The Mourning Fan

The Mourning Fan, or Meanwhile and Elsewhere is a delightful, if little known work by Edward Gorey. It appeared in Antaeus, 20th Anniversary Issue, No 64/65, Spring-Autumn, 1990. This literary quarterly ran from 1970 through 1994, and included written contributions by a variety of authors. Works by Edward Gorey have appeared in several issues.

To date, The Mourning Fan has not been published as an individual book. The story consists of thirty verses, each accompanied by a small fan shaped drawing. The size of the drawings are similar to The Eclectic Abecedarium and Q.R.V., and it could be guessed that this title was destined to become a third miniature offering from Mr. Gorey. The surprise of the story is somewhat diminished in this printing because the layout allows the reader to see all the drawings and verses on four pages. I look forward to the possibility of seeing this title printed as an individual book one day.

N is for Newsletter

One of the more difficult to obtain Edward Gorey collectibles is N is for Newsletter, a privately published newsletter "about alphabet books and alphabet memorabilia for collectors and dealers". Published in New York from June 1993 through December 1993 (the final issue was not sent out until April 1994), this short lived newsletter contains three original alphabets by Edward Gorey, two of which have not been published anywhere else. The first issue has an interview with Mr. Gorey by co-publisher Gretchen Adkins on the front page. Including the interview, Mr. Gorey appears in four of the six issues. The newsletter has advertising from several well known book dealers, but was not widely circulated.

When contacted by Ms. Adkins, Mr. Gorey was gracious and generous, offering two previously unpublished (and unillustrated) alphabets for publication: The Yellow Thingummy(in issue #4), The Uncaught Window: A scrambled alphabet in a single sentence (in issue #5). A third, previously published alphabet, The Arsenical Bun appears in issue #6, which is the final issue of the newletter. Illustrating this alphabet are three tiny skeletons by Mr. Gorey.

The Arsenical Bun was first published in Murder Ink: Revived, Revised, Still Unrepentant Perpetrated by Dylis Winn (1984 Workman Publishing, 2nd paperback edition), but does not appear in the 1977 first hardcover edition. This alphabet also was performed/sung as the closing number of Tinned Lettuce: or, The New Musical in April 1985 at NYU. It was not included in the program when the show was revived as Amphigorey in 1992/1994.

Happy Birthday Edward Gorey!

Edward Gorey was born on February 22, 1925. Celebrate his birthday by pulling out your favorite Gorey volume and reading it aloud while enjoying a Gin & Tonic (a favorite drink of Mr. Gorey). I know Mr. Gorey does not like the Birthday Crown, but I am making him wear it again this year!
If you are in the San Francisco area, you can celebrate the day by attending a free Edward Gorey birthday event at the Cartoon Art Museum this evening. For event details, go to http://cartoonart.org/2012/02/an-edward-gorey-birthday-party/

2012 Gorey Exhibitions

Columbia University is mounting a new Edward Gorey exhibition entitled Gorey Preserved. Drawing from the extensive archive donated in 2010 by Andrew Alpern, the exhibition will open in the University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library on March 5th and runs through July 27th. An opening reception will be held on Wednesday March 7th at 6m in the Butler Library. The opening will feature a panel discussion including Mr. Alpern, Andreas Brown and Karen Wilkin.

The Butler Library is located in New York City at 535 West 114th Street. For more information on the exhibition, go to - http://library.columbia.edu/news/libraries/2012/021012_gorey_exhibit.html

This is the second major exhibition of Edward Gorey material to be mounted by a university in as many years. Following last year's extensive Looking For Edward Gorey at the University of Hawaii Art Gallery, Gorey Preserved should be more accessible to fans of Mr. Gorey's works. With the Edward Gorey House opening its 2012 season on April 15th, and the Elegant Enigmas show touching down from June 8th through September 2 at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach, Florida, it looks like the East Coast is the place to go to this spring/summer to get your Gorey fix.

Cautionary Tales

Edward Gorey left many unfinished projects at the time of his death in April 2000. There were stories and snippets of poetry he had written but had not had yet illustrated, works with the illustrations partially completed, and unfinished drawings. Some of these projects had been abandoned years earlier when he ran out of interest while working on them.

Once such project was Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc (French/British 1896 - 1953). Originally published in 1907, the first printing includes eleven tales. Mr. Gorey completed illustrations for seven of the tales before letting the project languish. After his death, the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust decided to publish the completed portions of the work, omitting the unfinished sections. Since the tales are short stories, it was easy to put together a complete book of tales. Almost all the writing in the book is typeset rather than hand lettered.
Cautionary Tales for Children was published in 2004 by Harcourt, Inc. as a hardcover with an illustrated dust wrapper. The trade edition contains six of the original eleven tales. In addition to the trade edition, a limited edition of 100 numbered and 26 lettered copies was produced. The limited edition is slipcased and comes with a portfolio which houses an unbound seventh tale, titled Lord Lundy: Who was too Freely Moved to Tears, and thereby ruined his Political Career. The colophon page is included in the portfolio, and the books are numbered/lettered in ink on the front free flyleaf. I am showing copy #100/100, and lettered copy Z (of 26 A to Z).

Gorey Glasses

In 1988, The Metropolitan Opera created and sold a set of four glasses showing classic opera scenes drawn by Edward Gorey. These generously sized "Double Old Fashion" glasses are frosted and have a nice heft to them. The images are quite wonderful and are full of fantastic details. It is a pity that Mr. Gorey never designed costumes for the Met. The glasses were sold as a set and include:

The Drinking Song

The Vengeance Aria

The Recognition Scene

The Mad Scene

Edward Gorey Mugs

Edward Gorey created several different coffee cup/mug designs. These mugs were sold through catalogs, at theater gift shops, and through The Gotham Book Mart. They can often be found on the secondary market today.

One of the earliest mug designs was made for The Metropolitan Opera and sold through its gift shop. I have seen it made with a band of gold around the upper lip, and plain. I have a plain mug floating around the house somewhere, and will post a photo when I run across it.

The most unusual mugs were the two created for the Signals catalog to advertise Mystery!, the weekly series of classic and modern murder stories. The two designs were made with printing that partially disappeared when the mug was filled with hot liquid, revealing new plot twists. While nice in theory, the mugs never really worked that well, and with repeated use the disappearing ink goes mid-tone grey. I am showing one of these mugs - once again I need to find the second example, but here is one!

There was a second pair of Mystery! mug designs sold through Signals that did not have the disappearing ink.








Mr. Gorey created mugs for theatrical endeavors. The two mugs shown on the right were made for the Cape Playhouse.







A Mug was made for the off-Broadway production of Amphigorey which shows the drop curtain design. Surprisingly, there are no Dracula mugs.

A mug was created for the Funeral Consumers Alliance that featured an image from The Osbick Bird.

The delightful image of Figbash appears on three different mugs. The central mug with the maze is a particular favorite of mine - it reminds me of a giant brain. The Figbash mugs also bring up the question: Is Figbash a single creature, or are there more than one?
The Edward Gorey House has revived the tradition of mugs by Edward Gorey by creating a new line of coffee mugs which are for sale through their gift shop and on line.