Lunch at Albert's: Reflections on Joe D'Ambrosio's "A Memoir of Book Design"
[San Francisco]: Joe D'Ambrosio, 2005. Limited Edition. Hardcover. One of 50 copies (plus 10 artist proofs), 49 pp., signed by Adela Spindler Roatcap and Joe D'Ambrosio. Fine. Item #24112502
Designed and signed by Joseph D'Ambrosio (1934-2009), an exceptional book artist who wrote, set type, printed designs, illustrated, and distinctly bound his books. D'Ambrosio exhibited in many one-man and group exhibitions, and his works are in both private and institutional collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
This miniature book was produced as "A Keepsake commemorating The Book Club of California's 2005 Oscar Lewis Award to Joe D'Ambrosio for contributions to the Book Arts, San Francisco - Feb. 7, 2005". This the first separate printing of the work, which was originally published in the BCC Quarterly Newsletter in the spring of 2004.
A remarkable essay written by Dr. Adela Spindler Roatcap, then a Professor of Art History at the University of San Francisco. Roatcap recounts a series of reminiscences regarding D'Ambrosio and Albert Sperison who, according to a quote in the essay knew, "everything there is to know about books" (p. 1). The book is a work of art (as are all D'Ambrosio's books), with memories of his in purple ink, colour photographs of D'Ambrosio and Sperisen, and two small colour decorations.
Scarce in the marketplace; as of this writing we see no copies online.
___DESCRIPTION: Bound in decorated cloth over boards, with a third "board" on the right that folds over the traditional front board, paper spine label, colour photograph of D'Ambrosio inset into the front board, grey endpapers, in purple and black, with decorations and photographs as described above, the signature of the author on the final page of text, D'Ambrosio's signature on the rear pastedown; miniature (2 3/4" by 2 /3"), pagination: [6] 1-40 [2, blanks] [1, colophon], edition of 50 copies (plus 10 artist proofs), this no. 38.
___CONDITION: Fine; the boards clean, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, and as new.
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Price: $250.00