Enūma Eliš by Griffin Gonzales - NO REPLY PRESS LETTERED LIMITED EDITION - 2021

Enūma Eliš by Griffin Gonzales – NO REPLY PRESS DELUXE LETTERED LIMITED EDITION 2021

A PICTORIAL REVIEW

Letter “C” of 26 copies
Signed by Phil Abel, the printer, and Griffin Gonzales, the translator.
Printed letterpress on Zerkall-bütten mouldmade paper.
Quarter-bound in gold-tooled cream vellum with handmade marbled boards.
Endpapers plain light brown.
Deckled lower and fore-edge pages.
Housed in a handmade dark blue solander box with grey edges and spine label.
Portions of the text are printed in the original Akkadian using the cuneiform script.
Nearly every page is printed in both black and blue.
Unillustrated.
Accompanied by a portfolio with a page of the translator's original manuscript, and a sheet showing modern usage of the cuneiform script.
29.5x17.8cm.
36 pages
US$685

The Enūma Eliš, the Babylonian epic of creation, is a literary masterpiece. It is among the oldest surviving creation myths, a foundational text from a foundational civilization. Its drama is timeless and yet still shocking with patricide, monsters and battles, moments of extreme cruelty and kindness. Add to this the fact that, to its audience, it explained in a very real way the creation of earth and mankind, it certainly lives up to the promise of an “epic.”

























































An index of the other illustrated reviews in the this series can be viewed here.

Beautiful!

It looks well worth the wait. The marbling is very rich and striking.

To date, the high point of the No Reply Press (imo).

Magnificent! Thank you for sharing. Does anyone know how it compares to other editions of the Enūma Eliš? I know there are a few editions floating around, but I don't know if they are also fine press.

Magnifique! And also hopelessly out of my league!
As requested by >5 astropi: any suggestions of other fine/ near-fine productions, illustrated or otherwise would be greatly appreciated.

>1 wcarter: Such a wonderful edition from Griffin!!

>4 dlphcoracl: I think you might be right, although I think it will quickly be supplanted by the forthcoming Eliot 'Preludes'. Certainly for my own shelves, anyway. But there is no denying Enūma Eliš is a real peach of an edition and one that will remain high among my NRP books.

That's a lovely looking book!

>8 ChestnutPress:

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the NRP book I am waiting for. This will fill a noticeable void in private press editions and will set a new standard for NRP. Hopefully, it will be published later in 2023 as scheduled.

that marbling is something special. I hope the solander didnt arrive scuffed up like that though.

>10 dlphcoracl: A fine and interesting choice!

>11 wooter:
Comparing the solander photos to the actual box, the blemishes are an artefact, either dust on the lens or the box. It is actually pristine.

>1 wcarter: What an absolutely beautiful production! Griffin seems to have outdone himself here. Agreed with >4 dlphcoracl: and I am kicking myself (as best as my knees will allow) for not picking up even the regular edition. That's what I get for burying my head in the sand when it comes to most contemporary presses. I'm following No Reply Press hereafter!

OT: Anyone know of any other letterpress cuneiform (whether Egyptian or Akkadian)? As an undergrad, one of my favorite courses was survey on the Ancient Near East.

>14 DenimDan: "I'm following No Reply Press hereafter!"

Good choice. Enuma Elis is a gem. I'm happy to have it in my collection.

I'd certainly say it's the top NRP release to date, though I'm skewed by my interest in the subject matter and I love the idea of letterpress cuneiform. The Adichie release is also splendid (https://www.noreplypress.com/limitededitions/above-all-else-do-not-lie), and I'm looking forward to seeing what Griffin does with Simone de Beauvoir's The Ethics of Ambiguity. Particularly with the "choose your own artworks" aspect of that one.

The binding of the lettered state looks utterly gorgeous (I'm a fool for marbled paper), but I'll have to content myself with the merely-excellent standard/numbered edition.

>17 kermaier:

I preferred the deluxe numbered editions (Roman numerals I to C) with quarter vellum spine and patterned blue Hahnemühle paper over boards, so much so that I chose it over the lettered vellum/marbled paper edition. The letterpress dark blue cuneiform superimposed over the medium blue Hahnemühle paper is elegant, understated and attractive.

>18 dlphcoracl: I agree!

>18 dlphcoracl: Almost a Tallone vibe.

>18 dlphcoracl: I agree on pure aesthetic merit, but I have found Hahnemühle to be an oil magnet. I have rather dry hands in general, but I still need to be careful about this. Just something to keep in mind when handling this one, which is otherwise perfection.

>21 abysswalker:

I make dustwrappers using clear, archival Grafix Dura-Lar for all of my fine & private press books to avoid this problem. Bindings made of limp vellum and certain delicate cloth fabrics will have the same problem.

>18 dlphcoracl: I agree. I love marbled paper, but I think in this case, the plain Hanneműhle works better. Such is my recently acquired copy. It is lovely in all respects.

>23 Glacierman: The vellum spine and printed blue hahnemühle paper sides treatment is by far the winning binding in my humble opinion. Such a great looking edition in all respects

>25 LT79: What a world dreamt: https://www.thelastpress.com/suttonhoopress/p/what-a-word-dreamt-versions-of-azt...

Has a similar effect going for part of it, although I’m not sure if it’s 1:1 with the translation.