Friday, April 9, 2010

Prints à la poupée

A colorful engraving of a bird with a long neck and legs.Poetry by Hughes, Engravings by Baskin, Work by Gehenna, Wow. Oh, and learn about à la poupée prints all at the same time.

"A book of twenty new poems by Ted Hughes & twenty-five engravings by Leonard Baskin. The poems will not be reprinted in the poet's lifetime. Capriccio is conceived on a grand scale, it is a large folio, & pleases in harmonious deployment of illustration & type. These poems are revelatory of the human condition & represent England's Poet Laureate at his most powerfully convincing. The poems probe at reality with characteristic intensity."

A colorful engraving of several grotesque faces enclosed within a diamond.So reads the prospectus from Gehenna Press anticipating the publication of Capriccio in the Spring of 1990.

A wonderful work to see and feel directly.

Ask for Rauner Presses G274huc

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Revolution made sweet...

A cover for "Album de la Revolucion Cubana."Cia. Industrial Empacadora de Dulces, S. A., as part of an advertising campaign for canned fruit, offered a premium with each purchase: individual, illustrated, and numbered cards depicting Cuban revolutionary history. They also provided a book with individual places to paste each of the 268 numbered cards. Below the spaces were brief captions of the events depicted. Three additional cards depicting flags for distinct revolutionary movements in Cuba were also provided to be pasted on the inside front cover. Quotes from Fidel Castro are printed on the inside back cover.

A series of color illustrations, some violent, with accompanying text.The advertising campaign was probably started around 1960. The publication is from Havana.

A color advertisement for canned fruit.Is this truly propaganda for a post-revolutionary society based on communist principles? Is this a children's illustrated book? Would most individuals acquiring these cards be capable readers of history? Look at the back cover. What exactly were local consumers being sold?

An interesting book artifact, unsettling in the visual depictions paired with sweet desserts.....

Ask for Rauner Rare Book F1781.5