Memento Mori : Memento Vivere - Prospectus

I have reprinted in this prospectus the flyer marking the death of Kathy Whalen, my wife and partner, so it is clear what this book is about. She would have been apprehensive about this book; she was never one for this sort of limelight. With that in mind I have deliberately made the book in the style that she particularly enjoyed, so using a variety of papers, plenty of colour on the pages, changes of aural tenor, tipped-in plates - all things the appropriate use of which Incline Press benefited from in the twenty years we made books together. These photos all come from the unbound pages of the book.

The layout of each opening is similar to this pattern: after the introductory matter each spread has to the left a column of text about Kathy’s life, and facing it a printed typographic display. So the contents explore, in both text and images, the work and play, successes and failures, achievements and regrets, of a committed bibliophile, librarian, and maker of books.

The book is printed mostly on Magnani Ivorio paper, with occasional intrusions from Hahnemüle and Zerkall papers, among others. It is illustrated both typographically and with original cuts from printmakers whose work Kathy enjoyed: Katherine Anteney, Christopher Brown, Bert Eastman, Andy English, Louisa Hare, Mark Hearld, John Watson, Melanie Wickham, and Nick Wonham. Along with the old there is new type, both metal and wood. Among the wood type there is the first deliberately cut female printers fist, designed by Nicola Pitrie and cut by Mark McKellier. There are new metal types designed by Elizabeth Friedlander, Aleksandra Samulenkova, and Russell Maret. Endpapers are a new repeat design from Nicolette Scarpa, a printmaking student of Tia Blassingame at Eastern Connecticut State University.

The edition is of 185 copies, of which 160 are for sale. The regular copies are hardbacks in a slipcase, bound by Roger Grech, numbered from 1 to 120, priced at £225 ($335). The special edition includes an additional suite of pages that would have been in the book if it been a never-ending project rather than a memorial volume. Both parts are bound by myself in a commissioned handmade paper from Two Rivers Paper Mill in Somerset, and are contained in a chemise. They are numbered I to XL, and cost £350 ($510). As ever, our prices include postage.

The printed prospectus comes with an order form, and if you would like the whole envelope please email me your street address if you think you might not be on the mailing list. I hope to get the prospectuses folded, trimmed and posted in the next couple of weeks. Alternatively, an online order can be made through the shop at incline press.com, where you will also find photos of the prospectus page by page.