IAN HAMILTON FINLAY

ARTIST’S BOOKS

EVELINES PONDLINES. 1967. ONE OF ONLY 50 NUMBERED COPIES.

Bath: Opening Press, 1967
47. 5 x 47.5 x 1.5cm, silkscreened portfolio case content of 13 individual silkscreens in various colours on thin card. The silkscreens are all concrete poems which were based on correspondence between Ian Hamilton Finlay and Eve Furnival - John Furnival's young daughter. Finlay had sent simple concrete poems to the young girl - and when he was invited to work with Furnival in the latter's class at Bath Academy these poems were created with the students (one student per print) and this portfolio produced.
There is great humour in this work - like elsewhere in Finlay's oeuvre - ambiguous headlines from real and made up newspapers give the basis for many of the works. Lobster boats here look nippy, Waterlilies lead double lives and are warned that they must reflect. hedgehogs announce annual turnovers as if they were banks or just rolled in defence.
This is one of the most rare Finlay publications. One 50 numbered copies were made. This example is internally in VG+ condition although the cover has a horrible paper scuff (although the cover is based on a childish drawing by Eve Furnival.

John Furnival

HEADLINES PONDLINES. 1968. NEVER PUBLICLY PUBLISHED – ONLY 7 COPIES KNOWN TO EXIST.

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.

BLUE AND BROWN POEMS. 1968. THIRTEEN SILKSCREEN WORKS IN SPIRAL BINDING.

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.

AIR LETTERS. 1968.

Nottingham: Tarasque Press, 1968
25.6 x 10.4cm, 20pp plus tissue end papers and original card covers. Printed typographic dustjacket. An artist's book published by Stuart Mill's press - seven couplet poems (poems that have two lines, one above the other separated by a thick line) by Finlay are illustrated below by Robert Frame. Each first line has a subject and ends with the word poem - indicating the word or letters below ARE the poem.
One such poem is

The Windmill's Poem
---------------------
X

The X of course being a letter that looks like the sails of a windmill.

Robert Frame

3/3’S. 1969. SIGNED & DEDICATED TO MAXWELL ALLAN BY FINLAY IN INK.

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1969
21 x 17.8cm, 12pp. Original card covers with pictorial dust wrapper. An artist's book with three b/w photographs of boats on the large pond (Later to be called Loch Ech after Ian's son) on Finlay's recently purchased farm alongside three concrete poems - the words placed in a constellation or grid under the photographs. This example is signed and dedicated by Finlay in blue felt tipped ink on the inside front cover to Maxwell Allan a friend and collaborator. VG.

THE DANCERS INHERIT THE PARTY. 1969. THIRD EDITION.

n.p. (London): Fulcrum Press, 1969
21.5 x 14.5cm, 48pp. Boards with printed dust-jacket. The third edition of this Finlay's second book of poems - traditional in format mostly and usually in Scots/Doric. However this was published by Fulcrum who claimed it as the "first edition" on the colophon much to Finlay's annoyance. The original linocuts in the earlier publications have gone and the design is typographic only. Some marks and evidence of past adhesive labels on the front of the dustjacket (which has an image of a Giacometti maquette as its illustration) else VG. Scarce.

AFTER THE RUSSIAN. 1969.

Woodchester: Openings Press, 1969
21.5 x 15.2cm, 4pp. A small broadside published by John Furnival's press. The poem by Finlay is illustrated by Furnvial. The poem is made up of eleven groups of three words telling a story: the quay is silent and only covered in snow - then a Russian ship arrives, there are hats, footsteps and songs from the sailors and then the ship leaves port. The final words are Silence. Silence. Snow.
It is after the Russian.
The work was previously published in London Magazine January 1969.

A BOAT-YARD. 1969.

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1969
12.5 x 10.2cm, single sheet of dark blue card accordion folded six times to make 14 panels. Each panel has a line drawing which is unusually not credited so perhaps appropriated from another publication. Each boat is dedicated to a friend or enemy such that one can discern Finlay's opinion of them or a wry comment on their character.

A Boat, for Bob Cobbing*
Barking Fish-Carrier

Cobbing as Finlay notes here with the * was a sound poet in the London poetry scene. Of course the entire literary scene might well be a "boatyard" of ever moving figures b(c)obbing here and there.
Murray has placed this item as an artist's book but it could easily be re-catagorised as a folding card but for ease of reference we have decided to keep in as an "artist's book" in our listings.

LANES. 1969.

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1969
21.1 x 9cm, 30pp. Card covers with printed dust wrapper. Artist's book with two small drawings by Margot Sandeman. Each page has a two word poem printed in red and green based on combinations of the words Red, Roof, Wild, Rose, Blown, Tile until the last two words when the word White is added. There is a tale of sorts - the building has a red roof and it is blown away, a red rose is also replaced by a white rose. In some manner the petals of a rose are compared with a roof of a house.

Margot Sandeman

WAVE. 1969,

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1969
5.5 x 9cm, 30pp. Card covers with printed dust wrapper. Artist's book that takes the typesetter's symbol for "transpose" as a wave that moves through the various letters A, E, V and W - to eventually create the word for wave - and after all the symbol's typographic form is very similar to a wave shape. This work was the basis for larger three dimensional works on glass and also in stone and for public works. A small delight.

RHYMES FOR LEMONS. 1970.

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.

Margot Sandeman

FISHING NEWS NEWS. 1970.

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.

Margot Sandeman