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On Books

The creative art of renowned book artist Susan Allix with a catalogue raisonné, by Simon Shorvon, in a limited edition of 100 copies

To be published on 9 December 2023
at the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair
but copies are available now

We now have copies from the printers of this important addition to the literature on book arts.

Susan Allix has been making Fine Press Artist’s books for fifty years and in this time has produced seventy-seven titles, as well as nine children’s books and special bindings for thirty-eight other books. Following in-depth interviews with Allix and examination of all of her output, mostly inspecting individual copies, Simon Shorvon has written this extensive analysis of her work and the ways in which her life has influenced her approach to books and book making. The book celebrates Allix's semicentennial achievement and includes a full catalogue raisonné of her work.

The book contains the following main chapters:

Marmalade sans serif		Covers Allix's early life, her time at the Royal College of Art, her winning of a Prix de Rome scholarship and consequent time in Rome.
The early books		From her first book, Omar Khayyam, through the other seven books of the 1970s and 1980s.
The Almorah Road years		A new home and studio in 1991 marked the start of three decades of book making.
A certain recognizable aesthetic		Allix's books and process considered from an aesthetic viewpoint, with analysis of her handling of text, images, and bindings, and her use of colour and materials.
The business of the books		How her books have reached buyers and collectors.
Catalogue raisonné		A fifty-page, detailed and comprehensive catalogue raisonné of her entire output. You can view a sample opening (copyright (c) 2023 Simon Shorvon).
University and library collections		A list of the holdings of Allix's books by nearly 100 institutional libraries.
Bibliography		In particular, writings by and about Allix.

The text of On Books has been set in Monotype Dante and Optima on a generous page of 270 mm by 215 mm, with sixty coloured and black-and-white illustrations of her work supporting the text. You can view three sample openings: pp48-49, pp32-33, and pp60-61 (all copyright (c) 2023 Simon Shorvon).

Just 100 numbered and signed copies have been Indigo printed on 140 gsm Fedrigoni Arena smooth. The full-cloth sewn and cased binding carries the title on the spine and comes in a dustjacket. 199pp.

The price is £120 plus shipping. Orders can be placed and paid for now through our online shop.

We are also offering a package which additionally includes a companion photographic volume of over 300 colour photographs covering Allix's entire oeuvre, A Catalogue of Fine Press Artists Books from 1973-2023, by Susan Allix and Ben Blossom. It contains a specially editioned letterpress print with added pochoir and hand-colouring by Allix and comes as a paperback with a glassine wrapper. 275 x 210 mm, matching On Books in height on the shelf. 140pp. The package of the two volumes is £150 (plus shipping) and it can also be ordered and paid for now through our online shop.


published on 8 November Washi memories		The story of the papermakers of Kamikawasaki in Fukushima prefecture by paper and textile artist Eleanor Burkett
Now available for ordering		Copies of his new title can now be ordered. Batches are arriving from our binders and we are sending out orders as soon as we can.
You can find out more about the book and see more photographs of the inside at our website.


a reminder about The Oxford Fine Press Book Fair 2023
9-10 December 2023 Examination Schools, Oxford		We will of course be there! We will be showing both of our new books and our other books in print.

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Copyright © Martyn Ould 2023

To be published on 9 December 2023 at the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair but copies are available now

Now available for ordering

9-10 December 2023 Examination Schools, Oxford

To be published on 9 December 2023
at the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair
but copies are available now

9-10 December 2023
Examination Schools, Oxford