New World Saints by Pierce, Donna - 1995

Santa Fé: Press at the Palace of the Governors, 1995. Limited edition. Hardcover. Fine. Folio: 9½ by 15 inches. Twenty-five hand-colored prints of saints, each mounted onto a die-cut paper triptych with letterpress text and with embossed and curved upper margin. The artwork is by Catherine Ferguson, and Spanish Colonial Arts scholar Donna Pierce provided the text. All are housed in a magnificent arched case with two doors and closing clasp, cloth and lined with Florentine and gilt papers. One of 150 numbered copies signed by the artist, the author and the printer, Pamela Smith. This is number 17. This production of the Press took five years to produce (including two years alone for the hand coloring) involving the the staff of the press and a number of dedicated volunteers. It was awarded the American Associations of Design award. A fine copy, complete. See "Passions in Print", pp. 164-167, where Pamela Smith calls this one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the Press. And it is certainly a magnificent example of fine printing and binding.