1947 · Barcelona
by (BINDINGS - GÓMEZ-HERRERA). CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, MIGUEL DE
Barcelona: Editorial Seix Barral, 1947. No. 72 OF 150 COPIES on "Gotico" paper (and eight deluxe copies with multiple suites of plates, five artist's copies, and 25 copies with color plates). 332 x 258 mm. (13 x 10"). 85, [1] pp., [3] leaves.
DRAMATIC MODERN MOSAIC MOROCCO BY RAMÓN GÓMEZ-HERRERA (the binder's signature "R. Gomez" in blind at foot of front cover), the covers and spine with a wraparound abstract design in black and olive green morocco "splattered" with onlays of gray, blue, turquoise, vermillion, white, and tan morocco, with two eyes--one on each cover--in black, white, and gray morocco, doublures and endleaves of citron suede, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. In a suede-lined emerald green morocco dust jacket with the title embossed on the (slightly sunned and minimally scuffed) spine, the whole in a matching green morocco and citron suede slipcase. With eight lithographs by Francisco Domingo. Front flyleaf with ex-libris of Madrid bibliophile Maurice J. Lachard. For the binding: "Ramón Gómez-Herrera, Maestro de la Luz y el Color" (Catalogue for the exhibition "Color a flor de piel," 2004), p. 138 (http://www.aquiseencuaderna.com/pdf/ramongomez.pdf). See: Johnston, "Generic Polyphony and the Reader's Exemplary Experience in Cervantes' Rinconete y Cortadillo," in "Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos," Vol. 16, No. 1 (Otoño 1991), pp. 73-85. A PRISTINE COPY.
This bibliophile's edition of Cervantes' satirical short story comes covered in a design both ferocious and haunting, executed by the modern Spanish master of mosaic leather bookbinding. Described by fellow bookbinder Carlos Rey as "the maestro of light and color," Ramón Gómez-Herrera (1938-2017) studied bookbinding with César Paumard at the School of Graphic Arts before setting up his workshop in Barcelona in 1962. According to José Luis Checa Cremades' "Diccionario biográfico razonado de los principales encuadernadores españoles de los siglos XX-XXI," Gomez-Herrera approached his craft "with utmost dedication, using leather embossing tools and processes of his own invention that allowed for the most free-flowing figurative designs." He worked with prominent Spanish artists, including Cristóbal Ruiz and Jorge Hernández, to create abstract designs, which he then executed with innovative techniques. As Cremades tells us, "He dispensed with traditional tools, such as the ruler and compass. His symbolic decorations had great individual significance. In his beautiful mosaics, color has its own expressiveness, the design achieves a powerful visual effect, and overcomes the limitations inherent in leather to approximate the tones of the painter's palette." His influences included Kandinsky, Picasso, Futurism, and the Spanish avant-garde. According to a 2004 catalogue for the "Color a flor de piel" exhibition of his work in Cadíz, our binding was done in 1987 for Gomez-Herrera's principal patron, the great Spanish collector Maurice J. Lachard. Other important clients included King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, Queen Fabiola of Belgium, Charles, Prince of Wales, and Fidel Castro. The international accolades he received include the Golden Flower at the 1st Triennale International de la Reliure in Lausanne (1979), second prize in the technical category at the Prix Paul Bonet in Ascona (1985), and first prize in the professional category at the 3rd Biennial of Art Bookbinding in the Basque Country (1995). The text here comes from Cervantes' 1613 collection of 12 tales, "Novelas Exemplares," and recounts the adventures of two petty thieves who make their way from the provinces to Seville, where they encounter that city's grandiose guild of thieves. Much of the tale is devoted to humorous observations on the guild's hierarchy and rituals, which mimic those of grander organizations. Critic Robert Johnston considers it a "polyphonic" tale that combines the genres of picaresque, romance, and the pastoral to create something richer. The austere lithographs convey the sincerity--and even the pathos--of the characters.. (Inventory #: ST20217)
DRAMATIC MODERN MOSAIC MOROCCO BY RAMÓN GÓMEZ-HERRERA (the binder's signature "R. Gomez" in blind at foot of front cover), the covers and spine with a wraparound abstract design in black and olive green morocco "splattered" with onlays of gray, blue, turquoise, vermillion, white, and tan morocco, with two eyes--one on each cover--in black, white, and gray morocco, doublures and endleaves of citron suede, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. In a suede-lined emerald green morocco dust jacket with the title embossed on the (slightly sunned and minimally scuffed) spine, the whole in a matching green morocco and citron suede slipcase. With eight lithographs by Francisco Domingo. Front flyleaf with ex-libris of Madrid bibliophile Maurice J. Lachard. For the binding: "Ramón Gómez-Herrera, Maestro de la Luz y el Color" (Catalogue for the exhibition "Color a flor de piel," 2004), p. 138 (http://www.aquiseencuaderna.com/pdf/ramongomez.pdf). See: Johnston, "Generic Polyphony and the Reader's Exemplary Experience in Cervantes' Rinconete y Cortadillo," in "Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos," Vol. 16, No. 1 (Otoño 1991), pp. 73-85. A PRISTINE COPY.
This bibliophile's edition of Cervantes' satirical short story comes covered in a design both ferocious and haunting, executed by the modern Spanish master of mosaic leather bookbinding. Described by fellow bookbinder Carlos Rey as "the maestro of light and color," Ramón Gómez-Herrera (1938-2017) studied bookbinding with César Paumard at the School of Graphic Arts before setting up his workshop in Barcelona in 1962. According to José Luis Checa Cremades' "Diccionario biográfico razonado de los principales encuadernadores españoles de los siglos XX-XXI," Gomez-Herrera approached his craft "with utmost dedication, using leather embossing tools and processes of his own invention that allowed for the most free-flowing figurative designs." He worked with prominent Spanish artists, including Cristóbal Ruiz and Jorge Hernández, to create abstract designs, which he then executed with innovative techniques. As Cremades tells us, "He dispensed with traditional tools, such as the ruler and compass. His symbolic decorations had great individual significance. In his beautiful mosaics, color has its own expressiveness, the design achieves a powerful visual effect, and overcomes the limitations inherent in leather to approximate the tones of the painter's palette." His influences included Kandinsky, Picasso, Futurism, and the Spanish avant-garde. According to a 2004 catalogue for the "Color a flor de piel" exhibition of his work in Cadíz, our binding was done in 1987 for Gomez-Herrera's principal patron, the great Spanish collector Maurice J. Lachard. Other important clients included King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, Queen Fabiola of Belgium, Charles, Prince of Wales, and Fidel Castro. The international accolades he received include the Golden Flower at the 1st Triennale International de la Reliure in Lausanne (1979), second prize in the technical category at the Prix Paul Bonet in Ascona (1985), and first prize in the professional category at the 3rd Biennial of Art Bookbinding in the Basque Country (1995). The text here comes from Cervantes' 1613 collection of 12 tales, "Novelas Exemplares," and recounts the adventures of two petty thieves who make their way from the provinces to Seville, where they encounter that city's grandiose guild of thieves. Much of the tale is devoted to humorous observations on the guild's hierarchy and rituals, which mimic those of grander organizations. Critic Robert Johnston considers it a "polyphonic" tale that combines the genres of picaresque, romance, and the pastoral to create something richer. The austere lithographs convey the sincerity--and even the pathos--of the characters.. (Inventory #: ST20217)
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