Steps to the River

4to. 10 5/8 x 7 3/4 inches. Unpaginated. [40] pp. Color frontispiece, title page printed in green and black inks, Introduction by John Randle, Preface by Roland Gant, text printed in olive green and black inks, 8 engravings printed in black ink throughout; text clean, unmarked. Green cloth spine, patterned paper over boards, printed paper spine label, top edge stained green, green end-papers, clear acetate dust-jacket; binding square and tight. SIGNED by Roland Gant and Howard Phipps on the colophon. GIL921-007. Fine.

LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, this is number 127, set in 12-point Romulus type, and printed at Whittington Court on Zerkall mould-made paper, bound by the Fine Bindery using patterned paper printed from a wood-engraving by Phipps. Roland Gant was known as a publisher and writer. In the Introduction to this volume, John Randle offers insight into Gant's range and influence in the world of publishing. The Preface explains how Gant moved to France in 1986 to live in a house high in the mountains where the départments of Var, Alpes Maritimes and Alpes de Haute Provence come together. This volume of poems reflect "Canton life, past and present, the turning of the seasons, moments of being and perception, are what I have tried to capture in impressions where sound, shape and color are background to words." Gant remarks upon the close working relationship between he and Howard Phipps to capture these images in both word and wood engraving. A lovely work. Worldcat records 31 institutional copies.