Fine Press Books by Alan James Robinson

THIRTEEN WORKS ILLUSTRATED BY ALAN JAMES ROBINSON, INCLUDING TITLES FROM THE ABCEDARY PRESS, THE CHELONIIDAE PRESS, and THE PRESS OF THE SEA TURTLE.



This is a very fine assemblage of works from the three iterations of the handpress founded by Alan James Robinson (b. 1950) and Joel Ginsburg in 1979: the ABCedary Press; the Cheloniidae Press (the best-known of the press names), and The Press of the Sea Turtle (1992 to present). All of these books are impressive private press productions that are lovely, charming, and in exceptional condition. Robinson quickly established a reputation for producing books that are uniformly tasteful as well as delightful, that use the highest quality materials, that involve the work of various highly skilled collaborators, and that are generally in some way about animals. He received an MFA in printmaking from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has spent his adult career within the well-developed book-arts community in western Massachusetts. He designs and illustrates all of the Cheloniidae books in collaboration with numerous artisans and craftsmen. All of Robinson's books were printed by the celebrated master printer Harold P. McGrath (1921-2000) until his retirement in 1991.

1) (ABCEDARY PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES, Artist. CAROL, MARK PHILIP. ANCIENT NEEDS. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: ABCedary Press, 1989) 380 x 280 mm. (15 x 11"). 76 pp. Designed by Alan James Robinson and Mark Philip Carol. No. VI OF XXV COPIES OF THE DELUXE EDITION, SIGNED in the colophon by Robinson, Carol, and the printer Harold McGrath. (There were also 25 copies of the Regular edition, 26 copies in full vellum binding, and four artist's proof copies). Bound in white handmade paper by Timothy Barrett, a window on the front cover framing Robinson's wood engraving of a Harp Seal pup, printed on Gampi Torinoko. In a pale blue silk and linen clamshell box by Sarah Creighton, two paper labels on spine. WITH 11 TWO-COLOR AQUATINT AND DRY POINT ETCHINGS AND FIVE WOOD ENGRAVINGS BY ROBINSON, AND WITH AN ADDITIONAL SUITE OF ALL THE ILLUSTRATIONS, signed and numbered by the artist, housed in a silk-linen chemise. Text printed on blue or white handmade paper; etchings printed on Rives BFK. With Robinson's original handwritten invoice laid in. Spine of box sunned to taupe, but the case otherwise unworn and the contents pristine.
Robinson's moving depictions of harp seals illustrate Carol's story on the subject, told in a combination of prose and poetry by three narrators: a 15-year-old from the Magdalen Islands, a mother seal, and a baby seal.

2) (ABCEDARY PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES, Illustrator. CAROL, MARK P. BANGING ROCKS. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: ABCedary Press, 1991) 200 x 128 mm. (8 x 5"). 32 pp. No. 1 OF 100 COPIES of the Regular Edition (from a total edition of 125) SIGNED by Robinson. Publisher's plain brown paper binding, housed in an unadorned linen clamshell box with compartments for the "Banging Rocks." WITH TWO WOOD ENGRAVINGS AND SEVEN LINE DRAWINGS BY ROBINSON depicting the Galapagos Islands, the Galapagos tortoise, and the "Banging Rocks." With two small egg-shaped green rocks. Small scuff to one rock (from banging), otherwise in mint condition.
Inspired by the author's trip to the Galapagos Islands, this whimsical production was intended, according to the prospectus, as "a humorous look at today's social and sexual values through the guise of rocks (occasionally referred to as the 'pet rock turns 30-something.')." The "plain-brown-wrapper" binding and clamshell are a cheeky nod to its "salubrious" contents.

3) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES, Artist and Book Designer. ATLANTIC SALMON. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1988) 360 x 280 mm. (14 1 /4 x 11"). [98] pp. With essays by Stephen Bodio and Ted Williams. No. 1 of 50 DELUXE COPIES, SIGNED in the colophon (from a total edition of 81 copies), IN THE PUBLISHER'S DELUXE BINDING by Claudia Cohen, using handmade paper by Sara Krohn backed with aqua-blue crushed morocco, upper cover with leather onlay panel by Gray Parrot depicting the "Jock Scott" fishing fly, smooth spine with gilt titling, fore edges of boards trimmed with matching morocco. WITH FOUR WOOD-ENGRAVINGS, SIX LINE-CUTS, AND EIGHT HAND-WATER-COLORED ETCHINGS, the latter with hand-written titles by calligrapher Suzanne Moore and guards of handmade speckled paper. WITH AN EXTRA SUITE OF ALL THE ILLUSTRATIONS, SIGNED and numbered by Robinson and housed in a chemise. Leather back of portfolio box a bit sunned, otherwise in pristine condition.
Robinson has been an enthusiastic fisherman and outdoorsman since his youth. His experience as a sportsman and his love for nature and wildlife contribute to the realism and authenticity of his fish and game illustrations.

4) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES. GAME BIRDS & WATERFOWL. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1980) 355 x 307 mm. (14 x 12"). [2] leaves of letterpress (title page and colophon). ARTIST'S PROOF II, SIGNED in the colophon by Robinson (there were 26 copies for sale, lettered A-Z). Loose as issued in a khaki-colored linen chemise and matching tray case backed with reddish-brown morocco by Gray Parrot, gilt lettering on spine. With wood-engraved vignettes on title page and colophon, and 10 SIGNED HAND-WATER-COLORED ETCHINGS BY ROBINSON, each titled and numbered by hand and SIGNED by the artist, and protected in an archival paper folder. In mint condition.
The etchings depict male and female Canada geese, pheasant, grouse, woodcock, mallard, pintail, broad-bill, redhead, canvasback, and wood duck.

5) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES. GAME ANIMALS. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1982) 355 x 307 mm. (14 x 12"). [3] leaves of letterpress (title page, fly title, and colophon). ARTIST'S PROOF II, SIGNED by Robinson in the colophon (there were 26 copies for sale, lettered A-Z). Loose as issued in a khaki-colored linen chemise and matching tray case backed with reddish-brown morocco by Gray Parrot, gilt lettering on spine. With wood-engraved vignettes on title page and colophon, and 10 SIGNED HAND-WATER-COLORED ETCHINGS BY ROBINSON, each titled and numbered by hand and SIGNED by the artist, and protected in an archival paper folder. As new.
Etchings depict a head view of mountain goat, moose, white-tailed deer, gray and red fox, cottontail rabbit, black bear, grizzly bear, bighorn sheep, elk, and raccoon.

6) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES. GAME FISHES. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1983) 355 x 307 mm. (14 x 12"). [3] leaves of letterpress (title page, fly title, and colophon). ARTIST'S PROOF II, SIGNED by Robinson in the colophon (there were 26 copies for sale, lettered A-Z). Loose as issued in a khaki-colored linen chemise and matching tray case backed with reddish-brown morocco by Gray Parrot, gilt lettering on spine. With wood-engraved vignettes on title page and colophon, and SEVEN SIGNED HAND-WATER-COLORED ETCHINGS BY ROBINSON, each titled and numbered by hand and SIGNED by the artist, and protected in an archival paper folder. As new.
Etchings show the Atlantic salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout, landlocked salmon, and grayling, carefully and vividly hand colored.

7) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES and STEPHEN BODIO. TROUT: BROOK, BROWN & RAINBOW. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1986) 365 x 255 mm. (14 1/4 x 10"). 80 pp. No. I OF XV COPIES OF THE DELUXE EDITION, SIGNED in the colophon (from a total edition of 50 copies). Introduction by writer and naturalist Bodio. CLEVER AND CHARMING THREE-DIMENSIONAL TURQUOISE BLUE CRUSHED MOROCCO BY GRAY PARROT (his ticket on rear pastedown) upper cover with blind-stamped image of a trout, the tip of its dorsal fin onlaid in brown and tan morocco and peeking through a water line tooled in black, above which hovers an onlaid fly in gray and green, smooth spine with gilt lettering. TEXT WITH 12 SIGNED WATER-COLORED ETCHINGS AND TWO WOOD ENGRAVINGS BY ROBINSON. WITH A PORTFOLIO CONTAINING ALL OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS, NUMBERED AND SIGNED, AND WITH A SIGNED ORIGINAL WATER-COLOR OF A BROOK TROUT BY ROBINSON. Spine of box sunned to light green, a hint of yellowing just to fore and head edge of front board of text, otherwise an immaculate copy.
There are three etchings of each trout (brown, brook, and rainbow), two of trout flies, and one of insects.

8) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES. A FOWL ALPHABET. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1986) 220 x 143 mm. (8 5/8 x 5 5/8"). 54 pp. Text from "Animate Creation, A Popular Edition of Our Living World, a Natural History" by Rev. J. G. Wood, Vol. II "Birds" (1885). ARTIST'S PROOF "W. P." (there were 226 additional copies of the edition). Full bleached vellum by Gray Parrot. The additional suites of engravings, proofs, and letters in a vellum-backed portfolio; the original drawings in a linen portfolio. All housed together in a linen drop-back box backed with vellum lettered in gilt. With 26 WOOD ENGRAVINGS of bird's heads AND A NEWLY DESIGNED ALPHABET BY MASTER CALLIGRAPHER SUZANNE MOORE, each engraving accompanied by an initial letter and the common and Latin names of the birds. Accompanied by a set of the blind-stamped alphabet, plus AN ADDITIONAL SUITE of 26 plates, 57 proofs (each engraving in two proof states, and one rejected proof), AND 26 ORIGINAL HAND-WATER-COLORED DRAWINGS, all SIGNED in pencil by the artist. As new.
This is a very desirable copy of one the great production productions of the press. The plates focus on the characteristic that is used to classify bird species: the shapes of their beaks or bills. As the introduction notes, "this volume will consider the more bizarre and diverse examples of the beaks through bird portraiture." The present copy includes Robinson's drawings of the creatures and brightly colored watercolors of his subjects in full plumage--both beautiful in their own right and interesting to contrast with the woodcuts in the printed version.

9) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES. CHELONIIDAE. SEA TURTLES. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1987) 380 x 280 mm. (15 x 11"). 68 pp. Text excerpted from "Johnson's Natural History" by S. G. Goodrich (1870). No. X of XV COPIES of the Deluxe Edition, SIGNED in the colophon (there were 26 regular copies). PUBLISHER'S DELUXE BINDING of green morocco-backed linen boards by Daniel E. Kelm, upper cover with central inset panel of green morocco bearing a hand-painted cast sculpture of a sea turtle by Robinson. WITH SEVEN ETCHINGS AND TWO WOOD ENGRAVINGS BY ROBINSON depicting sea turtles AND WITH AN ADDITIONAL SUITE OF PLATES, SIGNED and numbered by the artist AS WELL AS AN ORIGINAL WATER-COLOR BY ROBINSON OF A TURTLE'S HEAD. Everything housed in a matching linen tray case by Claudia Cohen. In mint condition.
Devoted to the creature that gave the press its name, this work illustrates green, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, Atlantic Ridley, Pacific Ridley, and flatback turtles. (ST17305j)

10) (CHELONIIDAE PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES, Illustrator. HAROLD PATRICK MCGRATH. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Cheloniidae Press, 1991) 285 x 205 mm. (11 1/4 x 8 1/4"). [48] leaves (including one blank). Edited by Alan James Robinson. No. 2 OF 100 COPIES SIGNED by McGrath and Robinson, of a total edition of 210. Publisher's binding of marbled paper boards designed by Gray Parrot, paper labels on front cover and spine. Frontispiece portrait by Robinson, many woodcut illustrations in the text, a few in color, and a color photograph of McGrath in a sleeve at the back. Printed in red and black on a variety of papers. With an inlaid bifolium, lettered on first page "The Party / Williamsburg, Massachusetts / June 8, 1991" and SIGNED BY MANY OF THE COLLABORATORS ON THE PROJECT. A hint of shelfwear, but a fine copy with pristine contents.
A handsomely produced collection of anecdotes and recollections-- "reverent and irreverent"-- by friends and colleagues paying homage to Master Printer Harold Patrick McGrath, who worked with the Gehenna, Pennyroyal, and Cheloniidae presses during a 50-year career, and trained many young printers. Contributors include Leonard Baskin, Carol Blinn, Barbara Blumenthal, David Bourbeau, Dan Carr, Sarah Chamberlain, Bruce Chandler, Claudia Cohen, David Godine, Ron Gordon, Lance Hidy, Michael McCurdy, Barry Moser, and Arno Werner.

11) (PRESS OF THE SEA TURTLE). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES. TROUT & BASS. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Press of the Sea Turtle, 1993) 385 x 280 mm. (15 1/4 x 11"). 75, [5] pp. No. I OF L (1 OF 50) DELUXE COPIES, SIGNED in the colophon. Vellum-backed celadon patterned paper board, gilt lettering to upper board, flat spine with stitching left visible. WITH SIX WATER-COLORED ETCHINGS, EIGHT WOOD ENGRAVINGS, AND 10 LINE-CUT DRAWINGS, SIGNED, PLUS A COMPLETE SIGNED AND NUMBERED SUITE OF ALL THE ILLUSTRATIONS. The whole contained in an olive-green silk portfolio. ALSO (inside cover of clamshell box, as issued) 18 HAND-TIED FLIES (12 for trout and six for bass) by Master Flytyer Jack Gartside. Spine of box lightly sunned, small brown spot to its title label, but the contents as new.
The etchings depict brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, cutthrout trout, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass. The hand-tied flies salute Robinson's devotion to the sport of flyfishing.

12) (PRESS OF THE SEA TURTLE). SALTWATER GRAND SLAM. (Easthampton, Massachusetts: Press of the Sea Turtle, 1996) 380 x 280 mm. (15 x 11"). Introduction by Jeffrey Cardenas, Florida Keys fishing guide. No. 1 OF 150 COPIES OF THE DELUXE EDITION, SIGNED in the colophon (and 26 extra-illustrated copies). VERY HANDSOME HALF VELLUM and blue handmade rough-textured paper boards, front cover with inset pigskin panel stamped with a tarpon, a bonefish, and a permit in 24 karat gold, smooth spine with gilt lettering. WITH 10 HAND-WATER-COLORED COPPERPLATE ETCHINGS, EIGHT WOOD ENGRAVINGS, AND 24 LINE-CUTS BY ROBINSON, AND AN ADDITIONAL SUITE OF ALL THE ILLUSTRATIONS, ALL SIGNED and numbered BY THE ARTIST. Additional suite of plates in blue raw silk portfolio, and everything housed together in matching clamshell box with gilt-lettered vellum label on the back. Spine and front cover of box a bit sunned, otherwise in immaculate condition.
According to the prospectus for this 27th book of the press, it is intended as "a fitting tribute to three of the greatest game fishes. The gamefish represented are the Tarpon, the amazing leaper, the Silver King; the Bonefish, the saltwater speedster, the ghost of the flats; and the Permit, the brutal fighter, the most elusive fish on a fly." Text was contributed by leading writers in the field: Dick Brown, Jeffrey Cardenas, John Cole, Chico Fernandez, Gene Hill, Thomas McGuane, Sandy Moret, Billy Pate, and Jack Samson--all of whom have signed the book at the back. The etchings include both portraits and action compositions of the three fish.

13) (SAFARI PRESS). ROBINSON, ALAN JAMES, Illustrator. STANLEY, HENRY M. and others. HUNTING IN TANZANIA. (Long Beach, California: Safari Press, 1991) 288 x 215 mm. (11 1/4 x 8 1/2"). xix, 367, [5] pp. Edited by Tony Sanchez-Ariño. No. 232 of 1,000 copies. Publisher's pictorial red cloth decorated in gilt and black, smooth spine with black decoration and gilt lettering, pictorial endpapers. In the original red cloth clamshell. With color map of Tanzania and 27 plates by Robinson illustrating wildlife, eight of these in color. As new.
Illustrated by Robinson for the eight-volume Safari Press series "Hunting in Africa," this work features essays from more than 30 19th and 20th century explorers, naturalists, big game hunters, and journalists on the animals of Tanzania.
(ST17305collection)

Price: $36,000.00