Four Poems of the Occult
Kentfield, California: The Allen Press, 1962.
Limited Edition. Hardcover.
Allen Press Book #25. Limited edition of one hundred thirty copies. With illustrations by Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, Yves Tanguy & Jean Arp.
The type faces are Goudy Modern and Cochin italic, set by hand; the paper is mould made all-rag Rives from France, printed damp on an Acorn-Smith handpress made in 1930. The border decorations and initials are by Mallette Dean; the initials were colored by hand. The chemise & box were made by hand in Paris. The book was designed, printed and published by Lewis & Dorothy Allen at The Allen Press.
The present translations were fathered and edited, and the introductions specially composed for this edition by Francis Carmody. With the exception of “Elegy of Ihpetonga,” this constitutes the first edition in English of all the poems, and the first reprint of the illustrations.
The twenty-one illustrations include six line drawings by Leger, four lithographs by Picasso, three etchings by Tanguy, and eight wood engravings (from the original woodblocks) by Arp. Mallette Dean was commissioned to produce forty-seven drawings for the page margins in the style of the illustrator of each section. He also drew nine large initials for hand-coloring.
Featuring four occult-themed expressionist poems by French-German poet Yvan Goll (1891-1950). Poetry in Goll's later work has a mystical quality – influenced by his growing interest in alchemy and the Kabbalah.
Item #90256698 unnumbered 11 x 16" leaves, unsewn in the French manner, and gathered into five sections, each section has a beige wrapper with the title of the section in blue and the section number stamped in blind. The sections are protected by a stiff linen-covered chemise and a matching slipcase. The border decorations are printed in color throughout the text.
Leaves, folders and chemise are all clean and crisp, very fine. The slipcase, though square and showing little wear, has significant foxing on one panel.
Price: $2,000.00