Daidalos

Hamburg: Hirundo Press, 2000. First and Limited Edition. Original wraps. Fine. Saltzwedel, Caroline. Deluxe version of only 20 copies, this no. 8, folio size, text volume 14 pp., signed by both Kevin Perryman and Caroline Saltzwedel, text in German, etchings unbound, each signed and numbered by Caroline Saltzwedel. Caroline Saltzwedel, born in England, has lived in Hamburg since 1995 as a graphic artist and painter. She studied German at the Universities of Durham, Oxford and Bonn, and printed graphics at the Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford. In 1998 she founded the Hirundo Press for artists' books in small editions; her works are in numerous public and private collections including the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, the British Library, the Bodleian Library, Stanford University, and the Widener Library (Harvard) among many others.

Saltzwedel's works are often paired with original, new works of poetry or are based on mythological figures - this work, "Daidalos", allows the viewer to trace the path of Daedalus and Icarus on their legendary flight from Crete to Sicily. The etchings for this edition convey a ethereal sense of travel and distance, archaic movements created by the bite of acid on the metal plate, beautifully in tune to the poetry of Kevin Perryman; in this third artist's book by the Hirundo Press, Perryman creates a series of poems that document a passage of time as well as distance, a journey that the viewer undertakes alongside this Greek myth.

The prior owner obtained this copy directly from Caroline Saltzwedel during Codex, a book arts fair held in Richmond, California.

___DESCRIPTION: This work is comprised of, first, the poems by Kevin Perryman, in German, softbound and hand-sewn, with an original woodcut on the wrapper; loosely laid in at the front is the small (image approximately 4" by 6" on paper approximately 8" by 11.5") etching guarded by tissue; Van Dijck Antiqua type, folio size (12.5" by 8.25"), unpaginated with eight leaves, numbered VIII of XX copies (a total of 160 copies were produced), signed by Kevin Perryman and Caroline Saltzwedel on the colophon; the book fits into a pocket mounted onto the left-hand side of the box.

The second component of this work is seven full-page three-colour etchings by Saltzwedel, introduced by a single leaf, folded once, which serves as title and colophon pages to the etchings; the colophon page and each of the seven etchings are numbered "VIII/XX" and signed by Saltzwedel, each etching is also titled by her, all in pencil, each with a tissue guard. The images are approximately 7.5" by 9.75" on Moulin de Gue paper that is approximately 11.25" by 15", and are loosely laid into the right-hand side of the box; of this deluxe version, only 20 copies were produced. All housed in a clamshell box covered in dark-blue cloth, with a two-colour woodcut inset and title blind-embossed on the front board, title in blind on the spine.

___CONDITION: The softbound volume and etchings are fine, the softcover volume with strong hinges and no edge wear, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; the etchings are clean with bright colours, without edge wear. The clamshell box is fine, strong and sturdy, clean but for a very few stray marks, without wear.

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