Lone Oak Press ~ Massachusetts
(Abigail Rorer)

Christmas Trees
A Christmas Circular Letter
By Robert Frost
Petersham, Massachusetts: Lone Oak Press, 2009. Edition of 100.

4.5 6"; 16 pages with color endpapers. Designed by Pat Alger and Abigail Rorer. Four color engravings by Abigail Rorer. Letterpress printed. Deepdene type. Printed on Zerkall Book paper. Hand-sewn Rives wrappers. Cover illustration of a two-block color engraving. Slipped into a transparent envelope.

This printing of Christmas Trees commemorates the eightieth anniversary of the first Robert Frost Christmas card. Includes an afterword "A Commemorative Christmas Story" by Pat Alger.
$75

The Matriarch of the Forest
By Abigail Rorer
Petersham, Massachusetts: Lone Oak Press, 2009. Edition of 66.

6.75 x 7.25"; 12 pages. 4 engravings plus two smaller spot engravings, all by Abigail Rorer. Typography and text printing by Michael Russem. Perpetua types cast by Michael and Winifred Bixler. Letterpress printed on Zerkall paper. Bound in Twinrocker Simon's Green paper. Binding by Daniel Gehnrich. Paper slipcase. Edition of 66 copies of which 46 regular copies and 10 deluxe copies are for sale.

Lone Oak Press: "The poem in this chapbook was written by Abigail Rorer to commemorate a magnificent White Pine growing in the protected woods behind her house where she frequently walks with a friend. She draws parallels between the aging of this tree and her attempts to reconcile herself with her own aging."
$145

Of Woodland Pools, Spring-Holes & Ditches
Excerpts from the journal of Henry David Thoreau
wherein he observes and reflects upon the nature of life and vernal pools
Petersham, Massachusetts: 2005. Edition of 70.

10 x 8"; 92 pages. Includes 28 wood engravings by Abigail Rorer, some with hand-coloring. Book design by Michael Russem of Kat Ran Press. Printed on Zerkall Book paper. Bound by Barbara Blumenthal with marbled papers by Iris Nevins. Type is Baskerville, cast by Michael & Winifred Bixler. Bound in morocco leather with marbled paper sides. Housed in a clamshell case.

Prospectus: "Selected entries were chosen from Thoreau's Journal from the months of March, April, and May to give a sense of the awakening spring and teeming life in the pools and woods at this time of year. Thoreau puts so beautifully into words what one would see, hear and feel when exploring nature in the spring. Accompanying the text are engravings by Abigail Rorer. She lives not far from Thoreau's Concord, Massachusetts home and the engravings are based on the landscape and pools that Thoreau explored and the similar landscape that surrounds the artist's home. Bradley P. Dean, renowned Thoreau scholar, has written a compelling introduction to the book. ...

"Woodland pools, spring-holes and ditches are all terms used by Henry David Thoreau to describe vernal pools; ephemeral springtime wetlands that often dry up in the summer and are vital breeding habitats for many species ranging from wood frogs, spadefoot toads, spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp. In New England these pools are an important part of the landscape and the rites of spring. One sure sign of spring is the call of the spring peeper, a diminutive tree frog that breeds in vernal pools. In Thoreau’s journal he often mentions these frogs: Where so long I heard only the brattling and moaning of the wind, what means this tenser, far-piercing sound? All nature rejoices with one joy. If the Hyla (spring peeper) has revived again, may not I? March 21, 1853"

Thoreau plus Rorer is a marriage made in Concord, which might be heaven, from the description and look of it.
$1,600

The Wu General Writes From Far Away
By Christopher Howell
Petersham, Massachusetts: 1990. Edition of 120.

5.75 x 8"; 24 pages. Printed on Japanese Mulberry with six wood engravings by Abigail Rorer. The type is Cochin. The text and engravings were printed by Darrell Hyder. Marbled papers by Faith Harrison were sewn in a Chinese style binding with a magnetic case by Barbara Blumenthal. Edition of 120 with 110 for sale, 10 deluxe (sold out) and 100 regular copies.

Lone Oak Press: "This is a beautiful and haunting poem of war and desire. Christopher Howell, who lives in Spokane, Washington, is a widely published, widely traveled and much honored poet whose works reflect the human experience with all its loneliness and beauty, love and desolation. His poems touch the chord of reflection and quiet we experience in rare moments of aloneness."
$180

Other works using illustrations by Abigail Rorer
• Amours de Voyage by Barbarian Press
• Three Essays by Press at Scroll Road