Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities (Quercus Press)

Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities
by John M. Carrera, Chronicle Books, 2009, signed by the author

Collection of the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library, University of Alberta

Tight back sewn on double raised cords, covered in calf. Leather hinge, Payhembury marbled paper flyleaves and pastedowns. Hand sewn, three color, silk headbands; three edges sprinkled with red acrylic ink. Blind tooling, title stamped in black foil. Illustrations scanned from Pictorial Webster’s wall cards inkjet printed, then hand cut into seventeen pop-ups sewn alternating with the text block’s signatures. Additional illustrations and text laser printed onto goat and calf onlays. Bound 2011.

7.5x6.2.5”

Text drawn from the Preface and Introduction describe the original impetus behind the illustrations and the author’s vision for them in this work. Because the dictionary was originally printed to optimize text, not image, Carrera’s work marks the first opportunity for viewers to truly see the illustrations. Pop-ups further bring the illustrations to life.