HUGHES, Ted. A Primer Of Birds. Devon: The Gehenna Press. 1981.
Tall 8vo. Camouflage-marbled patterned boards with title lettering in white to spine; printed on Dover paper and handmade in Maidstone, Kent; unpaginated; fine.
Copy number 176 of a limited run of 250 copies and one of 225 which are signed by poet and author. Tenderly inscribed, 'For Nick/with love/ from Ted/1997'.
One of the most, if not the most, beautiful collaborations between Leonard Baskin and Ted Hughes; in the elusive The Primer of Birds, Leonard Baskin has provided 5 full page woodcut illustrations and an additional half page coloured bird decoration. Baskin was founder of The Gehenna Press which evolved into one of the most crucial art presses on the art scene and one of the longest lasting small art presses in the US (1942-2000). Inspired by William Blake's poetry and illustration, Gehenna is most renowned for its collaboration with Poet Laureate Hughes as well as posthumously, James Baldwin.
Baskin is quoted as once saying:“People like me, who care about printing, constitute the tiniest lunatic fringe in the nation."
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