Antibes: Arocaria Editions, 1975
15 x 10.5cm, 2pp b/w artist's postcard with an image of the artist with his ventriloquist's dummy during a performance. The artist is trying to feed the dummy but it appears to be refusing to eat. Verso publisher's info and standard postcard design VG+.
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Amsterdam: Seriaal, 1975 21 x 15cm, 2pp announcement card with a Boltanski photograph of the artist pretending to be an elderly female on the front, verso gallery details. VG+. ...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1975
15,5 x 17.6cm, 6pp folding card printed on one side only black on pink with a drawing of three partially blown dandelion seed heads by Laurie Clark. The French title means flower clock - and the partly distributed seeds on the heads of the drawing remind one of a coded time - - perhaps a quarter before four?
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1975
7.5 x 7.8cm, 4pp small folding card with a drawing of a church and a beached boat by Laurie Clark. The scene has several elements that are visually similar - the four leaf plants (clovers?), the propellor on the boat, and the church windows all have the same shape. The word "Eastertide" simply means Easter but it has additional meaning because the boat cannot move until the tide comes in. Additionally in the Biblical myth around Jesus, the role of fish and fishermen as metaphors are often central. One is forced to conclude this is a religious card - something that does not come up too often in Finlay's work. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (c. 1975?)
12 x 24cm., brown on white ceramic tile. The well known song Oranges & Lemons is re-written to re-contextualise the nursery rhyme to a maritime alternative - each rhyme ends with a fishing port and that geographical distinction defines which boat is chosen to make the couplet. Date unknown but all other Finlay tiles were published in the mid 70s. This tile is not in Murray or any other catalogue raisonne. A rarity. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 19975
3 x 4.5cm, copper and brass plated aluminium medallion with chain. With a design by Ron Costley (which originally was created for the exhibition Heroic Emblems) of a wartime light cruiser with smoking chimney sacks. The drawing is a representation of one of the poet's earlier one-word poems - namely:
KLEINER KREUZER SONATA
Emden
The reference here is a poetic equivalence of a "Kleiner Kreuzer" (a light cruiser) and the Kreu(t)xer Sonata by Beethoven. Both are suggested to be celebrated by mention of the German Warship Emden which was celebrated for its heroic exploits by its national populus (and, of course, Beethoven also was German).
All of the Heroic Emblems showed modern machines (mostly of war) in reference to Classical myths. With original box and 14.5 x 14.5cm, 1pp (folded twice) leaflet with a commentary by Stephen Bann. Edition size not known but very hard to find.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 19975
3.5cm, dia. copper and brass plated aluminium medallion with chain. With a design by Ron Costley (which originally was created for the exhibition Heroic Emblems) of an aircraft carrier with a plane taking off from the deck. The original drawing relates to the USS Enterprise at the battle of Midway where the Japanese fleet was destroyed by the Americans. Finlay sees the aircraft carrier as typifying the classical elements of air, earth, sky, water and fire.
All of the Heroic Emblems showed modern machines (mostly of war) in reference to Classical myths. With original box and 14.5 x 14.5cm, 1pp (folded twice) leaflet with a commentary by Stephen Bann. Edition size not known but very hard to find.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1975)
14.8 x 14.8cm., green on white ceramic tile with the names of five boat names (and their registered harbours). A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel. The names are all optimistic and the typography reflects the shape of the vessels. The title is alliterative around the letter F. One of only 100 made. Scare. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1975)
15 x 15cm, red and dark red on white ceramic tile with one of Finlay's Heroic Emblems on it. The text "A CELEBRATION OF EARTH AIR FIRE WATER" refers to the role of aircraft carriers during the defining sea battle of the War in the Pacific when the USA destroyed the Japanese fleet. The image of an aircraft carrier with airplanes taking off is an image of a weapon that floats on water, fires missiles, lets its panes go into the air and land on its decks (earth). EARTH, AIR, FIRE, and WATER were believed by classical philosophers to be the fundamental building blocks of nature.
This example is unique - a trial print made for Finlay by Kenneth Townsend a specialist in tiles making based in Hastings - Finlay rejected the tile and preferred to release a single brown on white coloured version in an edition of c. 100.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1975)
14.8 dia., red on white ceramic tile with one of the Heroic Emblems on it. The text "THROUGH A DARK WOOD. MIDWAY." refers to the defining sea battle of the War in the Pacific when the USA destroyed the Japanese fleet. The image of an aircraft carrier hidden in smoke to prevent air attacks is associated with Dante's opening words from the Inferno "In the middle of our life's journey, I found myself in a dark wood.”. The image on this circular tile is the same as that on the square tile issued at the same time and while the limitation not known for some reason this is a much rare version of the ceramic than the square one.
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Reno: Wild Coast Poetry Review, 1975
29 x 29cm, 56pp plus pictorial card covers. Artist's book published on the occasion of an exhibition in North Wales with numerous b/w photographs by Dave Paterson of works and views of Little Sparta with commentaries by Bernard Lassus and Stephen Bann in English and German. VG+.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1975
11.7 x 13.5cm, 4pp. The front of the card has a poem under the title:
Lily has grown
a full stop.
Iris has not<BR
On the back of the card is a photograph by Dave Paterson of a small wooden sculpture by Finlay called "Lily" and the poem is an adaption of a Cutt's poem FAMILY which we believe to be about the latter's children but cannot confirm. Finlay's mild parody references the photograph where an additional floating "leaf" appears to have been attached to the sculpture by wire - almost as if it has grown -the shape of the leaf, is like the round full stop. VG+.
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