The Essence of Beeing

LENEHAN (Michael)

Published by The Sherwin Beach Press, Chicago, 1992

About this Item

Frontispiece and five full page illustrations by Alice Browon-Wagner, decorative initials coloured in gold and bee ornaments in the text. Folio. [340 x 250 x 15 mm]. Bound by Tracey Rowledge in 2010 (signed and dated inside rear cover) in black goatskin, the front cover with the title tooled in gilt using repeated impressions of a single basket-weave tool and a bee over the letter "i", smooth spine, yellow endleaves, uncut edges. Contained in a black cloth drop-over box, lined with light brown paper, the spine lettered in gilt on a black goatskin label. No. 127 of 200 copies. As stated in the colophon: "Work was begun on the book in 1980. Bob McCamant designed it, set the first few pages, and printed most of the pages of type. Kate Friedman set a few more pages. All the rest were set by Alice Brown-Wagner. Albert Richardson drew the bee ornaments and the drop capitals. Cheryl Towler printed most of the bee ornaments. Jennifer Hughes came along at the end and finished everything". Credit is due to all of them for a delightful production. Tracey Rowledge studied Fine Art at Goldsmith's College, London, and Fine Bookbinding and Conservation at Guildford College. She is a founding member of the international bookbinding collective Tomorrow's Past and a member of the independent artists group 60/40. She wrote about this binding: "A lot of decisions have gone on under the cover of this book, that's what fascinates me about binding books; it's so technical and so process driven. To get the right balance in my work, I have to keep focused on what I want the book to look and feel like; this thinking is based on my response to what the book is about and what structural demands I need to consider. Then there is the surface of the object, what will my mark be, the mark that will show to others. The image I created for this book draws the content on to the cover, whilst enabling me to continue my exploration of mark-making. The image appears spontaneously drawn and yet it is gold-tooled: a process that employs exacting skill, is utterly precise and couldn't be further removed from the marks it recreates". Seller Inventory # ebc4373

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Essence of Beeing

Publisher: The Sherwin Beach Press, Chicago

Publication Date: 1992

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Alice Browon-Wagner

Condition: Fine