Search Results: Titles starting with U from Swan's Fine Books

[Octon, France]: Verdigris, 2008. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Rothchild, Judith. Number 6 of 10 de luxe editions (total edition 50), oblong octavo size, [14] pp., signed by the artist and author, text in French. Frederic Jacques Temple (b. 1921), French poet and author, decided to pursue writing as a career following a meeting with Blaise Cendrars in 1949. This work by him is a collection of memories of the Aveyron River and surrounding area from childhood; his early memories influenced much of his work, including "L'Enclos" which celebrated the "mythical" city of Montpelier where he attended the college of the Enclos Saint-Francois. The accompanying intaglio prints by Judith Rothchild are a combination of mezzotint and dry point techniques for which she is well known, with the type enjambed to lengthen the ripples of the riverbanks which extend borderless across double-page spreads; thus each page flows seamlessly into the next like the bends of a river. The words like the ripples and river… Read More

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1895. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Frost, A. B.. No. 233 of 250 copies, octavo size, 289 pp., signed at the Preface by Joel Chandler Harris. The stories told by Joel Chandler Harris' (1848-1908) character Uncle Remus feature the popular Brer Rabbit from African-American folklore, a trickster character who lives by his wits. This limited edition of Harris' book is copiously illustrated by Arthur Burdett Frost (1851-1928), a prolific American illustrator and cartoonist, who for many years drew for "Harper's" and "Life" magazines; here he creates eleven exquisitely rendered black-and-white plates and countless line drawings of the animal characters that populate the book. Gorgeously bound in white parchment-like paper with gilt illustrations and lettering, the book also contains a new Preface by Harris commending Frost on his illustrations, writing ". . .you have taken it under you hand. . .The book was mine, but now you have made it yours."… Read More

New York: The Macmillan Company (Printed in Great Britain by R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh), 1940. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/very good. Leighton, Clare. The first US edition with illustrations by Clare Leighton, quarto size, 248 pp., in the original dust jacket, signed by Clare Leighton, and with TLS also signed by Leighton. Clare Veronica Hope Leighton (1899-1989) was an English author and wood engraver. "Convinced that wood-engraving was an art for the masses rather than for an élite, Leighton worked independently of the private presses. Her popular success was founded on a disciplined technique, powerful compositions, and a gravity of content and sincerity of feeling that derives from artists such as Samuel Palmer. 'No one in our time', wrote Eric Gill in Gollancz's publicity leaflet for 'The Farmer's Year', 'has succeeded better in presenting the nobility of massiveness and breadth of life of the earth on a scale so grand.' The artist herself, who possessed a gift for friendship… Read More

New York / Boston: Duell, Sloan and Pearce / Little, Brown and Company, 1953. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/near fine. Gorey, Edward. First printing of Gorey's first book, duodecimo size, 64 pp., signed by Edward Gorey. "The Unstrung Harp has the distinction of being virtually the only Gorey book where the written word is as lengthy as the illustrations are detailed. It is said that you should write about that which is familiar to you, and Mr. Gorey did just that in this book." Often referred to as "a small masterpiece", "The Unstrung Harp" is clearly an autobiographical work and offers insights into his creative process in a manner which draws the reader both into the work itself and into the mind of Edward Gorey. Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000) is well-known and well-loved for his poisonously funny picture books which are complex, humorous, serious, and provocative. However, this book, his first published work, may be a bit different than many Gorey fans might expect; he was still… Read More