IAN HAMILTON FINLAY

ARTIST’S POSTCARDS

1989: BICENTERNAIRE DE LA REVOLUTION FRANCAISE. 1989.

Little Sparta: Committee of Public Safety/Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1989) 2.8 x 21.6cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a text:

1989: BICENTERNAIRE DE LA REVOLUTION FRANCAISE
1990: LA LIBERTE DE CELEBRER 1789.

The year after most people define the beginning after the French Revolution the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789) was passed by the National Constituent Assembly thus giving citizens the right of free speech. Finlay's card celebrates that occasion which is usually ignored - putting it on an equal status as a highlight of world history. VG+.

“THING” POEMS.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. 6 x 9.6cm, 1pp artist's card printed black on green card with a text discussing the difference between a poems subject ("about a thing") and the poem itself (which IS a thing). Semiology for beginners. VG+.

FETE CHAMPETRE. 1989.

Edinburgh: Morning Star Publications, 1989
10.5 x 15cm, 2pp card. The card has a drawing by Stephen Duncalf of small aircraft parked on grass. A fete champetre is an outdoor entertainment (like a garden party) so the visual poem likens the rather makeshift airport to such an event. One of 1,000 copies printed. VG+.

ORDER IS REPETITION. 1989.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, n.d. (1989) 7.3 x 8.2cm, 4pp artist's card with two texts -

on the left "as in rat-a-0tat" and on the right "Order is repetition".

The card is "dedicated" to Yves Hayat who had been a friend to the artist but attacked him after the Catherine Millet accused Finlay of being fascistic because he included a swastika in one of his works. The rat-a-tat clearly references shooting from a machine gun - and (metaphorically) Hayat is being murdered by words. VG+.

LITTLE SPARTA. 1989.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1989
17.3 x 14.7cm, 2pp card. The card has a drawing of various classical structures overlaid - the title of Little Sparta which corresponds to Finlay's name for his own farm clearly marks the building, gardens and grounds at Dunsyre as neo-classical. VG+.

VOYSEY STILE. 1989.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1989
15.3 x 11.4cm, 1pp. Artist's card with a technical drawing of a fencing style by Mark Stewart which in its lines and decoration places it as art nouveau and more specifically influenced by C. F. A. Voysey who made textiles with hearts and plants as motifs. If this was ever constructed then it would be rather beautiful. VG+.

Mark Stewart

FOR SIMON CUTTS. 1989.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1989
14 x 9.5cm, 4pp. Artist's folding card with the text "a line of thin pale red" inside which is a translation from Chenier - the French poet of revolutionary times who was guillotined. The red here being blood and the line that left momentarily from the clean cut of the blade. I do not know if Cutts and Finlay were friends at this point - as the card seems to hint at threat - but both published jointly a similar work together under the aegis of Cutts' Coracle Press a few years earlier. VG+.

Simon Cutts

MATISSE CHEZ DUPLAY. 1989.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1989
16.9 x 12cm, 2pp. Blue on white artist's card with a quotation from Lamartine's History of the Girondists regarding the very basic furniture and ornaments found in Robespierre's room. The typography by Julie Farthing is similar to that of Matisse's handwriting and the reference to Duplay is that the latter rented the chambers to Robespierre. There is a neon of this same work. VG+.

Julie Farthing

INSTALLATION. 1989.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1990
18.7 x 9.3cm, 4pp card. The front and the back of the card has two drawings of a guillotine but one has the blade in place and is labelled "Installation" and the other sans blade is labelled "Event" on the back. The inside of the card is blank. The difference may be that the blade completes the purpose of the structure. VG+.

SOMEWHERE IN THE WOOD. MORNING STAR REPRINT. 1989

Edinburgh: Morningstar Press, 1989 12.4 x 18.6cm, 4pp. Printed letterpress. Christmas card black on handmade paper with the text:
Somewhere in the wood was shining the
little red lantern of Christmas....
which refers to the red breasts of robins.

This is the second edition of this card that was published by Eck Finlay's (Ian's son) Morning Star Press 3 years after the original. VG+. Scarce.

SNOW. N. A NEOCLASSICAL PRECIPITATION. 1989. XMAS CARD.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1989 12 x 10cm, 4pp (single folded sheet of card). The text which is embossed (raised) on this card to keep it white like snow reads: Snow, n. a neoclassical precipitation. The drawing (also embossed) is by Gary Hinks. Rather lovely. VG+. Scarce.

MATISSE CHEZ DUPLAY. 1990.

Glasgow: Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries, 1990 21 x 14.9cm, 2pp full colour postcard with an image of Finlay's title neon work on the front, verso gallery details. Photograph by Elke Walford taken during the Gresat British Art exhibition. VG+.