40 French-folded unnumbered pages including covers. Eighteen polymer relief prints from drawings by Ruth Fine. 10¼ x8x2", text printed damp from magnesium plates in black on Barcham Green Royal Watercolour Society paper; completely non-adhesive binding using MacGregor-Vinzani calendered ivory abaca paper; housed in a two-sided slipcase of Barcham Green Renaissance paper and drum vellum.
Poems set in 10 pt Gill Sans Light caps. Colophon set in 8 pt italic caps. Gutter repeat columns set in 8 pt italic lower case.
Califia Books: "Poems written by Clifford Burke in response to line drawings by Ruth Fine. In 1990, Fine sent her drawings of animal skulls to Burke and asked him to write poems to go with them. Text and image transport us into the realm of spirit and nature, reminded of Native American lore as we would be by bleached skulls in a dry desert – a liminal world of spirit and earth. The construction and presentation of this book are exceptional.
"Each deckled sheet was printed whole with two drawings and two blocks of text, then folded in four and bound together with paper strips for alternating spreads of text and image. The paper stripping forms a spine at the center of the illustrated pairs of pages. The two word titles of the poems – 'Fire Song,' 'Wind Song,' 'Root Song' – straddle the fold, printed in a tiny point size and repeated in vertical columns, an echo that anchors the page without overwhelming it. Thus, the book opens like a series of spread wings. Letterpress in a delicate, capitalized san serif font that reflects the quality of the line drawings. Printed on thick, handmade paper the color of sun-bleached bones. Housed in a two-sided slipcase made of folded paper and folded skin the texture of a drum."
Donated by Vamp & Tramp Booksellers, Birmingham, AL.