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Dante Bestiary
Variant, New York, binding.

Judith Mason
Bruce Attwood


Size: 440mm
Edition: #37/100


Place publication: New York
Publisher: Ombondi Editions

Additional notes:
THESE NOTES TAKEN FROM GB/11746 Variant binding.

A guide in offset lithography by Judith Mason To diverse beasts, creatures, monsters, Figures, and spiritual beings from La Divina Commedia of Dante Alighiei, the Florentine. With selected texts in translation.

A Dante Bestiary is published in English in a signed, limited edition of 110, of which 100 are numbered from 1 through 100; 5 artist's proofs numbered I through V, and 5 copies hors de commerce, numbered HC I through HC V. An Italian version is published in an edition of 15, with 10 copies numbered from 1 through 10, and 5 artist's proofs numbered I through V.

This is a remarque edition: each lithograph to Paradise XXXIII, The Direct Vision of God, is embellished with gold leaf by hand. In addition, each book contains an erotic oil painting on vellum, tipped into the embossed nest at Inferno V, the story of Paolo Malatesta and Francesca de Rimini.

A Dante Bestiary was printed on Rives BPK paper (250 gm) on a lithographic offset press by Bruce Attwood at the Broederstroom Press, Broederstroom, South Africa. It is available as an unbound portfolio or in book form with a variety of bindings, variously combining sheepskin Nappa from the Karoo (with buffalo imprint), calf vellum and printed bookcloth. The books are handbound by Eric Zimmerman at Markey & Asplund, Foster, Rhode Island. It is housed in a lipped clamshell box, manufactured by Stuart Einhorn at Portfoliobox, Inc., Providence, Rhode Island.

The text is set in Visigoth, a typeface specially designed by Cynthia Hollandsworth of AlphaOmega Typography, New York for Ombondi Editions after a calligraphic hand by Arthur Baker, Rhinebeck, New York. The face was digitized and the text was set by High Technology Solutions, Ploughkeepsie, New York.

English translations of the Dante texts are reprinted with permission of the publishers: Penguin Books for the Barbara Reynolds version of Paradiso XXXIII (1962) and the Dorothy Sayers version of Paradiso XIII: 76-78 (1962); and New American Library for the rest of the texts, translated by John Ciardi (1954 - 1970).

Translations of colophon, titles and Mason's essay into Italian by Amerigo Marras and Stephen Sartarelli, New York. The Dante text is that edited by Manfredi Porena of Bologna (1956) and used with the kind permission of his heirs.

This copy is bound in dark brown quarter leather binding for the untiled spine and the balance of the cover in light brown (or beige) leather with the title, author and imprint in black calligraphy on the cover. The slicase is in brown card with brown leather trim

Item 191 (GB/11746) in the exhibition 'Artists Books in the Ginsberg Collection' at the Johannesburg Art Gallery 25/8/96-27/10/96.

Referenced on p49 of ADA #6: Article: The Biggest Problem by Casper Schmidt. A full page on plans for the intended publication of this book.

Ref: GB/16756







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