Search Results: Cuba from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2002. 11 pages. 6-1/2 by 8-3/4 inches. One of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan. A poem, designed by Vicente Enríquez Landín, with a particularly effective portrait of the composer pasted onto the front cover. OCLC: BNCJM CRU CSL CUI CUZ DEIAI DLC DRB EEM FHM FQG FUG GZN IND IQU IUL NDD NYP UBY UMK WAU YUS ZCU. Fine.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2015. A single stiff sheet covered in textured paper and folded three times. 5 by 9-1/2 inches when closed. An edition of 200 numbered copies. Colección Andante series. The text is Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" in English and Spanish translation. The construction, designed by Marialva Ríos, is made of paper, cloth, string mesh, and thread, with handcoloring. When folded, the cover presents Marley's face in front of a stiff cloth star that extends beyond the edges and is festooned with thread in the colors of the Ethiopian flag (red, green, and yellow). This folds down to reveal another star, the limitation number, and the title in English. This panel opens to the text as well as a paper cut-out in the shape of a marijuana leaf. The colophon is on the verso. The imagery in this book may not be especially original, but the folding structure is one of the more complicated in the oeuvre of Ediciones Vigía. OCLC: CRU DEIAI FQG FXG IND IQU LAF LRU NDD NOC NYP STF… Read More

Matanzas, Cuba: Centro de Promoción Literaria José Jacinto Milanés and Ediciones Vigía, 2013. A single sheet, 3-1/2 by 15 inches, folded and inserted into a paper container decorated with a collage with a house design and a twine loop for hanging. 5 by 10 inches. Edition size not noted, but probably 200 copies. A poem dedicated to Matanzas by a Cuban writer, issued to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death. Designed by Adrián Milián. OCLC: BLSTP CRU FQG FXG HLS IQU IYU NOC NUI NYP PAU TJC UCW. Near fine.

Bellamar, Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones El Fortín, 2014. A poem, inspired by the author's trip to Mexico, bound in cardboard covers decorated with a handcolored portrait of the artist Frida Kahlo with a mounted artist's paint brush. The text of the poem is laser printed on white paper. The book, designed by the author, has handcolored and collage illustrations inside and a bookmark made for this production. Estevez (1953-2023) co-founded Ediciones Vigía, the acclaimed artist's book collective in Cuba. For the last ten years of his life, he pursued more personal projects, like this one, under the El Fortín imprint. OCLC describes the book as follows: Edition of 50 hand-made artists' books... Bound in cardboard; the front cover is a hand-painted portrait of artist Frida Kahlo with added collage elements (cutouts of painted flowers, a cork crescent moon, a cloth ribbon, and an artist's paint brush) and the words: Vida dolor [Life / Pain]. Hand-painted cutouts, craft paper and colored tissue paper are… Read More

Holguín, Cuba: Casa Editora Cuadernos Papiro, 2014. Ephemera. 11 sheets, 6-3/4 by 11-3/4 inches, in a 12-1/2 by 11 inches. Published in an edition of 100 copies. Each sheet offers a traditional Cuban recipe printed letterpress on handmade paper. The recipes are inserted into a shaped folder reminiscent of a basket with a thick string handle, a mounted sun design, and an attached cloth napkin. The recipes include chatinos de platano verde (plantain chips), tamal en hojas (tamales), and matajíbaro (a plantain-and-pork dumpling). OCLC: EEM FQG FXG IQU NAM NDD NOC NUI STF TXJ VWM (for the 2014 edition; there is also a 2018 version). Near fine.

Bellamar (Matanzas), Cuba: Ediciones El Fortín, 2019. First Edition. Near fine. A handmade artists' book interpretation of Amelia Vento Pichardo de Tápanes' 1933 collection of poems by the late, great Cuban book artist Rolando Estévez, published in an edition of 36 copies. The text is color photocopies of individual pages from an original copy of De mi jardín interior on an abstract watercolor background. The title page is embroidered on a piece of cloth with ragged edges. The illustrations are color copies of collages with paper additions to a few pages. Estévez's afterword is reproduced from a handwritten manuscript. The cover is black paper adorned only with a mid-20th century matchbook in a pocket on the front cover. Estévez was the creative force behind Ediciones Vigía, the acclaimed Cuban book-arts cooperative for decades. He left Vigía in the 2010s and formed the El Fortín to make more personal books with smaller limitations. 18 leaves. Not in OCLC. A near fine copy; no. 24 of 36… Read More

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2012. 136 pages. 7-3/4 by 9-3/4 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección Trébol. A collection of short stories illustrated by Abdel de la Campa Escaig with drawings and collages. The text and illustrations are printed on brown recycled paper. OCLC: BNCJM DEIAI EEM EYM FQG FXG LRU NDD NOC PAU UMK. Fine.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2014. 37 pages. 7-1/4 by 12 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección Barquitos. Seven poems and four rondas (rounds, or rotas, in English) written for children. Exuberantly handcolored throughout. Text digitally printed on white paper with Kraft paper dividers. A short poetic broadside in the shape of an owl is inserted into a pocket on one of the dividers. The covers incorporate paper collage and fabric. Lemis is a Cuban dramatist, born in Holguín. OCLC: BLSTP CLU CRU DEIAI FBC FQG FUG FXG HLS HUL IND IQU IXA NOC PAU TEU UCW. Fine.

Holguín: Editorial Cuadernos Papiro, 2010. First Edition. 10 leaves plus covers. 8 by 13 inches. One of 100 copies. A long poem printed letterpress on paper handmade, in part, from garlic leaves. The covers each have a unique monoprint by Freddy García Azze, with the back cover the reverse of the front. The design of all the covers is the same, but the inking and coloration is different. OCLC: IQU GZM NOC NUI VWM. Fine, with dark printed wrappers. This copy is handnumbered 050 on the colophon printed with the limitation and the date, February 2010. Near fine in wrappers, with the promotional bookmark laid in. This copy is not signed by the artist on the cover.

1900. Ephemera. Very good. A mounted half-length portrait photograph of Cuban independence leader Gonzalo de Quesada (1868-1915). Quesada came to the US with his parents as a boy. He grew up in New York City, obtained a law degree from New York University, and became friends with José Martí. With Martí he advocated for Cuban independence and was a member of the constitutional convention. He served as Cuban ambassador to the US and then to Germany. He died in Berlin during the First World War. Martí entrusted Quesada with his literary legacy, and Quesada edited the first volumes of Martí's collected works. 3-13/16 by 5-7/16 inches. A high-contrast silver gelatin print on photographic paper mounted to cardstock (mount trimmed near edges of the print). There were some imperfections in the negative emulsion causing spotting to Quesada's jacket and to his hair. Nothing affects his marvelous mustache. The image has the number 1927 on the front and back of the mount, which may be a date or an ID… Read More

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 1989. 11 leaves, printed on one side only (rectos). 6-1/4 by 8 inches. Colección Clásicos. An edition of 100 copies. A small selection of Baudelaire's poetry in French and Spanish translation, mimeographed from typescript. This is the first in a series of several books of poetry in translation published in 1989. The design is not credited, but it is probably by the Ediciones Vigía founder, Alfredo Zaldívar. OCLC: FQG (for this first edition). Very good; lacking the jute cord that should wrap around the spine.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 1989. 13 pages. 6 by 8-1/2 inches. An edition of 100 copies. Colección Clásicos (?). Five poems by the Brazilian writer, in Portuguese with a Spanish translation on the facing page. The translations are by Eugenio Gardinalli Filho and Juan Luis Hernández Milián. The design and illustrations are by Rolando Estévez. This is part of a series of works in translation issued by Ediciones Vigía in 1989 in conjunction with a symposium on world literature held in Matanzas. The text is mimeographed on low-quality brown paper, tied with string around the fold. OCLC: DEIAI FQG. Very good or better.

Holguín: Casa Editora Cuadernos Papiro, 2016. 33 leaves. 12-1/2 by 13-3/4 inches. An edition of 100 copies, issued with at least two cover designs and typefaces. Poems, printed letterpress with the text set on a linotype. Bound Japanese-style. The paper is handmade from various plant and fiber sources. Six of the leaves have minimalist serigraphs made jointly by Freddy García Azze and Wiskelmis Rodríguez González. Each is titled, signed ("Freddy-Wiskelmis"), and numbered in pencil at the bottom of the sheet. The text block variants are 1a) poems black ink with a sans serif typeface for the poem titles and the initial letters or 1b) poems in green ink with a black-letter typeface used for the poem titles and the initial letters. The cover variants are 2a) the cover title printed in red using a script typeface with the author's name in a linocut and the binding done using thin rope and 2b) the cover title printed from a linocut and the author's name printed using a serif typeface, all in black,… Read More

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2006. 173 pages. 7-1/2 by 9-3/4 inches. One of 200 copies. Colección del Estero. An anthology of three books of poems by a Havana poet, photocopied on white paper. Designed and illustrated by Marialva Ríos. Prologue by Roberto Manzano. The cover is assembled from pieces of corrugated paper mounted with collaged paper and a leaf. There are two variant bindings, one with a brown paper border on the covers and one without. OCLC: BNCJM DEIAI EEM FHM FQG FRAFQ FXG GZM IND NDD NOC NYP TJC WCM. Fine. This copy does not have the border.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2015. [12] pages. 8-1/2 by 8-1/2 inches. Edition of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan (?). A single poem, which won the Premio América Bobia 2014. Illustrated by Johann E. Trujillo with collages. The binding incorporates cardboard at the spine, pieces of wood, and paper collage. Pérez is noted Matanzas poet. OCLC: BLSTP CGU CLU CUT DEIAI EEM EYM FQG FXG HLS HUL IQU LRU NOC NUI NYP. A fine copy.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2013. 72 pages. 6 by 8-1/2 inches. One of 200 numbered copies. Colección del San Juan. One of the more inventive book structures from Ediciones Vigía with three-dimensional and interactive features. Design and drawings by Giorje Michel Milián. A collection of poems with a voodoo theme. The book has covers and interior illustrations made from handcolored collage elements. It slides into a pocket on the back (verso) of the case. The front of the case is a frame made from scraps of wood, covered in paper, with a thin translucent cover that opens to reveal a three-dimensional, handcolored seated figure made from paper and cloth. OCLC: BLSTP CLU CRU CUT DEIAI FQG FXG HLS HUL IQU MMX NOC NUI PAU STF TEU TJC UCW VWM. Very good to near fine, with light wear to paper-and-nail clasp.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 1990. Pergamino (folded broadside). 7-1/2 by 7-1/4 inches; unfolding to 33 inches. One of 200 signed and numbered copies. Colección not noted, but del San Juan. An exemplary pergamino from the fifth year of Ediciones Vigía. This broadside offers a poem, mimeographed on several pieces of stiff Kraft paper and assembled into a single sheet. Designed and illustrated by Rolando Estévez with a handcolored border and a coarse hemp cord for hanging. OCLC: DEIAI FQG. Near fine. Signed by Zamora at the end of the poem.

Holguín, Cuba: Casa Editora Cuadernos Papiro, 2015. Largest dimensions, 13-3/4 by 8 inches. Published in an edition of 100 copies. 12 leaves, including covers, of die-cut handmade papers, including sheets made with flower petals, garlic leaves, recycled newspapers, and the hair of Leticia Leyve Azze, the designer. One of the sheets is marbled, another blind-embossed, and a third embellished with collage; the others are poems printed letterpress. The front cover is a handcolored linocut. The leaves are held together with a three-hole stab binding tied with red ribbon, which becomes a bookmark. The author of the poems is the daughter of the Spanish poet Rafael Alberti. She has lived and written in Cuba since 1984. OCLC: CRU CUT DEIAI FQG FXG GZM IND IQU LRU NDD NOC VJA VWM. Near fine. "Certificado de autenticación" laid in.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2016. 50 pages. 8-1/2 by 11 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección Venablos. An essay on an aspect of the antislavery movement in 19th century Cuba, in Spanish and in Portuguese translation. Illustrated by Carlos M. Oliva and designed by Johann E. Trujillo. The text is photocopied onto white bond and recycled papers. OCLC: AUM CRU CUT CUY DEIAI EEM FQG FXG HLS HUL IND IQU LRU NDD NOC NYP TJC VWM. Fine.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2013. 93 pages. 7-3/4 by 10-3/4 inches. Edition of 200 copies. Colección del Estero (cover) and Colección del San Juan (colophon). A collection of poems, photocopied on white paper, with handcolored collaged section dividers. The cover is a collage made from cardboard, several types of cloth, overprinted text, and handcolored paper. Designed and illustrated by Abdel de la Campa. Esquivel Guerra is a Cuban poet. OCLC: BLSTP CLU CRU DEIAI EEM EYM FQG FXG HLS HUL IND IQU IUL IXA LRU NOC NYP PAU STF TEU UCW YUS. Fine.