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Blind Alphabet ABC
Braille edition

Item date(s): 1975

Willem Hendrik Adriaan Boshoff


Pages: unpaged
Size: 337mm
Inscription: Signed by the artist


Place publication: Johannesburg
Publisher: Artists Book

Additional notes:
In three volumes.

Vol 1. Abaxial to Axotonous

Vol 2. Babery to Bigeminate

Vol 3. Caboched to Coclear

Bound in quarter red feau leather over green boards.

All text is in braille without any other information.

From the collection of Warren Siebrits with his bookplate and annotation in each volume:

Vol 1.

A gift from Gencor Ltd on Tuesday 7 December 2010, when KG (Kendel Geers), Cendrine (Geer's wife), Vladdka and Isidore popped around unexpectedly in the late afternoon with a bottle of fine French Champagne in hand. Kendell gave me N. Goedhals "Committed to Medicroty " (1990), 2 x Argot 11/30 and 17/30, GIF2, 'Guilty' and 'Threshold' posters and these 3 vols of the first physical presence of "Kyk Afrikaans" by Willem Boshoff 1975.

Vol 2.

Ex Gencor these three books a gift from Gencor Art Comm. On Tuesday 7 December 2010. Kendell was in the country with his family serving a Nirox residency at the time. These three volumes were given to Kendell by Willem Boshoff in 1994 when the artist submitted them as a possible commission proposal for the new built Gencor headquarters (6 Hollard Street) which opened the following year.

Vol 3.

Gift of Gencor / BHP Billiton, Marshalltown, Tuesday 7 December 2011 [sb2010]. KPG (Kendell Pieter Geers) was the head of the Gencor Art Committee from the Collection's inception in late 1993 till he resigned out of solidarity with Brian Gillbertson (Chairman of BHP Billiton) on 6 January 2003. Being head of the Art Committee he also oversaw the commission process. W. Boshoff submitted on a number of proposals including "Blind Alphabet" (1975) only having completed the dictionaries for ABC due to lack of funds. Once Gencor commissioned "Psephos" (1994/95) he had the means to make 'The Blind Alphabet' a reality. Letter A once completed was purchased by South African National Gallery (in 1997), MTN Art Collection bought letter B (in 1998), and the Sandton Civic Gallery under Natasha Fuller's leadership bought letter C (in 1998/99). It was only after more gallery and museum interest that further letters were compiled in dictionary form and then sculpted by Boshoff. Although all Boshoff's biographies suggest that this project was only begun in 1982, his signature and date '75 prove that 'The Blind Alphabet' was made at least seven years earlier.

Exhibition notes:
Beyond Words

JGCBA

20 June to 11 Aug 2023

Ref: GB/16174











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