Love

Dallas: Somesuch Press, 1983. Oliver, Nicky. 24pp. Inscribed by Stanley Marcus, noted miniature book collector and proprietor of the Somesuch Press, to his friend and fellow microbibliophile Donn Sanford. A collection of love poems by Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Browning, illustrated with two United States "Love" stamps and a British stamp in honor of St. Valentine's Day. Printed by the Feathered Serpent Press in black with vignettes and ornaments in bright red. This copy features a romantic designer binding by the British bookbinder Nicky Oliver. Inspired by the hints of red, small illustrations, and swirling floral motifs in the text, Oliver bound the book in fair goatskin that she painted and printed with pieces of floral lace dipped in coral-hued leather dye. The covers have a subtle sheen, and in the artist's statement she notes that "Gold foil was stenciled onto the surface of the leather and distressed to highlight the lace design." Gilt-tooled dots also trace some of the lines of the pattern and decorate all three pink edges of the book. Pieces of lace and oil-based inks were used to relief-print the pink, leather-jointed endpapers, which were also accented with subtle gilt-tooling. Housed in a handsome black quarter-morocco box adorned with decorated leather strips matching the binding and a gilt-titled pink lettering piece to the spine. Oliver's artistic background is in illustration and design, and she seeks to incorporate elements of these into her bindings. She was named a Licentiate of Designer Bookbinders in 2010 and has won several awards in their recent competitions. These achievements include "the Silver Triple" in the 2010 competition, with first prize for set book, open choice book, and the Edgar Mansfield Medal for best book. Extremely fine. (2 7/8 by 2 5/8; 73x67mm).