Ice Flower
[Oakland]: Chez Log Press [printed and bound by Dorothy Yule at the Eucalyptus Press], [1988]. Limited Edition. Hardcover. No. 14 of 40 copies, duodecimo size, 24 pp. Fine. Item #CNBR388
Ken Chowder has scripted over 25 documentary films (and one feature film) broadcast on PBS, NBC, TBS, Discovery, A & E, and BBC, and has published three novels to glittering reviews. His credits include seven films for PBS’ The American Experience, one American Masters,and seven National Geographic films. Ken also writes short stories; his awards for short fiction include: Winner, O. Henry Prize; Winner, NEA-PEN award (twice); Runner-up, Nelson Algren Award; Winner, Pushcart Prize; and Winner, FICTION NETWORK competition (n.b., information from the web site of Ken Chowder).
The title for this lovely little story, "Ice Flower", is explained on the second page of the story: " 'You could always begin here,' Pia says. I don't quite hear her; I'm looking past her, toward the patterns the ice has made on the windows: 'isblomster', the Danes call them. Ice flowers. 'Here?' I ask. With this scene, you mean?' ". Chowder's writing immediately pulls one into the story he creates; and this volume, published as a fine press work in an edition of only 40 copies, lends the beauty of the book-as-object to the stark beauty of the prose. Published by the Chez Log Press, printed and bound by Dorothy Yule at the Eucalyptus Press, the press which has been housed at Mills College (Oakland, California) and used for their Book Arts Program.
Scarce: as of this writing we see no copies online, no auction records (RBH) and we find four copies on OCLC.
___DESCRIPTION: Paste-paper over boards in shades of grey and blue with grey lettering, grey cloth shelfback with black lettering, grey laid paper endpapers, half-title, title page, and sectional initial capitals all in grey, double-spread title page with decorations in grey of stylized "isblomster"; duodecimo size (7 3/4" by 5 1/8"), text set in Baskerville by Mackenzie-Harris Corp., pagination: [1-4] 5-20 [1, blank] [1, colophon] [2, blanks].
___CONDITION: Fine, with clean boards, 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; it has been protected by a plain paper wrapper with black ink hand-writing on the spine (we believe fashioned by a prior owner) which has resulted in the book remaining crisp and utterly as new.
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Price: $300.00