31 Jul

Posted at 22:06h in Photographs

35.5 X 31.5cm, b/w offset lithographic offset reproduction of an original photograph of the first version of Finlay's perhaps most famous work. The lithogrpah is tipped on to thick board and with a title card above the image. A exhibition print more than likely.
This image is an important one because the sculpture (a carved wooden work) is installed in the ground in Little Sparta and the last time I saw it was beginning to rot away. I brought that to Finlay's attention and he told me "let it return to nature".
The work is the first version of "EVENING WILL COME. THEY WILL SEW THE BLUE SAIL" and shows the text next to a "sil" which is also a gnomon for a sun dial. This gives the work a different meaning from the later famous print (see separate listing here in prints for a long discussion of that work). The use of a sun dial visual pun emphasises the role of time in this work much more than in the later evolution of the idea. The photograph was taken by Jim Styes

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26 Jul

Posted at 21:46h in Prints + Posters

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
46 × 58.9cm, blue and brown silkscreen on white paper with a drawing by Richard Demarco of a homeward bound boat . The title of the work refers to the way a boat's engine (which was oen the method used to propel the boat at the end of the fishing trip to port) caused a rhythmic splash of white foam. The even spacing of the "put put" meant that the white specks against the blue water looked like a continuous stitch of white cotton. VG.

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19 Jul

Posted at 00:03h in Artist's Books

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
7.2 x 10.2cm, 14pp. Concertina folded single sheet printed on both sides. Each image is an appropriated headline from the trade journal Fishing News - the headlines are more poetic when isolated from their origins. For example "Fishermen turn to mackerel" alters the story from a decision to change fishing strategy to that of a sea myth. Some of the works show here were published as individual artist's postcards also by the Wild Hawthorn Press. VG. There is a line drawing by Margot Sandeman at the second page of the publication.
One could make the case that this is a folded card rather than an artist's book but traditionally Murray has it in the artist's books section of his catalogue raisonee and we have decided to accept that catagorising with some reservations.

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10 Jul

Posted at 10:54h in Exhibition Catalogues

Sunderland: Ceolfrith Bookshop Gallery, 1970
35 x 28cm, plastic bag with printed card header/closure content of 4 sections of commentary (by Stuart Mills) and 9 poem cards including dsh's GROVE SINGS RIVER A SONG which is a folding sheet designed to stand on a mirrored glass in such a way that the hand-drawn text 'glove sings' is read in its reflection as 'I love sings': the work is dedicated to Ian Hamilton Finlay by dsh.
Finlay's contribution to the publication is smaller in that Homage to Malevich (lackblockblackb version) is reproduced in the essay Concrete Poetry by Stuart Mills and the book Canal Game, the prints Star/Steer and Acrobats, the work Au Pair and three cards from Rapel were exhibited in the show.
Some rust to the staples and minor wear to plastic bag and header but else this is a very hard to find item and the first of the Ceolfrith publications.

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09 Jul

Posted at 11:56h in Prints + Posters

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
58 x 51cm, black and silver on white silkscreen. The ship drawn by Ron Costley has elaborate rigging and sails - hence reflecting Mozart's highly complex musical forms. A visual poem.
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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18 Jun

Posted at 12:05h in Unique Works

A collection of original papers, gallery proofs and the original photographs used for the production of the Ceolfrith Nr 65 publication which was the first major monograph on the poet and Stoneypath (later Little Sparta). The groop consists of:
The outer folder address by Finlay to Christopher Carrell at Ceofrith Bookshop; A hand drawn design for the poster for the exhibition with texts by Finlay in his own handwriting - we have never seen this poster and do not know if it was ever printed;
A text handwritten by Finlay for the blurb promotion the book;
A biography of Diane Tammes the photographer whose images were used in the book written by Finlay in his own hand;
The original typescript unused galley sheets reproducing the texts Finlay sent;
Eight original b/w photographs by Tammes used in the production showing Finlay sailing in his boat, flying toy gliders, sailing his model boats, in situ large sculptures and a kite. These were all taken in Stoneypath for the intent of publishing this book. Possibly unique and certainly vintage prints.
All in all an unique and important collection which shows the methods of production of one of Finlay's most important publications.

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22 May

Posted at 09:30h in Prints + Posters

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
35.5 x 44.5cm silkscreen in two colours on paper: a visual pun on a cat's paws, a boat and a tea-time cake. Drawing after Finlay's instruction by Peter Grant. One of 350 released. Slight mark on left else VG.

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20 May

Posted at 09:32h in Page Works & Contributions

Nottingham: Tarasque Press, 1970
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 the Weed Boat Masters (sic) Ticket Preliminary test (Part One) - a faux examination where all of the questions appear to be about boats and fishing but have a humorous twist eg

6. Comment on the statement' (sic) "A ship is not a shoe sealed for seafaring'.

The "part two" of the test was published by Finlay's Wild Hawthorn Press as an artist's book in 1971 but this "first part" is an extremely rare item in VG+ condition.

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17 May

Posted at 08:59h in Miscellany

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, Spring 1970
5.5 x 20.4cm, 1pp offset lithographic leaflet with an hilarious text pretending to promote "several first editions" of the Dancers Inherit The Party. This may be Finlay's first 'attack" artwork (later they were usually cards) where he calls out in an amusing manner Fulcrum Press and the Arts Council for the former's reprinting of his book and their mislabelling of it as a "first edition". Having asked the Arts Council to help in stopping this bad practice and receiving scant attention from them, Finlay also uses this leaflet to seek some revenge. The text sarcastically suggests that the new multiple "first editions" might include photographs of members of the Arts Council as additional material and include an essay "in which the author tries to show that it is possible to write on the subject of the Arts Council without resorting to obscenities. The edition will be limited to 15 copies, dedicated to Lord Goodman."
We had this in our hands for years, thought it just a leaflet promoting the original book and shamefully did not look in detail at it until now for this cataloguing. It is quite a find - probably, as we say, the first time Finlay used a publicly available publication to hit back at his enemies and those who slighted him or failed to live up to his opinion of how they should act.VG+.

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04 May

Posted at 22:05h in Page Works & Contributions

London: Penguin Books, 1970
18 x 11cm, 254pp. Original card wrappers. The fourteenth of the Penguin series of anthologised plays - here notable for the inclusion of two plays by Ian Hamilton Finlay written in the mid 60s although here given a copyright of 1970. The first Walking Through Seaweed is a coming of age discussion between two young girls where the tricky act of balancing on wet seaweed is a metaphor for learning how to be an adult. The Estate Hunters is a series of scenes between father and son who go fishing but the son disappoints (as always). The two plays were also published translated into German in the book … "Und alles blieb wie es war: vier einakter" from 1966. The foreword to the book is by Edwin Morgan. VG+

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