IAN HAMILTON FINLAY

ARTIST’S BOOKS

SF. 1979.

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1979)
19.8x 16.6cm, 16pp plus card covers and printed dustjacket. Finlay's artist book examines six variations of the nazi SS logo - taking the original FF found in literature and noting how the letters were commonly substituted for SS in 17th century texts and, through typography developing the type into the double lightning strike of the notorious fascist organisation. Hence Finlay suggests there is some poetic equivalence between the evil of the Nazis and the "wildness" of nature - which Finlay makes clear in a note at the end of the book. (And anyone wishing to slur Finlay as being pro-fascist should read his description here of the SS as "notorious". Typography by George L.Thomson. VG+. Scarce.

George L. Thomson

PETERHEAD FRAGMENTS. 1979.

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1979)
15 x 21cm, 12pp plus printed wrappers. Illustrated by Margot Sandeman, the names of 19 fishing boats (eg Odysseus, Traveller, Illustrious and others found in the Olsen's Fisherman's Nautical Almanack) are combined by Finlay to give a visual poem of the trials and journeys of Odysseus printed black over Sandeman's light brown line drawings of nature, animals, vegetation and fish. The tale ends: "188, 190. Viking Warrior Supreme." VG+.

Margot Sandeman

DZAEZL. 1979.`

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1979)
15 x 21cm, 16pp plus printed end papers (with a reproduced drawing of an aircraft carrier) and white card covers with dust jacket. The seven reproduced paintings by John Borg Manduca are accompanied by quotations and poems by Finlay.
The title poem has anagrams of the word "dazzle" accompanied by a "dazzle" painted boat - however the word dazzle is not part of the poem because the "camouflage" has worked (see separate listing for the unique glass work of the same poem).
Sadly the staples here have rusted and slightly discoloured parts of the inner sheets near the fold else VG+.

John Borg Manduca

TEXTBOOKLET 2. 1979.

Dunsyre, Lanark: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1979)
10 x 5.2cm, 18pp (printed on one side only) accordion fold. The artist's book has a text printed vertically: "VTOLP" and then a few pages later "V/S" and the next page the TOLP is printed as an upward ascending text.
This is a concrete poem relating to the abbreviation of Vertical Take Off and Landing plane which first revealed to the public in the mid 1960s. The first page shows the passage of the plane upwards, the second is a representation of a normal plane taking off at an angle. We cannot work out what the "S" in the second typographic section stand for however. A shame but we continue to research this. VG+.

TEXTBOOKLET 3. 1979.

Dunsyre, Lanark: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1979)
10 x 5.2cm, 18pp (printed on one side only) accordion fold. The artist's book has the text: "Typography which used to flow like rivers" - but all but the last two words are sent vertically rather than horizontally. A comment on experimental typography which infers disapproval although how a visual/concrete poets could take that view is hard to accept. The vertical section might be compared to waterfalls after all. VG+.

ROMANCES. EMBLEMS. ENIGMAS. 1980.

Little Sparta; Wild Hawthorn Press, 1980. 14.3 x 8.5cm, c.32pp plus original wrappers. Artist's book with a number of descriptive poems by Finlay which end with a pointing finger as if the artist expects the scene to be drawn by the reader on a blank facing page.

"A statue of Eve reaching up to pick an apple, placed under an apple tree."

TWO BILLOWS. 1980

Dunsyre, Lanark: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1980) 13.6 x 8cm, 4pp plus blue wrappers. Artist's book where Finlay has only two different paper types bound together in the wrappers - one is blue and the other is white. There is a reference to Henty Vaughan's "The Timber. Silex Scintillans" on the back fold.
Vaughan was a metaphysical poet of the 17th century and Silex Scintillans published in 1650 was a major religious text which was published in two volumes with a significant gap in time between them (possibly due to illness) . The Two Billows of the title refers to the two volumes and the change in colour of the two pages reflects the differences in the two books. A visual poem with a literary and religious meaning although the boat vignette on the cover may suggest the more literal meaning of two billows - two pushes of air helping the vessel steer a true course. VG+.

WOODS AND SEAS. 1980.

Dunsyre, Lanark: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1980)
6 x9.2cm, 8pp plus card wrappers and printed dust jacket. The four printed pages has one word each:
5. Baroque
6. Barque
7. Bark
8. Baroque
and there is a reference to W. Lee Rensselaer's Names on Trees on the inner cover. That book is a literary and artistic analysis of the story of Angelica and Medoro in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. One aspect of Angelica's love for Medoro is that she carved the lovers' names on trees. Hence once can read the book as a visual poem of boats (Barque/Bark) and woods (Bark/Baroque) with the reference to baroque also referring to the art style of the 17th century. VG+

A SMALL CLASSICAL DICTIONARY. 1980. ONE OF ONLY 75 SIGNED COPIES.

n.p. : Parret Press, 1981
9 x 10.5cm, 28pp plus card covers. One of Finlay's most rare books this is a book of "definitions" where a common word is given (usually a classical) new definition. For example,:

HARE, n. a creature second in swiftness to the tortoise.

One of only 75 copies each of which is signed by Finlay published at Christmas 1981 - this example has sadly had some water damage in the past which can be seen on the outside and inside of the cover and along the inner spine although the texts and inner pages are unaffected.

TASCHENBUCH DER PANZER. 1981. ONE OF 200 COPIES SIGNED BY BOTH FINLAY & GARDNER.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1981.
24.8 × 30.5cm, 32pp plus pictorial card covers. A somewhat rare artist's book which has eight full colour lithographs of water colour paintings of poppies by Ian Gardner on thick paper bound in with titles by Finlay. A rather lovely book the theme is similar to other books where German Panzer tanks are well camouflaged in nature. Here the camouflage is perfect - one cannot see the tanks at all. In a suppliment bound in at the back - Finlay has added numberous epigrams relating to tanks and camouflage.

"Total War prompts a Total War Art."

This is one of only 200 copies signed by both Finlay and Gardner on the last page.VG+.

Ian Gardner

UNNATURAL PEBBLES WITH DETACHED SENTENCES ON THE PEBBLE. 1981.

Edinburgh: Graeme Murray Gallery, 1981 16 x 16cm, 60pp plus card covers and printed dustjacket. Three fold outs and one work reproduced in colour as frontispiece. Artist's book (one suspects it was also an exhibition catalogue given Murray was the dealer for the works included but this is not mentioned and Finlay is noted as having designed the book) which shows duotone images (by Hani Latif) of 17 inscribed large pebbles (or rocks really) with found texts from philosophers, poets and others. The texts on the stones reflect the quotations. The sculptures were made under Finlay's instruction by Richard Grasby. One thousand copies were printed. VG although slight rippling to the dustjacket.
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Hani Latif, Richard Grasby

A LITANY. A REQUIEM.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1981
9.7 x 5.7cm, 8pp plus printed red wrappers. Artist's book which lists two groups of names - the first Angelique, Tilleul, Pavot, Serpolet, Cheverefgeuille and Thym are listed as "a litany for Prairial". These are French names for herbs and Prairial is not only the Ninth revolutionary month (beginning in May) but also the time when the Law of 22 Prairial, also known as the loi de la Grande Terreur, was passed that gave power to the Committee of Public Safety that Robespierre turned into the dictatorship of the Terror. Herbs, of course, are picked and chopped up and consumed.
The second list "A requiem for Thermidor" has the names of the members of the Committee of Public Safety - Fleuriot, Hanriot, Couthon, Payan, Robespierre and Saint-Just. These were the victims of their own Terror when they were guillotined during the Thermidorian reaction (Robespierre went to his death in severe pain as he had tried to commit suicide only to partially blow off his own jaw in the attempt, Saint-Just was dignified and stoic).
The colours of the book papers are red, white and blue - the colours of the republic's tricolour.
The Litany is one of religious praise - here for the spring but with foreboding and foreshadowing of the destruction of the Terrorists. The requiem a cry of pain for the deposed leaders who killed so many by dictat.