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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.

Sutton Hoo Press

Sutton Hoo Press is a literary fine press named after the famous Anglo-Saxon archaeological dig of a royal ship burial. Their editorial mission is bring to light the work of promising young writers and poets, as well as to publish work by well-known authors, in order to define exacting standards of writing in contemporary fiction and poetry.

Rhumb Lines

Rhumb Lines / by Anthony Deaton.  Winona, MN: Sutton Hoo Press, 2002.A page from "Rhumb Lines," depicting a work of abstract art

Some of the poems originally published in Gettysburg Review, The nation, Southern poetry review, The Texas review.
"136 copies were set by hand and [letterpress] printed from Blumer types ... by R. Blom, Zachary Carlsen, B.J. Naragon, C. Mikal Oness, and Betsy Wheeler."--Colophon.
Non-adhesive binding sewn on handmade paper tabs of irregular shapes that extend across the boards and are glued onto marbled paper covering the boards.
Annotations: Colophon signed by author: Anthony Deaton.
Illustrations: Vignette of a deer blind stamped on the title page.

What a Word Dreamt: Versions of Aztec Poetry

What a Word Dreamt: Versions of Aztec Poetry / by Peter Everwine.  Stockton, MN: Sutton Hoo Press, 2005.

A title page from 'What a Word Dreamt."A page from 'What a Word Dreamt," depicting a poem. Another page from 'What a Word Dreamt," depicting a poem.
 
"136 copies were [letterpress] printed from hand-set Bembo & Blado types by C. Mikal Oness with assistance from Zachary Carlsen"--
"My versions of Aztec poetry are largely based on the annotated Spanish texts of Angel Ma. Garibay ... and Miguel Leon-Portillo ... I am also indebted to John Bierhorst's 'undoctored English rendering' of the Cantares Mexicanos, Songs of the Aztecs ..."--Acknowledgements.
Bound in red book cloth over boards in seven signatures. Aztec text is printed as running text along upper and lower edges of the pages in burgundy; English text in black using different type.
Annotations: Artist book.Signed by the poet (Peter Everwine).

Speaking of Accidents: Poems

Speaking of Accidents: Poems / by Peter Everwine.  Winona, MN: Sutton Hoo Press, 2003.

"Two hundred copies of this book were printed from hand-set Bembo types on Somerset Book paper by C. Mikal Oness."--P. [6]. -- Letterpress printed. Case bound in grey-green cloth with single paper label on spine and front cover.
Annotations: Number 24 of 200. Signed by Peter Everwine and Gary Young.Artist book.
A page from "Speaking of Accidents," depicting a poem and a drawing of a landscape .A page from "Speaking of Accidents," depicting a drawing of a landscape
Illustrations: Woodcuts by Gary Young

Breviary

Breviary / by Kevin Young.  Winona, MN: Suton Hoo Press, 2009. 

   '100 copies printed from Perpetua on Somerset by C. Oness. Sidney Bauer assisted. These     poems from the sequence Book of Hours appear also in New England Review, Poetry, and Best American Poetry 2008.
"[Letterpress] printed from Perpetua on Somerset by C. Oness. Sidney Bauer assisted.
Three sewn signatures laid into a handmade flax paper wrapper.
Annotations: Artist book.Writing on limited edition page which appears to be signature.
 
The front cover of "Breviary," depicting a songbirdA page from "Breviary" with a poem on it Another page from "Breviary" with a poem on it
 
Illustrations: Images by Ladislav Hanka. Some in color, one blind-stamped

Blood Lily

Blood Lily / by Pamela McClure.  Columbia, MO: Sutton Hoo Press, 1999.

Poems. -- "About 136 copies from Bembo types on Johannot paper. Printed in March 1999 by Brad Naragon, C. Mikal Oness, Bryan Peglow, and P. Michael Hook. It was a lovely week in La Crosse, Wisconsin."--Colophon
Annotations: Artist book.Signed by poet (Pamela McClure) and artist (P.M. Hook).

The front cover of "Blood Lilly," depicting a work of abstract art A page from "Blood Lilly," depicting a poem and an abstract drawing of a rock.

A Brief History of Punctuation: Poems

A Brief History of Punctuation: Poems / by Maurya Simon.  Winona, MN: Sutton Hoo Press, 2002.

"136 copies of this book were printed from Joanna type by Carol Kratz, B.J. Naragon, and C. Mikal Oness on dampened Somerset paper. The marbling and binding were done in-house with some copies reserved for other binders. Copies were signed by the poet and the calligrapher before binding ... [signatures]"--Colophon.
Annotations: Artist book.Signed by poet (Maurya Simon) and artist (Cheryl Jacobsen).
The poem from a page of "A Brief History of Punctuation" The front cover of "A Brief History of Punctuation," complete with an ink drawing
 
Illustrations: Calligraphy by Cheryl Jacobsen. Some in black; some blind-stamped

Runian

Runian / by Chad Oness.  Winona, MN: Sutton Hoo Press, 1999.

"Approximately 126 copies handset from Lutetia type were printed on dampened Johannot. All images were originally sumi ink paintings"--Colophon.
"[A] collection of seven of Chad's poems with seven of my sumi ink paintings. The images were converted to blocks and the poems were set from Lutetia types ... hand bound with a long stitch on Tim Barrett's flax PC 4 from the University of Iowa Center for the Book"--Letter from Brad Naragon, April 19, 2000.  Four signatures hand-bound into a paper cover with title
Four signatures hand-bound into a paper cover with title collaged to front.  Title page images blind stamped.

A page from "Runian," depicting a poem A page from "Runian," depicting two black and white drawings of fish and hooks
Illustrations: Images by Brad Narragon. All images were originally sumi ink paintings. All images in black except title page.

Evolution: A Prose Poem Sequence

A page from "Evolution," depicting a black and white drawing of a fish Evolution: A Prose Poem Sequence / by Anthony Butts.  La Crosse, WI: Sutton Hoo Press, 1998.

"Approximately 126 copies were printed from Cochin types on dampened Johannot in February 1998. The woodcuts, including the curious one at the end, are by Thomas Huck...."
 Book design and printing by C. Mikal Oness.

Rhumb Lines

Rhumb Lines / by Anthony Deaton.  Winona, MN: Sutton Hoo Press, 2002.A page from "Rhumb Lines," depicting a work of abstract art

Some of the poems originally published in Gettysburg Review, The nation, Southern poetry review, The Texas review.
"136 copies were set by hand and [letterpress] printed from Blumer types ... by R. Blom, Zachary Carlsen, B.J. Naragon, C. Mikal Oness, and Betsy Wheeler."--Colophon.
Non-adhesive binding sewn on handmade paper tabs of irregular shapes that extend across the boards and are glued onto marbled paper covering the boards.
Annotations: Colophon signed by author: Anthony Deaton.
Illustrations: Vignette of a deer blind stamped on the title page.

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