Designating Duet
[Newark, VT]: Janus Press, 1989. Cloth. Very Good binding. Item #11003
7-5/8" x 7-5/8." [18] pp. Limited edition, number 12 of 175 copies. Signed by McPherson, Van Vliet, and the host of contributing artists. Bound in printed cloth over boards with a removable paper spine allowing the book to be expanded out accordion-style; in publisher's clamshell box. An exceptional copy in a very nice clamshell but for some minor staining to the front panel.
The front cover recalls a quilt, with printed with squares and diamonds within a solid border; the rear cover is the same design but with different colors. To open the book, one gets the echo of the geometric construction of a quilt but without any predictability. Each leaf is cut out in different and random shapes; and the colors are as variable as the shapes. An innovative structure (a calling card for Van Vliet's Janus Press), this is a delightful and unexpected book that can be leafed through or, if the removable printed spine is pulled out from where it slots into the boards, it can be expanded in accordion fashion. Fine. The Janus Press 1981-1990, p. 23, 42.
Price: $300.00