UNTITLED. UNIQUE ARTIST’S BOOK – THE ARTIST’S THESIS. 1963.

37.5 x 29cm, 86pp – printed on various stocks, some double sided. Applied collaged material, silkscreen prints, paint and typed text. Bound with two thick card boards and plastic comb binding.

A remarkable undertaking by Collins who produced this highly complex artist’s book for his National Diploma in Design thesis at St. Martins School of Art. The lengthy hand-typed text outlines his philosophy in art alongside multicoloured printed pages and collaged hand painted elements on plastic and paper.

The end papers are manipulated to allow the text on the final page to be read and the subtitles/section titles are hand applied in Letraset. There are also several pages of cutouts from magazines which have been pasted down to create interesting collaged pages which he refers to as “Influences”.

The board covers have both collaged elements placed on them.

The condition is mostly VG – although there is some water staining on some pages which can be seen in the photographs. There are creases to the boards and the occasional other stain but this is a lovely book which was created by the conceptual artist with some care and thought. The plastic comb binding is not complete with two of the fingers broken off as typical of such bindings after so many years.

A remarkable work which not only defines the aesthetic and conceptual approaches of the artist during his earliest years but is a lovely and carefully made construction.