Artist's Book Yearbook 2003-2005 - Book Arts - University of the ...

Other critics mentioned Ron’s preoccupation
with the alphabet, a ‘basic ingredient of the
book-making recipe.’ William Zimmer, also
from the New York Times, was intrigued by the
way that ‘various letters seem to appear and
retreat via the pop-up cutting and folding
process,’ remarking on Ron’s treatment of the
alphabet as ‘something that is at once familiar
and mysterious.’ Critics and visitors alike were
delighted by one of Ron’s most challenging
projects, The White Alphabet (1984), shown fully
extended in a long wall case. A reading area at
the end of the exhibition provided visitors with
the opportunity to actually handle a number of
Circle Press books.
The published catalogue serves as a
comprehensive record of Circle Press
publications, from its start in 1967 with the
publication of Chaucer’s Prologue, to the latest
project issued in 2001, King’s Tabernacle: Hole,
Horse, & Hell-box. It includes an insightful essay
by Andrew Lambirth as well as fascinating
commentary and complete bibliographic
information on the individual works by Ron
himself. Handsomely designed by Thomas
Manss and Kathrin Jacobsen of Thomas Manss
& Company, London, the limited-edition work
includes a cover and special inserts designed by
King.
Judith Hoffberg, editor of Umbrella, wrote in
the December 2002 issue of that journal:
‘This book is a joy to behold, not only for the
typography, but the images…. The catalogue is
a labour of love, a gift to us the readers, a gift
to those who revere Ron King, and a gift to
generations from now who can document this
amazing book artist.’
Elisabeth Fairman
Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at
the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven,
Connecticut, USA
6
Elisabeth Fairman is responsible for the
acquisition and care of the Center’s collection
of artists’ books. Contact her by e-mail at:
elisabeth.fairman@yale.edu or write to her at:
Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts,
Yale Center for British Art, PO Box 208280,
New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
For further information on the Yale Center for
British Art, consult their web site at:
www.yale.edu/ycba
Copies of Cooking The Books are still available
from the Center’s Museum shop (e-mail the
manager for details: lizbeth.oconnor@yale.edu)
or directly from Circle Press.
Consult the Circle Press web site for details of
the catalogue, as well as other works that are
still in print, at:
http://www.circlepress.com/circle_press/pilot/