Ficciones (Fictions)

Buenos Aires: Ediciones Dos Amigos, 1987. Copy no. 21, one of 40 copies, all on velin d'Arches paper from a total issue of 42: 40 on velin d'Arches and 2 on Japan paper, all signed on the colophon by publisher, Samuel Cesar Palui. Page size: 13-1/16 x 10 inches; [i] [1-10] 11-175 [176-180] pp. Bound: loose in original grey wrappers, author's name engraved in dark blue, title in light green, dark green, and gray large wood-type letters; housed in buff paper and grey cloth box with blue cloth onlay on front of box, title printed in black on front cover and on spine. Illustrated with 18 full-page engravings as follows: 3 by Gabriela Aberstury, 3 by Julio Pagano, 3 by Mirta Ripoll, 8 by Alicia Scavino, and a portrait of the artist by Raul Russo. Hand set in 14pt. Bodoni by Ruben Raul Lapolla and printed under the supervision of Samuel Cesar Palui in three colors. The text is in black, page numbers in red, and highlights and title page in blue and black. The book was started in 1984 and was not published until 1987. This elaborate edition is one of the most beautiful of the press and, in my opinion, the most beautiful edition of Borges' great collection of short stories. The images so capture the author's imagination, particularly the engravings for "El Acercamiento a Almotasim" and "Las Ruinas Circulares.