Mare Fecunditatis: Seas of the Moon, by Katharine Meynell with collagraphs by Susan Johanknecht
This 23rd copy of a Limited Edition of 40 copies of Mare Fecunditatis: Seas of the Moon, by Katharine Meynell with collagraphs by Susan Johanknecht was published in 1988 by Gefn Press of London. They were printed at the Gefn Press and the Camberwell Press, Department of Graphic Arts, Camberwell School of Art. The book is signed by both Katharine Meynell and Susan Johanknecht.
The book, which measures approximately 11 by 10 ¼ inches, is bound in flexible paper wrappers covered with a bubbled/corrugated type of iridescent plastic, with subtle wire stitching along the outer edges of the cover. The book has a total of 42 unnumbered pages, containing deeply textured collagraphs, by Susan Johanknecht, printed on thick paper, and thinner, tissue guard-type leaves with printed lunar surface details. An original dark, denim cloth sleeve in which the book had been inserted is missing. The book is otherwise in fine condition.
The illustrations accompanying this description provide an overview of the book and its contents. They are:
• The front cover
• The title page, with the first half of the title visible through a tissue guard leaf (2-page spread)
• A typical 2-page spread, with text viewed through a guard sheet and a collagraph on right
• A second 2-page spread, with text viewed through a guard sheet and a collagraph on right
• A 2-page spread showing the inside back cover, on the right, and the colophon information printed on a guard sheet, on the bottom left. Some type from the previous thick paper page can be seen just below the colophon.
Katharine Meynell is a British video artist, a scholar and an author. Her books include Seas of the Moon, Gefn Press, London 1988, Eat Book, Gefn Press, London & Janus Press, Vermont 1990, Emissions, Book Works, London & Gefn Press, London 1992, Janet! John! Lets go to the toilet!, Gefn Press, London 2000, and It's Inside, Marion Boyars, London and New York 2005. [Wikipedia]
Susan Johanknecht's work focuses on the development and production of artists’ books under the imprint of Gefn Press. She studied English Literature at the University of Vermont, and Fine Art specialising in printmaking at Central Saint Martins. Her artists’ books are in many collections, including the New York Public Library, Saison Poetry Collection, Tate Library, National Art Library (V&A Museum), Museum of Modern Art, New York, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris and Museum van het Boek, Netherlands.
