Here's a Letter from Our Dear....A Remembrance of the American Civil War. 1861-1865. 4 Volumes

Serafina, NM, 2019. Artist's books, each unique, from a series of 3, this consisting of 4 individual books, all on Strathmore "Printmaking" paper for the text and Stonehenge paper for the black titlepage, signed by the artist, Paul Maurer, and hand-numbered in pencil on the colophon. The disparate sizes, disparate bindings, various papers, all combine to reflect the rich variety of the American experience where almost every American suffered loss during this cataclysmic period in our history. Page sizes (smallest to largest): 6.5 x 5-3/4 inches; 14pp; 10-5/8 x 6 inches; 10pp; 11 x 7-1/4 inches; 8pp; 12 x 8 inches; 12pp. Bound by the artist: paper hinged folios; the next 2 leporello style with front cover in gold Fabriano "Cocktail Paper" and hinges of Thailand Kozo decorated with ink splatters; brown corrugated paper, and housed in protective envelope of black printed and collaged Strathmore cover stock, interior grey and white pastepaper, inside is a brown protective cover with collage of remnants of damaged flags found in 1996, inside panel collaged with damaged flags and the text of emotionally wrenching Civil War dirge by Walt Whitman, "Come Up from the Fields..." Some of the Whitman poems included are "This Dust Was Once the Man...", When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd...", "Quicksand Years", Long, too long, America". The Dickinson poems included are "The Battlefield" and "The Forgotten Grave." The images included are pulled from 100-year-old metal plates printed on a Blick tabletop etching press. The artist has embellished some of the etchings using acrylic ink and paint. He has also used metal Dingbat stamping as well as Peerless watercolor sponge painting on the pages. The calligraphy is accomplished in Sharpie markers and Speedball metal pens, mostly blue with red highlights and black headers. The art and text convey the chaos and destruction of the American Civil War. This artist's book (s) uses the words of Whitman and Dickinson causing a profound sadness in the reader / viewer. Yet, the art and words allow us to overcome the profound sadness and we are reconciled to the loss. (Inventory #: 11442)