textbook for my Spanish class, Aproximaciones al estudio de la literatura hispánica, 6ª ed. The main tool that I used was looking at the Who, Where, When, Why, and How. Once you are able to answer these questions about a book, you are better able to understand the depth of the text and the author’s, as well as the publisher’s, vision for it. When I apply this tool to my analysis of texts, I feel as though I am tapping into the mind of the author and publisher, almost as if I was a profiler looking at a crime scene, figuring out who did it, when they did it, how it was done, and the motive behind the crime.


A Personality Distinct From All Others, from Tosh Noskowski


Siluetas: con retratos y…
Urbano Gonzalez Serrano (1848-1904)
Madrid: R. Serra, 1899
PQ6072 G6

Urbano Gonzalez Serrano was a literary critic as well as philosopher and professor. Siluetas is a compilation of brief biographies about various authors of his time.

Each biography begins with a picture of each author and a copy of something handwritten by him that includes a signature.

The book, in and of itself, is really small — it can fit in the palm of your hand. This makes is very approachable, as many large books can be intimidating and bring a sense of prestige with them. A small book makes the literary analysis easier because it does not give the impression of being above reproach.

Literary analysis can be augmented by being in physical contact with the book because it brings to light how the book was meant to be read, and can even help identify target audiences for the text. The size and weight of it may limit those who were meant to read it, which can be a key factor when analyzing aspects of a text.

The literary analysis tools focus on trying to understand the meaning and purpose of any given text. It can be approached via different questions and angles depending on the genre of the text, but seeing the books in person truly gives weight to these questions. It’s not just a bunch of words in a textbook any more, it gives purpose to what the literary analysis is trying to do. Simply analyzing a text on a screen or in a textbook doesn’t represent the work as it was meant to be. The physical form, age, and wear and tear of a work gives it a personality distinct from all others. From here, the analytic tools learned through a textbook can be applied in a much more meaningful way.


The Search for Truth, from Camille Morgenstern


González Videla, el laval de la America Latina: Breve biografía de un traidor
Mexico City, 1949
First edition
F3099 G6 N4

When perusing the rare texts around the themes of “ensayo” and “decir la verdad,” i.e. the search for truth, this folleto by Pablo Neruda caught my eye because of the interesting and rich historical context surrounding the piece, but also because of Neruda’s specific use of the book as a medium for disseminating his truth.

The folleto is presented as a collection of brief pieces in a wide range of genres, from poems to essays to letters to testimonies, all denouncing Gabriel González Videla. Neruda was, at the time, a Communist Party senator and member of the Communist Party of Chile. Videla was a presidential candidate representing the Radical Party and asked Neruda to be his campaign manager. Once in office, Videla turned against the Communist Party, violently repressing a Communist-led miner’s strike. Neruda disassociated from Videla, and began to publicly critique him in speeches, which carried over into the form of the folleto. In this text, Neruda compares González to Pierre Laval, prime minister of collaborationist France during German occupation in WWII.

What fascinated me most was Neruda’s use of the physical book to convey his truth. The book itself is very small and lightweight, facilitating the circulation and distribution of the text. The cover art, by renowned Spanish (and Communist) muralist Josep Renau, is strikingly bold, and is the only color found throughout the book. His use of strong imagery here mirrors the forceful tone of the texts inside, and his use of other images such as posters and photographs to supplement the vignettes strengthens his story and allows the book to reach a wider audience as well. The folleto contains a number of different essays in forms such as denouncements, poems, records, and more, with titles such as “El Complice de los Nazis,” “Violader de Convenios Internacionales,” and “El Traidor Contra su Pueblo,” presented together in a format resembling a newspaper. This method enhances the underlying argument that Neruda’s experiences are truth, and breaks the truth down into simple yet poignant terms.

Interacting with the physical form of the book was a much richer form of literary analysis because it provided another layer of understanding. By holding the form in which the text was intended to be absorbed, I was able to connect the text itself to the physical format and understand more clearly Neruda’s intentions behind creating the folleto in the way he did. Additionally, it connected me more closely to the historical context in general, because I was in contact with a tangible object from that time.


I Will Be Coming Back, from Cameron Dower


Excavator, Barcelona, Excavador
Jake Tilson (b. 1958)
London: Woolley Dale, 1986

During the time I had the opportunity to visit the Rare Books Department at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, I found some amazing books. One that really reached out to me was Excavator, Barcelona, Ecavador. This book has photographs and text. It was made from a clandestine pro-terrorist publication on police detecting methods. The chapters are as follows: 1-1 Burial attempt. 1-2 Immortal Man. 2-1 Horizontal Clock, Barrio Gatico. 2-2 Department of Correction. 3-1 How to Film a Panic. 3-2 Making Impressions Visible Again. 4-1 The Killing Jar. Thought provoking, no? Just the titles themselves make you want to take a second glance.

The cover has aspects of the world, people, secrets and color you would not normally find in modern day art, or in classical art.

Each picture contains answers to questions you want to ask. Slices of humans, places, world politics and personal views are riddled into the art. Tilson uses maps and locations in sections. The style seems almost crude. It has a very rough yet very thought-out look. It feels as if you could look at only one part of the painting and feel enraptured.

The text is in the art itself. It is rarely in a paragraph. Tilson adds poetry in and around the vivid yet vague images. This invokes an uneasiness in the reader. In only short verses Tilson alludes to politics, science, government and controversial social topics. As the reader turns the page, he fears that he will miss something important in each corner of the painting. Tilson uses symbols. The reader may see them in each of the photographic works. This reader found symbols of government, Egypt, cartography, cities, numbers, dials, clocks, measurements, footprints, fingerprints, hidden societies, and landmarks, all seeming to mean completely different things within the art. Within each piece and as a collection, there is tension and the suspicion that all have aspects in common, yet part of a puzzle — we don’t see the big picture…yet.

This was a fantastic experience and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the rare, the historical and the bizarre, an experience not the same as we have every day from mainstream media. Thank you. I will be coming back.


*Editor’s note: minimal changes of one form or another have been made to each of these short essays, reflecting a few minor corrections in spelling and punctuation, or in slight clarification of the text, or in reducing the text to fit the blog format.

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On Jon’s Desk: Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, A Celebration of Heritage on Pioneer Day

24 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by Jonathan Bingham in Book of the Week, On Jon's Desk

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1913, biographies, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Emery, Francis Lyman, Frank Esshom, Jon Bingham, Joseph Smith, Oregon, photographs, Pioneer Day, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, Salt Lake City, St. George, Utah, Utah Pioneers Book Publishing Company, Vernal, Weber, Yellowstone National Park

F825-E78-1913-SpineCover

Photograph by Scott Beadles

“The greatest inheritance of man is a posterity; the greatest inheritance of a posterity is a Christian Ancestry – that these greatest inheritances may live in record, this volume is issued.”

– From the Title Page of Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah

Title: Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah

Author: Frank Esshom

Published: Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Pioneers Book Publishing Company, 1913

Call Number: F825 E78 1913

First Edition

 

Happy Pioneer Day! What better way is there to celebrate Pioneer Day than to look at some photographs and biographies of the Utah pioneers themselves? Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah makes it easy to get an idea of who these pioneers were. Compiled by Frank Esshom over the course of six years, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah is a collection of 6,482 photographs and biographies published in an edition of 5,000 copies in 1913. In the preface, speaking on reasons why he is proud of the work, the author wrote, “… it will live as a memorial to those men whose deeds were rapidly being forgotten. The story of the leaders has been told repeatedly, but that of the rank and file, the ones who did the actual pioneering and building has not been told before. This will cause them to live on perpetually, and each succeeding generation will know their labors; their deeds will increase in miraculousness; their valor will be more greatly appreciated; their heroisms stand out unprecedented, showing the quality of the men who dared to turn their faces toward an unknown desert and to build homes, and an empire.” (page 11)

Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah is organized into three sections. The first section contains the photographs of the men profiled. The second section is comprised of their biographies, arranged alphabetically by the earliest male head of household by that name, followed by entries for his male descendants. The biographical entries typically list vital information, date of arrival in Utah, marriages and children, LDS church office held, occupation, and other information of interest. The third section includes a chronological history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the ancestry of Joseph Smith, Junior.

The two primary faults in this collection of biographies are that some of the records contain inaccuracies (no source data is included) and that there were approximately 70,000 pioneers – meaning this work contains only about ten percent of them. Many of those were, of course, women, who probably lost husbands or fathers along the way. Many stories of the “rank and file” who actually did most of the pioneering and building did, even after this book’s publication, go untold.

But let’s not be too hard on Esshom’s work. Despite its lack of completeness, what was gathered and published was actually quite extraordinary under the constraints of the time it was compiled. Describing the process used to gather the information for this book the author wrote,

“After a year of gathering material and data in Salt Lake City, a year was spent in Weber and Utah counties in the same quest. Then a thorough search was started, as a beginning to the end; the Bishop of every ward from Yellowstone National Park and Upper Oregon on the north and northwest to Vernal, Emery and St. George on the south and southeast in Utah, was visited. … [the bishop] gratuitously furnished the author with the names of the Pioneers who had died in his ward, and the names of their representative male descendants, also the names of the Pioneers who were living in his ward and the names of their representative male descendants. … After this organization was perfected, the author, assisted by a corps of solicitors visited each house in every ward in all of the stakes in the territory above mentioned, where a Pioneer or the descendant of a Pioneer lived as given by the Bishop of the ward, or could be secured from inquiry, and gathered the portraits and genealogies as complete as it was possible to so do, and arranged for the information unobtainable at that time to be sent to him. The gathering of this data, which could be acquired in no other manner, probably required more than fifty thousand calls, the assistance of every photographer in the territory, [and] the traveling of thousands of miles, which was made over every kind of roads in all kinds of weather, and by every mode of conveyance.” (page 11)

It is no wonder the preface for Francis Marion Lyman points out that, “In nineteen hundred and eight, after a year’s labor gathering data for the Pioneers’ history, the vastness of the undertaking dawned upon its promoters and depressed them to almost stupidness.” (page 6)

It’s a miracle we have what we have in this one volume of Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah. So grab your favorite cast iron cooking device, fry some flatbread, and discuss your pioneer heritage with the family on this Pioneer Day. Then come check out Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah and see how close Frank Esshom got with the records of your pioneer ancestors. It’s fun for every pioneer-heritaged family.

~ Contributed by Jon Bingham, Rare Books Curator

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“The Books Opened My Eyes to New Possibilities:” A Visit From Utah State University Students

31 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Uncategorized

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accordion format, al-Mutanabbi Street, Anagram Press, Baghdad, Berkeley, book arts, Book Arts Guild, Book Arts Program Studio, bookseller, Cal Ling, calico, Chandler O'Leary, Christina Kemp, collage, Connecticut, consitiution, copper, Denisse Gackstetter, Diano Bertolo, Fingin Furi, Flying Fish Press, Gampi Smooth, Giovanni Forlino, glass negatives, Granary Books, handmade paper, Heather Weston, Hermetic Press, High Falls, Iraq, Japanese, Jessica Spring, Jim Machacek, John Yau, Julie Chen, Katsushika Hokusai, Kincami, Kristen Reyes, Kyoto, letterpress, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathon Rhea, Logan, London, Marriott Library, Matt Jones, Mauree Cummins, Max Gimblett, Mount Fuji, Mt. Rainier, New York, non-adhesive binding, Philip Galo, Philippine Banana Bark, photographs, photography, rare books, Revolutionary War, Rumi, Sarah Christianson, schizophrenia, Sibyl Rubottom, spiral bound, Springtide Press, Steve Clay, strait jacket, stratovolcano, Sunomi, Susan Mills, Tacobet, Tacoma, Tacoma Artists Initiative Program, Tacoma Arts Commission, Tahoma, Tairei, Tamashiki, Tao Te Ching, triptych, typography, United States, University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library, Utah State University, Washington, watercolor, Weir Farm, Wilton, woodblock prints, wrapper, Yuzen

P1060569

“It was nice being able to get lost in someone’s work and to look at books in a way that I never have before. Being able to actually hold and handle the books teaches us many things. ”

Early in the cold, wet month of February, students from Utah State University made the perilous journey from Logan to the Marriott Library to visit Rare Books. Professor Denisse Gackstetter brought her Introduction to Book Arts class for a tour of the Book Arts Program Studio, after which the students spent two hours looking at forty of our books.

Prof. Gackstetter asked her student’s to respond to their visit. Here is some of what they saw and what they had to say about it.

PS3575-A9-B66-2012-spread
THE BOOK OF THE ANONYMOUS
John Yau (b. 1950) and Max Gimblett (b. 1935)
New York: Granary Books, 2012
PS3575 A9 B66 2012

John Yau wrote this poem in 2009 in response to several translations of the “Tao Te Ching” given to him by Max Gimblett. In response to Yau’s manuscript, Gimblett created a series of more than one hundred drawings and collages incorporating rare and unusual handmade papers from around the world. This publication contains the twenty-four part poem and twelve of the illustrations. An original ink drawing by Gimblett in black ink on silver is on the cover of each copy. Produced by Diane Bertolo, Steve Clay [founder and owner of Granary Press] and Susan Mills. Typography is by Steve Clay, the binding by Susan Mills. Philip Galo letterpress printed the text and images on double leaves at the Hermetic Press. The collages incorporate gold-leaf, photography, photocopy and drawing. The collages were made at Max Gimblett’s studio with assistance from Matt Jones, Giovanni Forlino and Kristen Reyes. The papers used include Kincami black, Cal Ling autumn, Tamashiki orange, Kingin Furi tan, Sunomi silver, Sunomi kraft, Yuzen cream, Kyoto M25 white, Tairei #1 white, Philippine Banana Bark alabaster and Gampi Smooth 43. Bound in black board covers, open spine with exposed stitching, a non-adhesive binding. Folded and coupled, the pages are gathered together and sewn to cloth-backed boards. Housed in handmade silver cloth-covered clamshell box with spine label. Edition of thirty-three copies, signed by the poet and the artist.

“The Book of the Anonymous by John Yau made the greatest impression upon me. I remember specifically pondering how the images or lack thereof contributed to the concept. I was intrigued by the questions Yau asked the reader, and I was inspired to read more into them by the beautiful pages and illustrations. The form made me want to understand the content.”

“The paper has lots of fiber and shimmer in it. One of the pages has string in the paper. The contrast in texture is very dramatic.”

“I can’t remember the imagery or the poem in that book because the handmade papers are so beautiful I could not stop looking at them. The pages were assembled in an interesting way where the two sheets of paper would sort of pocket-fold into each other. This gave the pages a very thick and substantial feel when turning them.”


N7433.4-W467-B56-2000-WrapN7433.4-W467-B56-2000-spread
BINDING ANALYSIS: DOUBLE BIND
Heather Weston
London: Heather Weston, 2000
N7433.4 W467 B56 2000

Author and artist Heather Weston holds a degree in Book Arts and works in the mental health profession. She uses the book form to explore both emotional experience and psychological structure. In this context she explores the inextricable link between form and content. Here, book structure says something about the experience of schizophrenia that text alone could not. The book is double spiral bound at right and left edges with the pages splitting down the center. Four separate narratives – one pictorial, two textual, and one structural – unravel concurrently. A calico wrapper, with a padded but rigid back panel gives the floppy book the firm containment of a strait jacket.

“I thoroughly enjoyed Binding Analysis: Double Bind by Heather Weston. Weston uses French doors to present an analysis of a schizophrenia patient through the recordings of a medical care provider. I only became aware of the patient’s recorded words, on the backside of the structure, midway through the book. The form informed me about the concept.”


N7433.4-C853-G46-2003-cover
GHOST DIARY
Maureen Cummins
High Falls, NY: M. Cummins, 2003
N7433.4 C853 G46 2003

From the colophon: “…[B]ased on a handwritten letter discovered by the artist in the archive of Weir Farm in Wilton, Connecticut, during a residency in the spring of 2001. The letter was written in 1807 by a former Revolutionary War officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathon Rhea, to his children on the anniversary of his wife’s death. The [5] images that accompany the text are original vintage glass negatives that date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.” Glass panels hinged in accordion format. Issued in collapsible black box with a tie string. Edition of twenty-five copies. University of Utah copy is lettered and signed by the artist.

“It uses a simple accordion structure, but utilizes it in an inventive way. The panels are see-through which coincides with its subject matter. A wonderful example of form and content informing each other.”


N7433.4-O45-L63-2010
LOCAL CONDITIONS: ONE HUNDRED VIEWS OF MT.…
Chandler O’Leary
Tacoma, WA: Anagram Press, 2012?

From the colophon: “Illustrated, designed, printed and bound by Chandler O’Leary, through freak snowstorms, record heat, and a thousand gentle rains in Tacoma, Washington. Each of the book’s 120 image flats is illustrated and compiled from sketches, photographs and data collected in person, on location, from September 2008 to October 2010. All text and images were letterpress printed in Hokusai’s indigo ink, down the street at Springtide Press. Images and topographic map patterns are hand-drawn and water-colored. For making it possible to turn this crazy idea into an even crazier reality, many heartfelt thanks to [the Tailor*], Jessica Spring, [Zooey*], Sarah Christianson, the Tacoma Arts Commission, the University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library, and the Book Arts Guild. Thanks also to the weather, for always, despite a notorious reputation, seeming to hold just long enough for me to grab the camera and jump in the car. Produced with the support of a Tacoma Artists Initiative Program grant from the City of Tacoma Arts Commission…Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1759-1849) is perhaps best known for his seminal works, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji. The two series of woodblock prints, published from 1829 to circa 1847, depict the sacred peak within the context of landscapes and scenes of daily life. At the heart of the series is Hokusai’s own obsession with immortality, and his fascination with Fuji’s eternal presence. Therein lies the rub: Fuji is anything but eternal. Beyond the usual, abstract geologic transience of eroding rock and drifting continents, Fuji is an active stratovolcano. Its days – and those of the lives and lands at its base – are numbered. Here in Washington state, just forty miles southeast of my home, lies Fuji’s taller, more volatile, American twin. Variously named Tacobet, Tahoma, and Ti’Swaq’, amont others, by the region’s indigenous peoples, or simply “The Mountain” by contemporary locals – its most arbitrary…”

“What left the greatest impression on me was the box with different scenic areas layered upon one another. It made me want to go home and create one of my own. The intricate images mixed with the soft pastels are gorgeous. I think it is interesting that the viewer is able to arrange the book how they please. The book is really their own story to tell.”

“This book intrigued me. It is so different from a normal book, and so unconventional, it inspired me to think more outside the box.”

“I like the three-dimensional aspect.”

“This book has three drawers to pull out and a ton of different different pieces of scenery. I love how I could mix and match the different scenes. There were so many possibilities to create. I liked the facts that I learned about Mt. Rainier, as well. I could have read and played with this book for hours.”


N7433.4-C44-M46-2012-coverN7433.4-C44-M46-2012-open
MEMENTO
Julie Chen
Berkeley, CA: Flying Fish Press, 2012
N7433.4 C44 M46 2012

From the colophon: “The text that appears on the woven token in triptych was taken from the preambles to the constitutions of the United States and Iraq. The image that surrounds the token is of a bookseller’s stall on Al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad prior to the bombing in 2007, and is used by permission of the Al-Mutanabbi Street coalition.” Letterpress printed. Designed by Julie Chen. Copper locket fabricated by Christina Kemp, based on a design by Julie Chen. Edition of fifty copies. University of Utah copy is no. 43, signed by the artist.

“Blew my mind.”


N7433.4-R73-N49-2000-Open
NEW RULE: A POEM BY RUMI
Sibyl Rubottom and Jim Machacek
San Diego, CA: Bay Park Press, 2000
N7433.4 R73 N49 2000

A flecked, navy wrapper is folded in three, housing the primary sheet which is, in turn, folded into three, unequal sections. Letterpress from Bodoni and Times Roman on Fabriano Rosaspina Bianco and Fox River Confetti wrapper. Images created using polymer plates, monotypes, linocut, and screen printing. Edition of forty-five copies. University of Utah copy is no. 19.

“Looking at New Rule helped my own making for my next project. It is a good example of a poem in a book, without lots of pages, but with a creative structure. I like how it hides the colophon inside the back cover by folding inward.”


N7433.4-C414-C66-2013-spread
CONVERSION: (A CONVERSATION TOLD IN SYMBOLS)
Macy Chadwick
Portland, OR: In Cahoots Press, 2013
N7433.4 C414 C66 2013

A sequential, narrative story with abstract imagery and no text, a conversation using only symbols. From the artist’s website: “…a two-person conversation using a vocabulary of stencils and hand-drawn symbols shown in a key. What is said and what is thought, works spoken in a jumble without stopping, a rational response and an activated imagination are all carefully plotted and diagrammed. Two different communication styles clash, merge, and ultimately influence each other as one person finally speaks her mind.” Mulberry paper, Micron pens, book cloth, pochoir. Edition of five copies.

“This book was assembled very simply, hand drawn on a single sheet of mulberry paper and folded into a book with a thin book cloth cover. What really pulled me into this one was the concept behind it. The artist took the words out of a conversation and replaced them with symbols to show the structure of a conversation. It made me see that as an artist we don’t have to ‘write the story’ our viewers see, we can create a scaffolding of an idea that gets filled in with what the viewer has already experienced. It was very powerful. The book is a great vessel for this concept because it is such a personal experience turning the pages, touching the conversation with my own fingers. I learned a lot from that small book and from this whole experience.”

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Photographs of books by Scott Beadles.
Photographs of readers by Dennise Gackstetter. Thanks, Dennise!

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Book of the week — How long?

29 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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beading, concertina, embroidery, flag book, Library of Congress, Minna Morse, Oregon Historical Society, photographs, postage stamps, quilting, Sande James-Wascher, Smith College, Sophia Smith Collection, suffrage, The Smithsonian, University of Utah, vote, women

N7433.4-w38-H69-1993-spread

HOW LONG?
Sande James-Wascher
Renton, WA: Wascher-James, 1993
N7433.4 W38 H69 1993

Women’s struggle for the vote through text, photographs, and quilt block. Text inspired by an article on women’s suffrage by Minna Morse in The Smithsonian, 1993.

From the artist’s statement: “I choose to create what I feel will be beautiful and bring pleasure. That does not preclude having a powerful message…Most of my work is done with what might be considered ‘women’s work’: embroidery, quilting, beading, etc. I do this intentionally to show that there is merit and power in these techniques and because I enjoy working this way…The book formats I use allow me to do pieces that are sculptural with strong visual images as well as written components…”

Photographs from the Library of Congress, Oregon Historical Society, Smithsonian, and Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College. Flag book bound in concertina style, opening to reveal twenty-one card leaves in three horizontal rows, each leaf with text/printed photograph on one side and illustration of a postage stamp on a ground of printed patchwork on the other. Boards of printed patchwork with floral lilac fabric border. Edition of one hundred and twenty-five copies. University of Utah copy is no. 45, signed by the author.

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Book of the Week – DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON

05 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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bullfight, bullfighting, Charles Scribner's Sons, Death in the Afternoon, Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), Great Depression, John Dos Passos, Juan Gris, London, Max Eastman, New York, New Yorker, photographs, Roberto Domingo, Spain, The New York Herald, The Sun Also Rises, Toros


DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
New York and London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1932
First edition, first issue
GV1107 H4 1932

Hemingway’s fascination with Spain and bullfighting, first reflected in 1926 in the novel The Sun Also Rises, was further developed in the classic Death in the Afternoon. Hemingway viewed the sport as a tragic, artistic spectacle, “…the only art in which the artist is in danger of death.”  This non-fiction account of bullfighting was the object of mixed reviews at the time of publication. John Dos Passos called the book “an absolute model for how that sort of thing ought to be done,” and a review in The New York Herald said it was “full of the vigor and forthrightness of the author’s personality, his humor, his strong opinions – and language…In short,…the essence of Hemingway.” However, the New Yorker called it an act of professional suicide by a successful novelist. Max Eastman, a year later, said it was full of “sentimentalizing over a rather lamentable practice of the culture of Spain” and suggested something in the author less than manly, “a literary style of wearing false hair on the chest.” Hemingway began writing Death in late 1930. Between then and publication he spent a summer in Spain to gather photographs for the book. In all, he collected four hundred of them, although only eighty-one of them appeared in the finished product. Hemingway wrote of the bullfight, “[it] encompasses mass culture; and fine art; and its audience includes highbrow and lowbrow alike.” Published during the Great Depression, sales were hardly what they had been for his fiction. With brightly-colored frontispiece of “The Bullfigher” by cubist Juan Gris and numerous bullfighting photographs. First issue with Scribner’s “A” on copyright page and original dust jacket with full-color painting “Toros” by Roberto Domingo.

alluNeedSingleLine

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