Melville Press ~ California
(Catherine Kanner)

In the Direction of the Beginning
By Dylan Thomas
2003. Edition of 200.

.5 x 12.25". Catherine Kanner has designed the edition on a generous scale with a self-closing, two-fold cover of black Japanese silk. The tile of the book is stamped in silver foil on the spine. The cover is secured by a shell pin, and includes a debossed tipped-in image of flames on the sea. The shell pin was designed by the artist, and manufactured in Asia. For this edition, Ms. Kanner has created nine new images printed letterpress by Lawrence Van Velzer of Foolscap Press from her original linoleum blocks. The text, which holds to a central point on each page suggest the ocean's horizon. Typeface is Centaur; a refined font with enough substance to hold up the bold black and white prints. The paper is Pescia 100% cotton mould-made, dampened before printing to aid in accepting the large inked areas of the images. The book was bound by Peggy Gottheld of Foolscap Press, and was hand sewn to allow the prints to cross the central gutter of the book without interruption.

Originally published in the "A Prospect of the Sea" in 1939, "In the Direction of the Beginning" is a prose poem of love and the sea. Dylan Thomas' imagery is pointedly black and white, so follows the book's design.
$500