Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1986
3.1 x 13.3cm, 4pp Artist's card printed black and red on white - the word MARAT is extended to MARATAPLAN! Tthe typography and colour changes emphasis the "rataplan!" which is onomatopoeia - the sound of a drumbeat. The open card causes the neologism MARATAPLAN! to be a clarion call for the ideologue Marat. VG+.
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N.p. (Glasgow?): n.p. (Hughson Gallery), 1986
15 x 10.5cm, 2pp. Gallery issued postcard (who represented Margot Sandeman) with a reproduction of a painting by the artist based on a poem / "definition work" by her friend, and oft collaborator, Finlay. Each of the 11 painted works had Finlay's original hand-typed poem glued onto the canvas and Finlay later signed all the works on the back of the canvass to given them the status of a work by himself as a collaborator. There were 11 such paintings made.
The definition here reads:
SHEAF, n. a bouquet of corn, grasses, wild flowers etc in the likeness of a torch.
These works were forgotten about until a visit to Sandeman by Paul Robertson in c. 2008 brought them to his notice. Sandeman agreed to exhibit the works at Robertson's gallery and to produce an artist's book together reproducing the works. However within a week of Robertson's visit Richard Demarco found out about the paintings via his assistant who had also visited Sandeman and Demarco went to the artist (who he had known for many years) and took the works away with him when he left. Robertson was not able to exhibit them or publish the book. They were later exhibited posthumously to Sandeman's sad death at Summerhall by Demarco - ironically at a time when Robertson was the visual arts curator for the building.
VG+ - an unknown artist's card presumably because it was not published with Finlay's knowledge. Very scarce.
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Glasgow: Hughson Gallery, 1986
10.5 x 15cm, 4pp. Gallery issued postcard (who represented Margot Sandeman) with a reproduction of a painting by the artist based on a poem / "definition work" by her friend, and oft collaborator, Finlay. Each of the works had his original typed poem glued onto the canvas and Finlay later signed all the works on the back of the canvass to given them the status of a work by himself. There were c. 12 such paintings made.
These works were forgotten about until a visit to Sandeman by Paul Robertson in c. 2008 brought them to his notice. Sandeman agreed to exhibit the works at Robertson's gallery and to produce an artist's book together reproducing the works. However within a week of Robertson's visit Richard Demarco found out about the paintings via his assistant who had also visited Sandeman and Demarco went to the artist (who he had known for many years) and took the works away with him when he left. Robertson was not able to exhibit them or publish the book. They were later exhibited posthumously to Sandeman's sad death at Summerhall by Demarco - ironically at a time when Robertson was the visual arts curator for the building.
VG+ - an unknown artist's card presumably because it was not published with Finlay's knowledge. Very scarce.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1986
18.2 x 14.1cm, 1pp Artist's card with an appropriated image of the dead or dying Marat on his deathbed with a sword labeled "I was a member of the National Trust" hanging like the sword of Damocles as a threat above him. The original David etching from which this was taken is used as a threat or suggestion to members of the National Trust because the organisation had published the Follies book suggesting Little Sparta was one such folly. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1986
18.2 x 14.1cm, 1pp Artist's card with an appropriated image of the dead or dying Marat on his deathbed with a sword labeled "I was published by Jonathan Cape" hanging like the sword of Damocles as a threat above him. The original David etching from which this was taken is used as a threat or suggestion of how the publishing house might be found following their fall out with Finlay. VG+.
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Leeds: New Arcadians, 1986
21 x 15cm, 44pp plus wrappers. A single number of this poetry and literature review - here dedicated to a long essay (by Finlay) explaining the background to the Little Spartan war. B/w photographs throughout. While a number from a journal we regard this as an artist's book. VG+.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1986
Original printed folder 64.5 × 42.5cm, content of nine poster prints, each of 64 x 42cm, 1pp. A colophon/title page is joined by eight textual sheets with quotations from the speeches of Louis-Antoine Saint-Just, interspersed with aphorisms by Finlay composed as "Imaginary Speeches for the revolutionary". The portfolio was published on the occasion of the exhibition "L'Art et le Sacre Aujourd hui" at the Cistercian Abbey in L'Epau, France, where the texts were intended to be installed on four columns inside the abbey building. During the heroic anti-clericalism of the French revolution the Abbey was transformed into something far more useful - an agricultural outbuilding surrounded by gardens.
This is both a print portfolio but also a proposal for an architectural installation - hence we have placed it in the the appropriate section here which in fairness to Murray he also places it as 6.20.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1986
27.5 x 50.5cm offset lithograph folding print in original printed folder. The drawing of a landscape by Gary Hincks is printed in such a way that the unfolded card reveals a proposed large public sculpture - an optical illusion of a "vase" shape cut out from a wall with "JJR" painted bottom left. The cut-away allows more of the wild landscape to be shown. Limitation not known. VG+ in like folder....
Firenze: Zona Archives, 1986 10.5 x 15cm, 2pp. Artist postcard released on the occasion of the series of “Secret Events” created by Maurizio Nannucci and including work by Ian Hamilton Finlay, James Lee Byars, Daniel Buren, Terry Fox, General Idea, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Sol Lewitt, Maurizio Nannucci and Lawence Weiner for Nannucci’s Zona Archives. VG+. Scarce....
Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (c. 1986)
12.8 x 10cm, 1pp. Artist's card which has a text with typography and small drawings by Mark Stewart printed red on brown. The text is "The difference in a house by Voysey and a house by Lutyens is that the lobby of the former holds a toy spade and a minnow-net and that of the latter a fishing rod and a gun."
Voysey was heavily influenced by art nouveau whereas Lutyens was more practical and his houses more suited to the modern era he lived in.
This card is not found in Murray or in the online (limited) Wild Hawthorn Press listings of cards. One the back of this one is an extensive ink note from Sue Finlay to Victoria Miro asking for more copies of the invitation card (we believe the A David cards), mentioning how hot Italy had been and wishing the show to go well. Fromt his we date this card to be around 1976 and have placed it thus. VG+. Rare.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1986
5.1 x 5.1cm, 4pp folding card with a drawing of nettles by Stephanie Kedik, printed black on light olive paper with the following poem on the left inner fold:
The pears
and frets
of nettles
VG+. Scarce.
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Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1986
23 × 18cm, black on grey printed outer folded with title content of two 23 × 18cm offset lithographs. The first is printed on light mustard-yellow paper and has the sole text "glades of sunlight" at the top and the second "forests of cloud" at the bottom printed on brown thick paper.
One of Finlay's innovative colour paper prints where the medium utilised is as important as the words found upon the page. This is a visual poem in some sense that the paper colours suggest that scene of sunlight breaking though the fog (the bright yellow paper is placed in front of the dark brown sheet in the folder and is more dominant to the eye.
This is one of only 150 such prints printed. VG+.
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