Impossibility

Hamburg: Hirundo Press, 1998. First and Limited Edition. Folio in a case. Fine. Saltzwedel, Caroline. First edition in book form, number 10 of 25 copies, elephant folio size, [56] pp., signed by Robert Crawford and Caroline Saltzwedel. The first artists' book published by Hirundo Press. The text of "Impossibility" was first published on 18 September 1997 in the "London Review of Books", this is the first illustrated edition published in book form. Caroline Saltzwedel, born in England, has lived in Hamburg since 1995 as a graphic artist and painter. She studied German at the Universities of Durham, Oxford and Bonn, and printed graphics at the Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford. In 1998 she founded the Hirundo Press for artists' books in small editions; her works are in numerous public and private collections including the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, the British Library, the Bodleian Library, Stanford University, and the Widener Library (Harvard) among many others.

Robert Crawford is a Scottish poet, scholar and critic, his main focus being in Post-Enlightenment Scottish literature. This poem was written shortly after the birth of his daughter, and deals with "female heroism". It tells the story of the Scottish writer Margaret Oliphant (1828-1897), who wrote over a hundred books during her lifetime, including novels, short stories, biographies and translations, all to feed her large family. The level and output of her work would, by today's standards, be "impossible" - hence the placement of this poem in an undersea, "impossible" world.

A marvellous marriage of the Crawford's poems and Saltzwedel's images, which must be read to be appreciated: "Where my husband's buried and where I watched my baby / Die in my arms; I am pulverisingly / Penniless, fortunate, and very tired; / In the early hours, weathered by children's breathing, / Chapters drift up among sluggish cuttlefish, / I see the passing lights of hulls above" (Section V).

___DESCRIPTION: Fourteen loose folios, fore-edges uncut, the first being the title-page printed in blue and black, followed by twelve folios presenting five stanzas of the poem on the left and original three-color etchings on the right, each signed, dated and and numbered by the artist in pencil, all with tissue guards, the final folio being "notes"and the colophon; Dante-Antiqua type, Velin BFK Rives Blanc paper, elephant folio size (15" by 11"), [56] unnumbered pages, limited edition, this number 10 of 25 copies, signed by Robert Crawford and Caroline Saltzwedel. Housed in blue cloth fall-down-back box, with the title stamped in dark blue to the upper cover, lined with grey paper; the box measuring 16" by 12".

___CONDITION: The folios are all fine, clean and without wear; like new. The box is also fine, strong and sturdy, without wear; a few almost imperceptible white marks on the front cover, overall a fine production.

___PROVENANCE: From a private collector who acquired this work directly from Ms. Saltzwedel.

___POSTAGE: Please note that this is a large and heavy volume, and additional postage may apply; please inquire for details.

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