Cutting Paper in Leather

Claudia Cohen continues the work of binding & assembling copies of Cutting Paper. She usually leaves the deluxe copies for last, and this is no exception. Shown above is her maquette for the front board: where the regular copies were in a case made from different cut and woven handmade papers, the deluxe will be leather with onlays. But as with most Cohen/Hodgson projects, what really makes these copies deluxe is the extra material included on the box: an expanded selection of cut-paper examples, including a unique photomontage, a 19th-century katagami, an original Image d'Epinal, two large Chinese paper labels, and an abstract white cut.

The deluxe copies of Cutting Paper are being shipped out over the next month or so. As with the regulars, they are sold out. But at least now you've seen the binding.

The Printing Bug(s)

Seems we picked up some bugs while in Berkeley last month. Actually this was how Barbara amused herself during the few brief moments when people weren't wanting her to take them through Cutting Paper. Copies of which will begin shipping this month. Stay tuned for promised [A-HEM] photos from Claudia's studio of the deluxe binding....

Cutting Paper is a Wrap

Long & detailed account of our adventures at Codex to be posted this weekend. Meanwhiles, check out this very cool short movie made by the very cool Kate Farnady of Barbara Hodgson taking you on a quick tour through Cutting Paper. The book was a big hit at the fair, except that a number of people were P.O.'d it was already sold out.

Just Wait, We'll Be There! (Codex)

The Codex conflagration begins at 11 a.m. this Sunday. Who goes to a book fair at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning? Apparently not the HM team, as we will all still be in transit. So, thanks to friends who will be there, visitors to the fair will see the poster above on HM's table for the first two hours of the fair. Those who circle back after 1 p.m. will get to see the very first copy of Cutting Paper! Also the HM Codex Miscellany, and based on early expressions of interest, it looks like we'll be able to order some meat with our noodles most nights while away.

The HM Codex Codex

HM doesn't do many book show-type events. They're a lot of work and hassle. Some people enjoy the socializing & interaction, showing & talking about their books; for the most part, we'd rather just be working. Or playing. But not standing at a table in an exhibition hall. Why, then, did we sign up to participate in this year's Codex book fair in Berkeley? Especially since it's not in its usual spot on the UC Berkeley campus, but five miles away in a commercial exhibition space, in a part of town that even friends of ours from the Bay Area say they've never been to?

The main reason was to take the opportunity to show the collaborations between Barbara Hodgson and Claudia Cohen published by HM since 2007. Particularly their latest - Cutting Paper - which will make its debut to everyone (including its publisher) at the Codex fair.

We'll also be displaying the three volumes in their color series published to date, and The WunderCabinet. The reputation established by their first collaboration, 2007's The Temperamental Rose, has ensured that every book they've published since has been over-subscribed before publication. Copies can be found in institutional collections across North America, but Codex will be the first (and only, at least for a long while) time that the creators and all of their books will be on display, together, in one place. It will be an opportunity to not only see the books, but talk to Barbara and Claudia about their collaborations.*

At the edges of our table, we'll also show a couple of other HM books published in the past few years, including Harold Budd's Angel, Jim Westergard's Oddballs, Elements in Correlation, Types/Paper/Print, and the two volumes in our Artists' Pamphlet series published to date. But most important of all, we'll be schilling our HM Codex MMXIII Miscellany, a fundraiser to cover the costs of living in the manner to which we are accustomed while at the show.

The HM Codex Miscellany contains new works by four of our friends: a previously unpublished (& saucy) poem by Harold Budd...

two phonautographic prints by Scott Morgan (whose work will be further explored in Artist's Pamphlet #3 later this year)...

a brief chimerazoological report by Briony Morrow-Cribbs...

a piece taken from Barbara Hodgson's private museum (an original painting of a Bird of Paradise egg, tipped into each copy)...

The book also contains a full page displaying two of Hermann Ilhenburg's types (Bradley Series, and the less known Columbus)...

and a foundling wood engraving (c. 1950s) attributed to British Columbia artist Jessie Webb...

Each of the three sheets that make up this 12-page book is a different paper: Roma, Barcham Green Canterbury, and Arches Wove, all printed damp. To gild the lily, the wrap for each pamphlet is taken from a series of very large etchings created by Gordon Smith in recent years. State and registration proofs of these etchings were kindly donated by the artist and the studio where they were printed (New Leaf Editions), to be cut into sections for use as cover wraps (inside a glassine jacket). Thus, each copy of the HM Codex Miscellany includes a piece of a proof of an original Gordon Smith etching.

The HM Codex Miscellany will be offered for sale at the book fair, at the discounted price of $150 net. Any copies remaining after the fair will be priced at $225. The book is 6.5 x 10.25 inches, 12 pages, set in Centaur and Arrighi, with Margery used in the Budd poem, and 36-pt Columbus and 24-pt Bradley Series in the Ihlenburg spread. The edition is 50 copies, with the first 10 hors de commerce for contributors.

* Other than the HM Codex Miscellany, we won't actually be offering any of the books on display for purchase. They're all out of print, or in the case of Cutting Paper, fully subscribed. However, Vamp & Tramp will be participating at Codex, and as one of our regular booksellers, they have some HM titles in stock. Inquiries can also be made with our other regular booksellers (see the Friends page). 

What the Sound of Working Looks Like

   

Yes yes David, we know it's been too long since anything new has been posted. But that's because we've been (more interested in) working on a special project for the upcoming Codex book fair in Berkeley. HM will be participating, and more to the point, displaying the very first copy of Barbara & Claudia's new book, Cutting Paper. (That book is, BTW and reported here for the first time, sold out, so Codex may be a rare opportunity to see a copy.) About the miscellany we are printing specially for the show (a fundraiser for B & C's bar tabs...), no details yet. But very cool. Meanwhile, everyone do some reading about phonautograms. 

Paper Cuts in Mail

Copies of the prospectus for Cutting Paper are going out this week. The folded sheet is printed on the Rives BFK being used in the book, and each copy features a title and initial letter paper cuts, plus an original early 20th-century Japanese family crest stencil (monkiri) cut from persimmon-dyed mulberry paper (a different stencil in each prospectus).

The prospectus was printed here at HM, but the actual book (9.5 x 12 inches, 80 pp.) is being printed by David Clifford on his Vandercook press. The edition will be 30 copies issued in two states: the deluxe copies (1 - 10) will be bound in full leather and include additional samples; regular copies (11 - 30) will be bound in handmade cut-paper paper. Both states will be issued in a clamshell box, with additional samples laid in. Most of the edition is already subscribed by HM's regular clients, but get in touch if you are interested; we're keeping a list.

Cutting Through

Cutting Paper, the next book from the Hodgson/Cohen team, is making progress with many small, precise cuts. In terms of collating the signatures and many samples presented on individual leaves, it is perhaps the most complex book the two have yet undertaken (which, when you consider The WunderCabinet and their color series, is saying something).

Over the past eight months Barbara has worked full-time on the brief essays describing each of the sections focusing on cut paper art from specific countries, cultures and techniques, and the overall design for the book. Claudia has been developing ideas for the binding (handmade paper with the tile and designs cut out, over thin boards; an early prototype shown above), and both of them have been hunting for historical samples (in sufficient quantities for the edition) and creating original pieces for the book (Claudia's poor apprentice has been cutting out dozens of tiny paper swans).

A page for the book has been added to the HM site, with some additional details. We'll continue to post project updates on this blog as production progresses. We will have a copy on display at the Codex book fair next February. Later this month we will be contacting our regular booksellers and collectors of previous works by Barbara and Claudia, to reserve copies. Like their previous books, we expect demand to exceed supply (the edition will be just 30 copies).

With Occupied Over, It's Time to Start Cutting

Copies of Occupied By Colour have been traveling to their new homes over the past couple of weeks. The book is bound in quarter leather, with the head and foot of the boards edged in leather (with leather onlay and gilt tooling). The boards are covered in Claudia's custom paste papers upon which she has hand-tooled a progression of circles.

The cloth box (edged with the same paste paper) contains a crystal prism; a pamphlet briefly recounting the history of hair dye, along with three actual samples (ick); and a vintage dye-test thread card from the Courtauld Co. (early 20th century?).

As with previous volumes in this series, the first eight copies in the edition form a deluxe issue. These copies feature a more elaborate binding, and an original color analysis of a different historical work of art. The color analysis process is based on the work of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel, as found in her idiosyncratic book Color Problems (1901). Shown below is the analysis of Ingres' The Grand Odalisque.

While Claudia is completing the deluxe bindings, Barbara is diving into the writing and planning of their next collaboration (which will not be part of the color series). Cutting Paper, a miscellany of cut-paper art ("scherenschnitt") from Claudia Cohen & Barbara Hodgson, the team behind our ongoing color series and 2011's WunderCabinet. This venerable art form – practised everywhere paper is found – requires no more than scissors and knives and any kind of paper. Each copy of Cutting Paper will include approximately three dozen examples of archival and original cut-paper art. Brief essays will describe the techniques, the variations found around the world, and the history of the art form. There will also be an extensive bibliography. The book will be printed at Heavenly Monkey on a variety of handmade papers, and issued in an edition of 30 copies (including 10 deluxe).

p.s. apologies to all the 99 percenters whose search inquiries lead them to our Occupied posts. An unfortunate, but humorously ironic juxtaposition of meanings.