I PLACE A BLUE DELPHINIUM ON YOUR GRAVE – ONE OF ONLY FOUR HAND PAINTED PROOF COPIES

N.p.: The Blue Press, 1994
45 x 35cm, hand-painted boards, 30pp plus 8pp hand-painted endpapers all on thin paper. Printed letterpress. Stored in a 47 x 37 x 4cm hand painted solander box. The text is that of Jarman’s final film Blue which consisted of the artist reading his poetic text over a projected royal blue colour. This was one of only four (4) proof copies produced in advance of the edition of 150 books which was intended to be issued with a signed print and 25 copies with a hand-painted box also by Jarman but the artist sadly died before he was able to complete the project and the books were issued without his signature or his painting. This proof copy was not painted by Jarman but the work was created to his instruction with hand-painted end papers, boards and solander box. Some parts of the panting are less consistent than others in their depth of blue (an unavoidable issue when the work was done by hand) but this is a beautiful book of great poignancy.

Blue was the last film made by the acclaimed film-maker. Written at a time when Jarman knew he was likely to die from AIDS-related causes, the screen is entirely taken up with a deep blue colour with a poetic mostly-auto-biographical text read over it by Jarman.

A very rare item indeed in this format.