Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, Spring 1970
Two 25.5 x 20.4cm, 1pp offset lithographic price list for the Press stapled top left. Mentions a long list of new publications as the Press became more prolific including for the first time the artist's cards that Finlay began to favour as his most active area of publishing. Couple of vintage annotations in red ink indicating some items had sold out else VG+.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
11.6 x 21cm, 30pp. Card covers with printed dust wrapper. Artist's book - with 16pp (recto only, leporello). A series of drawings by Sandeman of boats along with their names (thirteen in all). This is one of only 300 copies - of which each is numbered and signed by Finlay. Finlay often uses the image of a lemon in water as a metaphor for a boat. Slight browning on on edge else VG.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
6 x 9.2cm, 1pp. Small artist's postcard with the text "VALSES POUR PIANO" in silver above "(Water Music)".
La Valse was a "poème chorégraphique pour orchestre (a choreographic poem for orchestra)" written by Ravel in the 1920s. Initially a ballet it came to be usually just performed on piano without dancers. The timing is that of a waltz. The reference to water music brings the work back to a focus onnature and how sounds such as running water can be melodious.
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Original small white envelope for posting.
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Koln: Art Intermedia, 1970 15 x 10.5cm, 1pp announcement card with a typographic design for a group show with Alvermann, Beuys, Spoerri, Uecker, Walther and Vostell. VG+. ...
Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
5 x 7.5cm, 4pp. Small artist's postcard with an uncredited drawing of boats with flying birds above on the front and internally the text:
SKYLARKS
Skylarks are ground birds with aerial songs".
The boats (not exactly grounded but on water) are being compared to the flighty acrobatic birds. It is worth noting that boats with sails and riggings have a certain twanging and flapping noise that is in some ways harmonious - reflecting Finlay's dictum about skylark song. VG+
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1969
11.7 x 16.4cm, 4pp. Christmas card with the image of a fishing boat by John Furnival along with the Port Letters (FR), the Fishing Nos ((87), the Radio Call Sign (MWCZ), the gross tonnage (53) and its name (Xmas Star). A visual poem by Finlay which one year later was joined by related work Poem/Print No. Xmas Rose released as the Xmas card for that year. Both Xmas cards were also published as much larger prints by the Press.
Finlay's interest in boat names and numbers is reflected in the beauty of Furnival's line drawing. The boat is a poem on water.
This example has a pencil greeting inside on the blank pages "Best Xmas Wishes from John Furnival". VG+.
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Edinburgh: Richard Demarco Gallery, 1969
22.7 x 20cm, 2pp announcement card for Finlay's third only solo show. Four photographs of Stoneypath (as it was then called) in b/w on the front and a further two works in b/w on the back. There are 44 works listed as being exhibited. A very rare item. VG+.
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Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press 1970
51 x 71cm. Printed b/w offset. Furnival's outline drawing of a Scottish fishing boat is placed above Finlay's poem appropriated from the boat number, port, size and painted name - here Xmas Rose. A companion print to Poem/Print No. 11 (Xmas Star). Very good condition. One of 350 copies. Druckgrafik nr 4.70.4.
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Los Angeles: Eugenia Butler Gallery, 1969 16cm dia, pentagon shaped gold card with the text printed offset in red: "This is the Ghost of James Lee Byars Calling. 615 N. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.”. The famous performance in the conceptual art gallery. This example has a short handwitten note by Byars in red pen on the reverse - " First meeting with RobbeGrillet (next word hard to read) phone silence". Presumably referring to the French cineast. Scarce....
Paris: Edition Givaudon, 1969
18 x 29 x 0.4cm, deliberately tarnished and rusted metal outer box with silkscreen printed front (showing the supposed artist's "carte sanitaire" (health card) which is also the first page of the artist's book). The box contains the original artist's book - Boltanski's second - which is 17.5 x 28cm, 6pp offset (although designed to look like a photocopy with blurred, polarised photographs) and an unprinted blue protective front sheet.
The book/collection of sheets describes a fictitious accident which supposedly took place at the Boulevard Carnot and Avenue Jean Jaures (however the modern Paris seems not to have the Avenue anymore but one can find the location by following the Boulevard Carnot on Google street view and comparing Boltanski's photographs).
As with much of early Boltanski's work he is an unreliable narrator - the images and stories in his books and descriptions are not necessarily true and it is difficult to tease out reality from re-creation but then that is the point - history is not accurate, it is always mediated through human memory, frailties and biases.
This is a deluxe copy of the book - it has an original photographic portrait of the "dead" Boltanski on the 18 Novembre 1969 which is signed and numbered by the "dead" artist from an edition of 20 copies - a miracle in itself! All are fine in like rusty slipcase.
This deluxe version of the work is not mentioned in any catalogue raisonne or in the literature. When asked about it (by Paul Robertson) Boltanski remembered the work but no longer had a copy for himself in this deluxe format. A major rarity.
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Woodchester: Opening Press, 1969
23 x 46cm folded to 23 x 12cm. (with six vertical folds). Printed at the Glevum Press in an edition of 500 numbered copies. Finlay's fourth Standing Poem, published as Opening Number 3, edited by his then friend John Furnival.
The card is folded several times - if unopened it shows the title words Pole and Night - an indication of steerage via the stars and internally, once standing open, various words associated with STAR are found including lobstar, hound-star, lonestar, sadstar, crossed star, telestar and eveningstar amongst others (one is reminded of David Bowie's final record Blackstar that also plays a similar word game although the two are obviously not related) -the letters C A T C H are also found amongst the words - associating the layout of letters with a net to secure the fishing boat's target of fish.
Very good +. Scarce. Murray 4.17...
Los Angeles: Eugenia Butler Gallery, 1969 15 x 21cm, 1pp typographic announcement card card with the text printed offset in black: "This is the Ghost of James Lee Byars Calling. 615 N. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.” on a pink yardstick. The famous performance in the conceptual art gallery. Rare variant announcement. Fine....