The Departure of the Argonaut.

1986. CLEMENTE, Francesco. The Departure of the Argonaut. By Alberto Savinio. [102] ff. With 49 photolithographs, 46 in color and 3 in black on cream paper. Elephant folio, loose in original wrappers and beige linen box designed by Rudolph Rieser. London: Petersburg Press, 1986. Clemente's images are extraordinary and elevate this work to one of monumental bookmaking in conception, design, and production. The artist's designs range from monochromatic and brooding to intensely imaginary and vividly colourful. The text itself, first issued in 1917, is the travelogue and wartime diary of Alberto Savinio, one of the seminal figures in 20th-century Italian arts and letters. It is translated here from the Italian for the first time. This is the rare portfolio edition, limited to 50 copies signed by the artist. Johnson, Artists' Books in the Modern Era 1870-2000, No. 169. Castleman, A Century of Artists Books, p. 217.