Margot Sandeman - Unoriginal Sins

22 Apr IMPENDING NAVIGATION BRIGHT. A CATCH OF POEMS ABOUT THE SHIPPING FORECAST. 1994. ONE OF 100 NUMBERED COPIES.

Posted at 09:07h in Page Works & Contributions

Edinburgh: Morning Star Press, 1994 21 x 15cm, gatefold outer orange folder content of a 18 x 12cm, 10pp (single folded sheet) with page contributions by Finlay, Gael Turnbull, Tessa Ransford, George MacKay Brown, Ian Stephen, Edwin Morgan, Peter Larkin, Richard Price, Peter Dent and a cover illustrated by Margot Sandeman with text by Bridget Penney. The shipping forecast is a nightly and morning broadcast on the BBC which tells the weather for shipping in the various seas around Great Britain but it has iconic status as many peopel who are not fishermen listen to it because the names of the various weather stations are somewhat poetic in themselves. Finaly here contributes a short work:<BR?
LATE NIGHT SHIPPING FORECAST

A shoal
of names
in nets
of rain

Where the weather station names are compared to a fishing catch held together by a net of rain.
The Morning Star Press was the publishing house of Alex Finlay son of Ian. One of 100 hand numbereed copies. Scarce. VG+. ...

26 Sep PEAR, N. A PARADIGM OF LIMIT. 1986.

Posted at 10:44h in Artist's Postcards

Glasgow: Hughson Gallery, 1986
10.5 x 15cm, 4pp. Gallery issued postcard (who represented Margot Sandeman) with a reproduction of a painting by the artist based on a poem / "definition work" by her friend, and oft collaborator, Finlay. Each of the works had his original typed poem glued onto the canvas and Finlay later signed all the works on the back of the canvass to given them the status of a work by himself. There were c. 12 such paintings made.
These works were forgotten about until a visit to Sandeman by Paul Robertson in c. 2008 brought them to his notice. Sandeman agreed to exhibit the works at Robertson's gallery and to produce an artist's book together reproducing the works. However within a week of Robertson's visit Richard Demarco found out about the paintings via his assistant who had also visited Sandeman and Demarco went to the artist (who he had known for many years) and took the works away with him when he left. Robertson was not able to exhibit them or publish the book. They were later exhibited posthumously to Sandeman's sad death at Summerhall by Demarco - ironically at a time when Robertson was the visual arts curator for the building.
VG+ - an unknown artist's card presumably because it was not published with Finlay's knowledge. Very scarce.

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24 Aug PETERHEAD FRAGMENTS. 1979.

Posted at 14:25h in Artist's Books

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+.

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11 Oct CATCHES. 1971.

Posted at 22:30h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1971
11.2 x 11.4cm, 4pp. Artist's card with a reproduced drawing by Margot Sandeman of the child's game of conkers on strings and a leaf from the horse chestnut tree. Inside the card is the text: "CATCHES. A big catch is a wee consolation. (After Paul Klee)." VG+.

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17 Apr PROMOTIONAL LEAFLET FOR 30 SIGNATURES FOR SILVER CATCHES. 1971.

Posted at 21:07h in Miscellany

Nottinghams: Tarasque Press, 1971
21 x 15cm, 1pp. Green on white offset lithographic subscription leaflet for the artist's book with Margot Sandeman. VG+.

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24 Jan 30 SIGNATURES TO SILVER CATCHES. 1971. ONE OF 300 SIGNED & NUMBERED COPIES.

Posted at 12:08h in Artist's Books

Nottinghams: Tarasque Press, 1971
7.5 x 22cm, 76pp with one fold out page. Original card wrappers with pictorial dust jacket designed by Margot Sandeman. This artist's book consists of appropriated fisherman's slips (the paper slips put on boxes of fish to identify the seller) which are one and two word poems in this form. One of 300 signed and numbered copies. VG+. Murray 3.38.

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11 Oct ARCADIAN SUNDIALS. 1970

Posted at 14:37h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1970
10.5 x 15cm, 4pp. Artist's postcard with a line drawing by Margot Sandeman of a garden gate and various flowers.
The text inside the card reads:

"ARCADIAN SUNDIALS. All Times on these sundials are Solar Time."

The elements of the garden all cast shadows and can be regarded as measures of solar time. This card is signed "love from Margot (Sandeman)" in ink and is else VG+.
With original unprinted postal envelope.

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19 Jul FISHING NEWS NEWS. 1970.

Posted at 00:03h in Artist's Books

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.

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18 Feb RHYMES FOR LEMONS. 1970.

Posted at 22:51h in Artist's Books

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.

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18 Oct LANES. 1969.

Posted at 22:34h in Artist's Books

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.

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16 Mar 3 NAMES OF BARGES. 1969.

Posted at 11:04h in Artist's Postcards

Dunsyre: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1969
16.5 x 12cm, 2pp. The card has a reproduced drawing by Margot Sandeman of boats and overlaid is a text which lists three names OF barge - Ethel Maud, Lapwing, Spinaway C and the four name FOR barges - Bramble, Titch, Typhoo, Prettypolly. The former are presumably existing names, the latter names that Finlay would like to allocate.
Murray has this as Card 4.18. ...

15 Jul POTH (POOR OLD TIRED HORSE) NR 15. 1965.

Posted at 13:39h in Poor Old Tired Horse + Broadsides

Ardgay, Ross-shire; Wild Hawthorne Press, 1965
26 x 21cm, 8pp. The fifteenth number of Finlay’s poetry publication with contributions by Margot Sandeman who provided drawings for the entire publication, George Mackay Brown, Eli Siegel, Edwin Morgan Ian Hamilton Finlay, Hamish McLaren, Theodore Enslin, Libby Houston and R.L. Cook. VG+ condition Scarce.

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