01 Jun

Posted at 17:33h in Invitation Cards

Birmingham: Ikon Gallery Limited, 1968
23 x 20.5cm, 2pp b/w offset. Announcement leaflet for a solo show of sculptures and maquettes and other works. The short essay on the back is quite insightful and notes that it is not a large show. One b/w image of the glass work ROCK/WAVE on the front.
Finlay's first ever one man show was only two months earlier at the Axiom Gallery in London.
Slightly torn top left and some edge damage but else VG. Very scarce ephemera....

22 May

Posted at 10:44h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1968
12.5x 6.8cm, 2pp. The card is the one of a series that reproduce phrases found in journals and newspapers together to tell a quasi-story or visual poem. Here the headline "Zephyr joins Avoch Fleet" is on the surface a tale of a new acquisition by a company of boats - but of course it also can be read as the good fortune of a sail boat fleet catching a good wind. Murray has this as Card 4.14. Fine....

20 May

Posted at 20:41h in Artist's Books

Nottingham: Jargon Press, 1968
50.7 x 38.4cm, calendar with twelve original silkscreens, one silkscreen portrait of the artist, a colophon sheet and front cover and backing board. Spiral bound along top. Introduction by Jonathan Williams and a foreword by Mike Weaver. Designed by Herbert M. Rosenthal.
Twelve colour prints issued as a large folio spiral-bound calendar, featuring short commentaries by Stephen Bann based on information provided to him by Finlay.
The title refers to Wittgenstein's 'Blue and Brown Books' (1958) in which he developed the concept that the meaning of a word is its actual use in language.
This is quite possibly possibly the most sought after publication by Finlay - the twelve serigraphs are each individual concrete poetry works and dealers usually split this publication up and frame the individual prints and sell them at high prices. This example is unusually complete and is housed in the original custom made cardboard shipping box address to the editor of the Black Sparrow Press Seamus Cooney. There is some browning to the front purple sheet but overall this is one of the best example of this rare publication you can find..
Murray has this as reference 3.28 and notes a complete set of the prints are for sale in 2006 for £2,000. The Prints Drukgrafik catalogue reference is 2.64.4 and the 12 images can be seen on pages 19 - 21.

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18 May

Posted at 21:50h in Artist's Books

N.p. (London) : Pluto Press, 1969
17.5 x 12.8cm, 12pp plus original thick card wrappers. Each page was silkscreened in green and blue. A series of visual poems with texts all based on the flora and fauna around forrest ponds. One is reminded of Basho's famous haiku. The texts are as if the book was for reading to a child. it not clear why Finlay rejected the book - it is perhaps because he did not like the illustrations but it is hard to see the objection as this is a pleasant, amusing book. Only 7 copies were made - all were numbered - and this one is nr 6/7 (in pencil on the half title). This is in pristine condition.
This is one of the absolutely rarest of FInlay's books.

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16 May

Posted at 10:40h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1968
12.5 x 6.8cm, 2pp. The card is the one of a series that reproduce phrases found in journals and newspapers together to tell a quasi-story or visual poem. Here Ocean Starlight (a boat's name) towed off rocks presumably is a story of a rescue but Finlay's appropriation turns this into a magical event involving light on water. The use of the word "illuminations" also reflects this meaning as well as amusingly suggesting that Fishing News is full of insights.
Murray has this as Card 4.13. Fine....

16 May

Posted at 10:32h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1968
9.8 x 25cm, 2pp. Finlay in many of his early cards finds the spaces between banks of canals, or between features of the landscape irresistible. Here the words THE LAND'S SHADOWS in red are split with four others in a different colour which read Drift Trawl Ring Seine. Words associated with sailing are thus flanked by the dark areas of the landscape (from hills or banks - one does not know) hence painting a picture using words. VG. Murray 4.12. ...

28 Apr

Posted at 10:28h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1968
16 x 16cm, 2pp. Green on blue card - the front of the card has a circular design made up of fishing boat names typographically set by Alistair Cant on Finlay's instruction. The pattern creates both a planet or the movement in the stars as they appear to spin around the boat as night passes. Stars for boats are essential to allow passage - until modern methods of navigation they were the sailor's only orientation. The choice of the boat names chosen by Finlay reinforces that - all have the word STAR in them e.g. Morning Star, Day Star, Fortune Star and so on.
This is the second of two cards with a similar intent - the other uses the letters and numbers of the boats - here the attractive names people give their vessels are used instead.
The title Sea Poppy refers to the yellow hornpoppy which only grows on sea shores - again a clear nautical reference.
This design and others like it was used by Finlay in different formats including wall works, object multiples, printed posters and cards. ...

26 Apr

Posted at 19:35h in UNIQUE WORKS

Paris: s.p. (Boltanski), 1968
18 x 24 x 24cm two part rusted (as issued) tin two biscuit box content of three home-made wide cages (chickenwire) containing the artist's hair, a ball of dirt (one of many such "boules" that Boltanski made almost compulsively during that time and a bloody elastoplast (the artist's blood). Additionally there is a signed photograph of the whole box. The bottom of the box has the text: " EMBALLAGE PERDU / PLOI STRICTMENT INTERDIT" which translates roughly to "LOST PACKAGING / STRICTLY PROHIBITED SHIPPING".
This was one of a number (Boltanski claims around 30) such boxes that he created (each unique) and gave as gestural gifts to friends, collectors and even strangers. In VG+ condition.
BR>...

19 Apr

Posted at 09:38h in Exhibition Catalogues

Munster: Anthologie zur Visuellen Poesie, n.d. (1968)
19,5 x 219cm, unpaginated ( c. 80pp plus card covers. Exhibition catalogue for an important early survey of concrete and visual poetry in Germany., Works shown by almost all the major figures in the movement. Finlay has two works - Village (where the v is inverted to create a hut) and Star Steer, Rare. VG+.

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16 Apr

Posted at 10:21h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1968
16 x 16cm, 2pp. Black on orange card - the front of the card has a circular design made up of fishing boat letters and numbers that allow unique identification of any particular vessel typographically set by Alistair Cant on Finlay's instruction. The pattern creates both a schematic planet or the perceived circular movement in the stars as they appear to spin around the boat as night passes. Stars for sailors are essential to life - until modern methods of navigation they were the only orientation available to the crew and captain of a ship.
The title Sea Poppy refers to the yellow hornpoppy which only grows on sea shores - again a clear nautical reference.
This design and others like it was used by Finlay in different formats including wall works, object multiples, printed posters and cards....

30 Mar

Posted at 09:26h in Page Works & Contributions

Nottingham: Tarasque Press, 1968
26 x 20cm, 1pp. Small broadside issued by The Trent Bookshop/Tarasque Press (formed by Stuart Mills and Martin Parnel in 1964) which had a different poet in each issue. This number has "Ian H. Finlay"'s Arcady poem and "Some Questions on the poem". We have written extensively on this work as a stand alone book elsewhere on this site. What is worth noting is that this is an extremely rare item in VG+ condition.

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