Anon

2008 · 48605 — London.: Susan Allix. 2008. Full burgundy crushed morocco excised sections with curvilinear edges reveal a checkerboard pattern of gilt pink and café crème paper front board with three applied sections of white paper with monochrome drawings and four colour paintings see below mounted to squares or rectangles of burgundy crushed morocco with magnetic fastenings single painting mounted to rectangle of burgundy morocco affixed to centre of rear board smooth spine with tooled title in black cream handmade patterned paper doublures bronze free endpapers burgundy velvet-lined oatmeal drop-back box with morocco label to spine with title in black. Folio. 290 x 230 mm. Printed text in various types and illustration in various media all on various paper stock in various formats final leaf with justification and colophon. The édition de tête in the deluxe magnetic binding of one of Susan Allix's most extraordinary inventive capricious and whimsical artist books.From the edition limited to 24 numbered copies signed and numbered by Allix in pencil with this one of 8 from the édition de tête in the deluxe binding.Allix's detail regarding the book taken from the colophon is instructive: 'Authors: old or unknown. / Typefaces: various but including Grotesque Gill Granby and Gallia with Caslon ENgravers Roman & altered and un-altered wood letter. / Papers: various including Arches Somerset Zerkall. / Printing: by hand by letterpress; with new intaglio plates and lino-cuts and old printer's blocks.'Also included inserted loose is the prospectus for the book a sheet folded in three 210 x 98 mm folded with printed text recto only together with the price list which also gives detail of the price for 'Pagoda Memories'. 'On a nonsensical scale this book is not deeply nonsensical. It looks like a book; it has pages that turn conventionally and its contents are not gibberish. Most of the words have been around for many years some so long their authors have been forgotten. But they are set in a variety of arrangements using more typefaces than are usually expected in one book. There is a new piece of punctuation I invented some woodletter I altered and some old printers' blocks reprinted . The initial idea . was for the reader to be able to do more than turn the pages; to be able to move or change images. Small pictures on the binding would be turned or re-located over others by the use of magnets. As the results of this were not intended to be serious they would be accompanied by some nonsensical words . The different sizes shapes and tones of the various papers used sustain a vitality in the flow of pages while the limited colour scheme of terracotta red and cream unifies the collection of odd puzzling or humorous verses and extracts.' From Susan Allix's text from the prospectus for the book. (Susan Allix). unknown