Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
10.8 x 13cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a photograph by Dianne Tammes of a Finlay toy boat sailing on the water. Inside is the descriptive text: "Ian Hamilton Finlay's Unicorn. Length o.a. 91/2 in, Tonnage 6oz. Auxiliary clockwork motor". The boat is treated as if it was a full sized boat with its measurements but the auxiliary motor which is clockwork gives the game away.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
11.2 x 11.4cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a reproduced drawing by Margot Sandeman of the child's game of conkers on strings and a leaf from the horse chestnut tree. Inside the card is the text: "CATCHES. A big catch is a wee consolation. (After Paul Klee)." VG+.
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Koln: Art Intermedia, 1971
14.8 x 21cm, 6pp folded single folded sheet of card with image of Beuys, a short overlaid text and an exhibition history of the artist (mentioning only 5 previous solo shows although that is not accurate), on the reverse there is anopther text on Beuys by Heiner Bastian. VG+.
JOINT:
Koln: Art Intermedia, 1971
16 x 23cm, printed envelope with an image of Beuys and a text about the edition Tragetasche mit Filzplastik. This envelope is hand addressed to the Fluxus artist Jeff Berner. Slight wear from the postal experience else VG.
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21 x 17.8, 1pp. Original typed letter on red Wild Hawthorn Press stationery to Christopher Carrell of the Sunderland Ceolfrith Bookshop asking about sending stocks of publications to the bookshop, the possibility of sales to others and mentioning the Ron Costley's Street Handout leaflet (an early Finlay exhibition announcement) and mentioning a dispute over invoices with a filmmaker Michael Radford which Finlay felt had over charged for petrol. The letter is signed Aye, Ian. VG+.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970 Two separate artist's cards - both 15 x 10.5cm, 2pp. Each with annotations by hand by Finlay. The printed aspect of each card has a drawing by Gardner on the front of a floating water lily. the text below “A WATERLILY POOL/h’arbour” reminds one of the way the leaves in a water lily can enclose a space of water and also a shelter for small insects or even fish – hence an arbour of sorts. One one of the two cards Finlay has drawn a curved line in pencil and verso the text in blue ink: "Idea of Arbour + Harbour [L'arbour] and on the other card some lines and a grid over the image. Thee cards came from the archive of Maxwell Allan who was one of Finlay's collaborators and it is not clear if these additions are part of a discussion about a possible sculpture or just explanatory. The grid lines might suggest the former, the text the latter. In any case a unique pair of these cards. Both VG+. ...
Dusseldorf: Galerie Schmela, 1971 21 x 30cm, 4pp black and red on white card announcement. Three black and white photographs of Beuys performances taken by Ute Klophaus are displayed full sheet. The images are from the performance Celtic+ from 1971 where Beuys took gelatine from a prepared wall and collected in on a platter as part of the event. This is usually regarded as symbolic of the collection of ideas and energy. VG+. ...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
9.8 x 7cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a reproduced painting by Ian Gardner of a tree in a landscape. Inside the card is the text: "TREE-SHELLS. Instructions: Apply ear to Tree-Shell. Listen for Lakes." The card can be used to create the same auditory illusion as holding a sea-shell to the ear - hence bringing the sound of water (lakes) to the ear. VG+
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Nottingham: Trent Bookshop, 1971)
20.4 x 16.5cM,, 48pp. with colour pictorial wrappers. A double number of this poetry/art magazine edited by Stuart Mills and Simon Cutts - this issue was the last published. and has concrete works by a number of artists/poets but mostly Finlay and Cutts the issue reprints a long letter from lawyers acting against Finlay in the Times Literary Supplement 25.9.69 relating to his legal action against Fulcrum Press and has Finlay's reposte to the letter (only published here we believe) including "If you were a poet, and President Nixon decided to publish you, would you support the Vietnam War?" Seven other poems by Finlay are reprinted and other letters and articles discuss him. A rather nice publication which sadly ended with this high point.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorne Press, 1971
15 x 18cm, 6pp folded card printed with a line drawing by Jim Nicholson of a boat amongst vegetation. The card called A Memory of Summer has additonal information thus "In Trelew Creek, Diur Mrs Thomas Gray's Building of the Hobah" and below that
A ketch
In vech
A is a two-masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (and thr mast can be seen over the flowers in the drawing) and vetch is a fast growing vertical flower which here is being likened to the masts of the boat. The "memory" is from a book called The Merchant Schooners" from 1978 - and refers to the boat being built in the creek hence the boat like the vetch grows naturally during the summer months.
This is one of 300 copies numbered and signed by Finlay.VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 19781
76.4 × 69.2cm, red and black on white silkscreen large print. A drawing of a schooner by Ron Costley shows the reef knots of the typical schooner sails - which remind one of the side decorations of the drum of the martyred boy-revolutionary Joseph Barra. The red also reflects his uniform. This is the first reference we know of to the French revolution in Finlay's work - a theme that became much more central in the 80s. This is one of Finlay's most rare editioned works - only 70 copies were made.
The image we have used here is from a publication - the print we hold is framed in wood and glass and hard to image without reflections - but the work is in VG+ condition.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
12 x 17.8cm, 6pp (printed one side only), a promotional leaflet promoting the prints and books from Finlay's press. The front fo the leaflet reproduces the silkscreen print A Rock Rose displaying a grounded boat on rocks - creating a colourful equivalent to the sea shore flower. VG+.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
4.9 x 14.9cm, 2pp. Pink on white silkscreen - a book-mark which one might consider "a book-flag" in that a book mark flags a place in a book. Additionally the text on one side of the card reads "windflow" and an arrow but when one turns the card over the word becomes "windflower" by the addition of "er" in the same font.
The card if placed on a stick to create a quasi-flag would be pushed in the direction of the "windflow" but could also be seen as a "windflower' flapping in the wind. An ingenious small card work. Typography by Ron Costley.
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