Illustrated Works

Tales From the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio [Beautifully Illustrated] – Private Printing 1937

Private Printed in, London 1937. A rare edition. Text based on an anonymous translation of 1741 revised by S.W. Orson in 1898. The striking illustrations are printed from linocuts by Edmondo Lucchesi, and we are told the typeface is 16-point Poliphilus.

Demo-folio, quarter red cloth backed decorated red/pink paper covered boards with paper title to front. 89 pages numerous woodcuts. Some ageing near the ends, still a better than good copy of a favourite illustrated book.

Boccaccio’s tales amusing, moral suggestions, and the odd amoral act. The long introductory title to each gives a flavour e.g.

“Masse da Lamorecchio, pretending to be dumb, is appointed gardener at a nunnery, and is favourably received by the inmates”, and

“Pernella puts her gallant into a tub on her husband’s coming home, which tub the husband had sold; she consequently tells him that she had also sold it to a person who was then in it to see if it were sound; upon this the man jumps out and makes the husband and makes the husband clean it for him”.

Boccaccio with the titillating woodcuts of Edmondo Lucchesi

$120.00

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Scents of Flying – Maki Horanai and Hillel Weintraub

Self published hand made by Mountain Dreams Press in 2010. A special beautiful book displaying the highly original artwork of Maki Horanai.

Unpaginated but 28 pages of thick handmade paper so lovely you could eat it. Fourteen images by Horanai, alternating full page and double page. Signed boldly on the front pastedown by the artist and the wordsmith Hillel Weintrub. The image of the title, an element of “Homage” is repeated pasted to the front boards. Boards covered in rich handmade paper.

As you can tell … we love it.

Wish and you could be a “Sky Carpet Traveller”

$70.00

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The Dawn of Time – Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings – Roberts and Mountford.

A first edition of this “sequel” to Dreamtime. Another wonderful book by ethnologist Charles Mountford and artist Ainslie Roberts.

Published in 1969 again by Rugby, Adelaide. Same small quarto format 79 pages with a beautiful image for each of the myths recounted by Mountford received from Elders and Storytellers.

Includes some from the coast such as Kondole the Whale; Pipinyawari the Queen Fish … the Fighting Cloud Women; the Black Kangaroo; and our favourite Brolga the Dancing Girl .. albeit a little sad.

Remember this story when you see a Brolga.

$30.00

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The Dreamtime – Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings – Ainslie Roberts and Charles Mountford.

A interesting book published by Rigby of Adelaide who have done some good work. Small quarto, 79 pages, well illustrated with colour images of the aforesaid paintings – and they are beauties.

All up 32 aboriginal stores recounted and illustrated including .. The banishment of the Cuckoos; Mangowa and the Round Lakes; The Creation of the eagle and the Crow; The Mopaditis and the Black Cockatoos; Tirlta and the Flowers of Blood ..

Special images, beautiful meaningful stories.

$30.00

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Kangaroo – Sylvie Selig – Jonathan Cape 1980

Possibly our favourite kangaroo book.

Picture book published by Jonathan Cape in 1980. Landscape 44 pages and an unusual construction in that every second page is a half page which creates a new image against the full pages … an interesting and amusing device. A pretty good copy.

Our little kangaroo has an idyllic home life but is carried away by a bird of prey … not for long he is rescued and looked after and soon recovered to his grateful family. Every page a vibrant image. Not said but clearly based in the more tropical parts of Australia.

Sylvie Selig was born in 1941 in France … her art cover a broad range of styles and her premium work is highly collectable … at the core is her vibrant imagination subtly bordering ion the surreal.

Collectable kangaroo with striking colourful illustrations.

$25.00

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The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyan – Peter Pauper Press

A lovely little production by the superb Mount Vernon, Peter Pauper Press printed delightfully on rag paper.

The Edward Fitzgerald translation illustrated by Jeff Hill. No date but likely 1970′s

Unpaginated but 62 pages with 9 full page illustrations, the verses printed crisply within decorative borders. Decorated paper covered boards the design of which carries over to the dust jacket. Very good condition albeit a little ageing to the jacket.

The Rubaiyat should require no introduction .. every library should have several versions of which this a special one.

The Rubaiyat by the special Peter Pauper Press.

$40.00

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Tales From the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio [Beautifully Illustrated] – Private Printing 1937

Scents of Flying – Maki Horanai and Hillel Weintraub

The Dawn of Time – Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings – Roberts and Mountford.

The Dreamtime – Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings – Ainslie Roberts and Charles Mountford.

Kangaroo – Sylvie Selig – Jonathan Cape 1980

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyan – Peter Pauper Press

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