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Artist Books

The Rare Book Room includes a collection of Artist Books, dating from the late 1920s to the present. All are limited editions; some are one-of-a kind, and all are beautiful. Here are some of the titles in our collection.

Jill Tim

Jill made her first artist book in the 5th grade from construction paper.  While in college at Utah State University, she really started developing her love of creating books, which led to an MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology.  She established her own press in 1968, Mystical Places Press.

Falling Leaves

A picture of Falling Leaves by Jill TimmThe "front cover" of Falling Leaves by Jill Timm

Falling Leaves / by Jill Timm. Wenatchee, WA: Mystical Places Press, 2005.

Falling Leaves is a tunnel book, a 3-dimensional book that the viewer looks into, with 4 panels of framed fall leaf images on transparent support to allow the viewer to see through all panels, getting a real feeling of the depth of the falling leaves. The inside covers have 2 cut out leaves that hold the title page, a leaf poem, and a colophon. The cover is a gate structure with a magnet closure, two more leaves on the front hold the book title. Closed book size is 5.5" x 7.5". Limited to an edition of 100.
"Leaves were collected, scanned, then printed onto transparent film. The papers are Fraser Passport, Neenah Classic Laid, and cover is Nepal made 'zig-zag'. The font is Bradley Hand. This book is handcrafted by Jill Timm in a limited edition of 100. You are holding number 8."
Four transparent layers of leaves pasted together in tunnel fashion; text within paper cutout leaves pasted onto inside covers; upper cover consists of 2 panels held by magnets, and with title on two more paper cutout leaves.

Yellowstone Summer

Yellowstone Summer / by Jill Timm. Wenatchee, WA: Mystical Places Press, 2003.
 
Limited ed. of 60 copies.
Accordion fold format; recto has continuous strip with col. ill. and quotation by John Muir; verso has mounted col. ill. on each page.
"These photographs were taken in Yellowstone National Park. The colored text paper is Fraser Synergy, the cover paper is made in Nepal, and the white is Teternal, a digital paper. The font used is Sniff. Except for the screen printed cover, this book is Ciclée [i.e. Giclée] digitally printed and handcrafted by Jill Timm."--Colophon.
Issued with flower charm of polymer clay on blue ribbon in a clamshell box.

The front cover of Yellowstone Summer, by Jill Timm

The Tree Party

 

The front and back covers of The Tree Party, by Jill Timm   The Tree Party / by Jill Timm. Wenatchee, WA: Mystical Places Press, 2019.

"The Tree Party is made from eco-printed papers. I tried out this new (to me) technique. Eco-Printing is a contemporary application of the traditions of natural dying. In eco-printing or dyeing, plants are enclosed in paper, bundled in stacks or layers and then steamed or immersed in hot water to extract the pigments and produce a print made with plant dyes. In searching for text that relates to these images I found the delightful poem by George Cooper about trees having a party. George Cooper (1840-1927) was an American poet remembered chiefly for his song lyrics, many set to music by Stephen Foster" -- Publisher's website.
"This book was made in a miniature version of 5 copies. Then I found a few more eco-prints, enough to make 2 more books in a slightly larger size" -- Colophon.
Rare Book Room copy is number #1.

Birds of Paradise

A colorful mosaic depicted in Birds of Paradise, by Jill Timm  Birds of Paradise / by Jill Timm. Wenatchee, WA: Mystical Places Press, 2019.

"Birds of Paradise is a flag book made from an actual folk painting on Amate. Includes a brief introduction to how this paper is made and used, ends with a colophon" -- Artist Book News.
"The book structure is a flag book devised by the paper structure inventer Hedi Kyle. The covers are not actually Amate paper like the inside is, the art was scanned before it was cut up for the inside, then printed on fine archival paper. The title font is Pompeia, the text font is Lithos Pro.The text and cover was printed on an inkjet printer with pigmented archival ink" -- Colophon.
Housed in a clamshell case.
Artist's signature on colophon.

Primeval

Primeval / by Jill Timm.  Wenatchee, WA: Mystical Places Press, 2015.

"A book in the shape of a tetrahedron is pretty close to the general shape of a volcano. Primeval could be showcasing the earth millions of years ago, but is actually showing the current landscape. With a brief description of what happened in the massive 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens and overhead photos of the newly reformed landscape, in the aftermath of an earth changing event. Primeval unfolds to 4 panels, 3 foldouts, lots of photos, text about the eruption of Mt St Helens, a colophon, and a sampling of real ash from the volcano, bound with wire edge binding. The book is 5.5" x 6" x 6". Comes with a tetrahedron case. Edition of 20"--From publisher's web site.
Library Note
Includes color illustrations, descriptive and historical text, a capsule of ash from the eruption, and a description of publication production information.
Deluxe, gray case has black bands in center of each side. Title print on each band. Case material is mildly abrasive.A picture of the "pop-ups" in Primeval, by Jill Timm

Voyages of Christopher Columbus

The fanned pages of Voyages of Christopher Columbus, by Jill Timm Voyages of Christopher Columbus / by Jill Timm.  Wenatchee, WA: Mystical Places Press, 2016.

"These stamps, the very first US commemorative stamps, were first issued in1892 to honor the 500th anniversary of the first voyage of Christopher Colombus to the New World. They were re-issued in 1992. The stamps are the same as the originals except for the date was changed to 1992.... The font use in this book is Shrewsbury, the text paper is Red River Aurora Art Natural, and was digitally printed with pigmented archival inks. The cover paper is dark brown Crinkle. This handcrafted book was made in an edition of 12" -- Colophon.
"The stamps are on hinged mini pages that pop up as each page is turned.... The case ... has a belt and buckle closure" -- Publisher's website.

 

The Visitor

A page of The Visitor, by Jill Timm. The photograph depicts a drawing of a wooden door The Visitor: a True Experience / by Jill Timm. Wenatchee, WA: Mystical Places Press, 2015.

"This is a true story that happened many years ago high in the Sierras. Fonts are Postino and Arial. Book is hand screened (white) and digitally printed (black) on Van Gelder Zonen Ingres paper in an edition of 18"--Colophon.
Pamphlet stiched ; two gathrings have folded pages that open out to make a four page wide connected page ; this limited edition copies are numbered.
Davidson College Library copy is #13.

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Mailing Address: Davidson College - E.H. Little Library, 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035