The Cumberlands: Excerpts from Articles on the Region
Monterey, KY: Larkspur Press, 2006. Full Leather. Fine binding. Item #9573
Octavo. [4], 36, [4] pp. Limited edition, number 9 of 75 copies on Somerset Book paper (there was also an edition of 500 regular copies). Signed by Wendell Berry at the colophon; additionally noted by Fox the year it was bound. In full goatskin binding with a series of leather onlays tooled in gold and blind all creating a fantastic pictorial binding. Accompanying the binding is a fine paper portfolio with publisher's prospectuses, samples, and associated material; additionally, some templates related to Fox's binding. All housed a custom clamshell by Fox.
The text offers a lens into the 19th century view of how a native of region assesses the value of the natural wonders. Berry's commentary at the end of Allen's text brings the troubling viewpoint into a modern context: "The chapter is built upon a division of mind which in our time has become terrifying, but which Allen believed to be no more than a simple equation. On the one hand, in a sentimentally romantic fashion he was sensitive to the natural life of the area, which was then still intact. And on the other hand he seems eager for the destruction of this virgin bounty that so inspired him. I say 'the destruction' and not 'the use,' for his language is patently that of an exploiter intent upon 'conquering' nature." A sobering volume that will most surely always remain relevant.
Price: $4,500.00