a small collection of items given by Tom Ockerse to Massimo Vignelli by Ockerse, Tom - 1969/1982: The A-Z Book / TIME: a documentracing by thomas ockerse / DE-SIGN poster / a TLS

1. Ockerse, Thomas

The A-Z Book

New York: Colorcraft-Brussel Publishing, 1969.

Square folio, title page + 48 pages alternating white and black pages on heavy stock with numerous cut-outs. Stiff printed wrappers. In original black box with printed title on top. All for edges of box torn.

- First edition. With red TOE rubber stamp at the bottom of first page. "This book, first produced in 1965 as a limited edition of 25 silkscreened copies, uses die-cuts pages to offers an unfolding experience of concrete poetry from its letters revealed out of new relationships. Consequently the book became a natural part in numerous international exhibitions on "concrete poetry" and "bookworks." Colorcraft-Brussel Publishing Company (CBPC*) reproduced and boxed an exact copy of the original book for an unnumbered offset edition. It won the AIGA's 50 Best Books Award in 1971. This unnumbered edition by CBPC (Lib. of Congress Card Nr: 74-101307), has fifty pages, 28 x 28 cm., printed black on white Mohawk Superfine stock, bound with a plastic comb binder."

2. Ockerse Thomas

TIME: a documentracing by thomas ockerse

Providence: Tom Ockerse edition, 1973.

Octavo, un paginated, (120 pages), illustrated throughout. Illustrated front wrapper.

- First edition One of 1000 numbered copies. This copy inscribed by Ockerse to Massimo Vignelli: "To Massimo, and semiotics of the visual ! Tom'

"documentracing has to do with the documenting of a real time/space event or object (television, printed matter, etc.) through the collecting of fragments (tracings) in a programmed manner. the gamelike process of confronting the programme's constraints with the selection of images has a true life of it's own in that it forces constant change in the chance juxtaposition of symbols. The traced words and images (semiotic) of a verbivisual quality...

...time is a result from duocumentracing the 29 october 1973 issue of time magazine..." quote from small

3. DE-SIGN poster (91 x 28 cm) published on the occasion of the Graphic Design Summer Workshop, presented by the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, in the summer (June 18 – July 27) of 1973.

Providence: TOE (tom ockerse editions), 1973.

- First edition. Inscribed on the rear by Tom Ockerse: "Massimo, this just for the fun. T." The poster prints a statement about design with quotes by Martin Pawley and Robert Venturi. Includes list of faculty members: Thomas Ockerse (being the Full-time Director and Professor of graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design) , Robert Eberle, Kenneth Hiebert, Frank Volpitta, Ron Beckman, John Benson, Tom Geismar, Michael Graves, Malcolm Grear, Heiner Jacob, Constantine Karalis, Toshihiro Katayama, Aaron Marcus, Dietmar Winkler and Richard Wurman. Furthermore more practical information "Admission + Eligibility", "location and Housing"… + two attached application forms.

4. a TLS + addressed envelope with letterhead of the Rhode Island School of Design, dated January 21, 1982 in which Ockerse refers to a recent meeting he and with Massimo Vignelli and writes plans about a summer/seminar workshop. The last line in this letter "Enclosed a couple of mementos for your collection", signed in pen Tom.