Le Calumet
Le Calumet by André Salmon, illustrations by André Derain. Paris: Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française, 1920
Private collection
Cave paper case, sewing supports of lake trout parchment processed by the binder, walnut veneer flyleaves, Hahnemuhle Ingres endpapers. Original paper wrapper backed with Ruscombe Mill handmade paper and bound in. Ruscombe Mill laser-printed label fixed with methyl cellulose. Laced compound folded cover binding based on a 2003 illustration by Gary Frost. Matching clamshell box also in Cave paper and lake trout parchment. Bound 2024.
17 x 13 x 1.5 cm
6 5/8 x 5 3/16 x ¾”
The title poem is the melancholy reflections of an Indigenous American while enjoying his last remaining comfort, his pipe. I chose a palette reminiscent of the historical wilderness of the Great Lakes region, thinking descriptions of this area by French explorers would have informed how the author viewed the land and its history. Honoring the client’s request for unusual materials, the dark and mottled Cave paper resembles a cured tobacco leaf, the natural spotting of the Lake Trout echoes the irregular dots making up Derain’s distinctive wood engravings, and the dark wood veneer flyleaves place the reader in a melancholy forest.
The text block is hand-sized and hand-shaped: not quite square but less vertical than the typical text block shape. The flexible paper case encourages the reader to handle the binding and feel its organic textures.
Le Calumet by André Salmon, illustrations by André Derain. Paris: Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française, 1920
Private collection
Cave paper case, sewing supports of lake trout parchment processed by the binder, walnut veneer flyleaves, Hahnemuhle Ingres endpapers. Original paper wrapper backed with Ruscombe Mill handmade paper and bound in. Ruscombe Mill laser-printed label fixed with methyl cellulose. Laced compound folded cover binding based on a 2003 illustration by Gary Frost. Matching clamshell box also in Cave paper and lake trout parchment. Bound 2024.
17 x 13 x 1.5 cm
6 5/8 x 5 3/16 x ¾”
The title poem is the melancholy reflections of an Indigenous American while enjoying his last remaining comfort, his pipe. I chose a palette reminiscent of the historical wilderness of the Great Lakes region, thinking descriptions of this area by French explorers would have informed how the author viewed the land and its history. Honoring the client’s request for unusual materials, the dark and mottled Cave paper resembles a cured tobacco leaf, the natural spotting of the Lake Trout echoes the irregular dots making up Derain’s distinctive wood engravings, and the dark wood veneer flyleaves place the reader in a melancholy forest.
The text block is hand-sized and hand-shaped: not quite square but less vertical than the typical text block shape. The flexible paper case encourages the reader to handle the binding and feel its organic textures.
Le Calumet by André Salmon, illustrations by André Derain. Paris: Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française, 1920
Private collection
Cave paper case, sewing supports of lake trout parchment processed by the binder, walnut veneer flyleaves, Hahnemuhle Ingres endpapers. Original paper wrapper backed with Ruscombe Mill handmade paper and bound in. Ruscombe Mill laser-printed label fixed with methyl cellulose. Laced compound folded cover binding based on a 2003 illustration by Gary Frost. Matching clamshell box also in Cave paper and lake trout parchment. Bound 2024.
17 x 13 x 1.5 cm
6 5/8 x 5 3/16 x ¾”
The title poem is the melancholy reflections of an Indigenous American while enjoying his last remaining comfort, his pipe. I chose a palette reminiscent of the historical wilderness of the Great Lakes region, thinking descriptions of this area by French explorers would have informed how the author viewed the land and its history. Honoring the client’s request for unusual materials, the dark and mottled Cave paper resembles a cured tobacco leaf, the natural spotting of the Lake Trout echoes the irregular dots making up Derain’s distinctive wood engravings, and the dark wood veneer flyleaves place the reader in a melancholy forest.
The text block is hand-sized and hand-shaped: not quite square but less vertical than the typical text block shape. The flexible paper case encourages the reader to handle the binding and feel its organic textures.
