1wcarter
The Dream Song of Olaf Åsteson, A fragment of a Norwegian folk epic c.400 A.D - OLD STILE PRESS 1995
A PICTORIAL REVIEW
Limited edition No. 65 of 140 copies.
Translated by Pauline Wehrle
Woodcuts on every recto page by Maryclare Foa who has signed the book.
Deckled outer page edges.
Quarter bound in brown leather blind stamped with images on the spine, solid pine wood boards showing natural imperfections.
74 pp.
26x28cm.
£200
It uses rich symbolism to depict a spiritual leader's journey of initiation and, as such, provided a perfect stimulus and challenge for the woodcuts of Maryclare Foa. Her immediate and intuitive technique seems to lay bare the very core of the subject for each of the thirty-six blocks which use, as do the verses of the poem, a childlike directness to treat of matters too spiritually deep for the words and images of everyday life.
The massive and eternal quality of text and image has been matched by the amazing binding devised and executed for the whole edition by Habib Dingle. Already renowned for his unique wooden bindings, he has here tackled the problems of quantity. The wood comes from Victorian pitch-pine beams, reclaimed, shaped and polished and incorporated with rawhide, with blind tooling, to form the book's case.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the this series can be viewed here.
A PICTORIAL REVIEW
Limited edition No. 65 of 140 copies.
Translated by Pauline Wehrle
Woodcuts on every recto page by Maryclare Foa who has signed the book.
Deckled outer page edges.
Quarter bound in brown leather blind stamped with images on the spine, solid pine wood boards showing natural imperfections.
74 pp.
26x28cm.
£200
It uses rich symbolism to depict a spiritual leader's journey of initiation and, as such, provided a perfect stimulus and challenge for the woodcuts of Maryclare Foa. Her immediate and intuitive technique seems to lay bare the very core of the subject for each of the thirty-six blocks which use, as do the verses of the poem, a childlike directness to treat of matters too spiritually deep for the words and images of everyday life.
The massive and eternal quality of text and image has been matched by the amazing binding devised and executed for the whole edition by Habib Dingle. Already renowned for his unique wooden bindings, he has here tackled the problems of quantity. The wood comes from Victorian pitch-pine beams, reclaimed, shaped and polished and incorporated with rawhide, with blind tooling, to form the book's case.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the this series can be viewed here.
2kdweber
>1 wcarter: One of my favorites - I have one of the hand colored copies but with the same wooden binding.
3Esoterics
>1 wcarter: Thank you for posting this! I have been looking to add Old Stile to the collection, but didn’t know about this Edition. I’m a big fan of Wood Bindings, I’ve been trying to add more to my small collection of wood bound Fine Press. I also love the Blind stamping and woodcuts, the only thing I’m skeptical about is the text.
4kermaier
>3 Esoterics:
Same here — not a fan of uncial-ish types like that.
Same here — not a fan of uncial-ish types like that.
5kdweber
>4 kermaier: I'm not a big fan of Uncial either but in this case the Parchment typeface worked well with the text which is pretty sparse and relatively easy to read. The story on the other hand ...
7wcarter
>6 NathanOv:
Prices in these reviews are what I paid including taxes but excluding shipping.
Prices in these reviews are what I paid including taxes but excluding shipping.
