Florence Parry Heide

Florence Parry Heide, author of the Treehorn Trilogy, passed away on October 23, 2011, at age 92. Edward Gorey illustrated the Treehorn books. She died in her sleep at her Kenosha, Wisconsin home. Here is her obituary in the New York Times.

The Headless Bust

The Headless Bust, a Melancholy Meditation on the False Millennium by Edward Gorey was published in 1999 by Hardcourt Brace, New York. This title was published as a hardcover with illustrated boards and a matching dust wrapper. The Headless Bust was Mr. Gorey's final "A" collection book published during his lifetime.

The Headless Bust is a sequel to Mr. Gorey's 1997 publication, The Haunted Tea Cozy. The main characters once again are the Bahhum Bug and Edmund Gravel. In this outing, the Whatsit - a flying bug-like creature - takes them on journeys near and far to witness "shame and disgrace".

In addition to the standard printing, The Headless Bust was published as a slipcased, limited edition volume with 750 numbered and 26 lettered (A to Z) copies. Each of the limited edition books is hand signed by Edward Gorey. I am showing copies #95/750 and #M/26. I also have an Uncorrected Proof of this title, which was issued by Hardcourt in grey wrappers (see photo at the top of the post). The printing quality on the proof is significantly less well executed than in the final books.

Each limited edition copy of The Headless Bust was issued with a custom made beanbag Bahhum Bug doll. These delightful dolls are stuffed with poly beads (no worries about bugs or critters eating a rice filling), have six arms/legs, are printed front and back, and can be posed in many positions. The photo to the left shows one of my dolls sitting on a high book shelf.

While each of the 776 limited edition books was issued with a doll, there was a small number of extras created - I believe there were about 25 or so single dolls produced, which would make sense if the total order for dolls was 800. The extra dolls were sold individually by Gotham Book Mart. It is also interesting to note that some Bahhum Bug dolls were printed looking right, while others were reversed and look to the left. Whether this was intentional, or a mistake on the part of the manufacturer, I do not know.

Fine Art Prints, Part 11

With this posting, we complete the 2002 Gotham Book Mart list of prints created by Edward Gorey. The list ended at #117, plus one extra unnumbered print listed. We still have a number of etchings to cover in a future post, but they were printed after Mr. Gorey's death and are not on this list. Many of the prints shown on this post are available for purchase from The Edward Gorey House - edwardgoreyhouse.org - although some editions may be sold out. As with Edward Gorey's other prints, the editions completed after his death are available hand numbered with a facsimile signatures. #106 Figbash Takes A Bow - 40/50 prints were hand signed. #107 Figbash On Pointe to Right - 40/50 prints were hand signed. #108 Figbash On Pointe Hands Up - 40/50 prints were hand signed. #109 Figbash Jump with Hands Up - 50/50 prints were hand signed. #110 Figbash Pointing Right - 36/50 prints were hand signed. #111 Figbash Two Hands Right - 35/50 prints were hand signed. #112 Figbash Leaping, Two Hands Right - 30/50 prints were hand signed. #113 Figbash Leaping, Two Hands Back- 40/50 prints were hand signed. #114 Winged Figbash on "Etc." - 40/50 prints were hand signed. I have print #10/50. This is the only instance I know of where Figbash is shown with wings. #115 Night Creature Carrying Baby Aloft - 50/50 prints were hand signed. I am showing print #40/50. Along with print #41 Au Secours, this is one of Edward Gorey's most successful prints. In both prints, Mr. Gorey embraced the medium of printmaking and created striking images which could only be created through the printmaking process. With his use of shadow and light, Mr. Gorey conveys darkness and despair in Night Creature more convincingly than he could have in his standard cross hatched drawing style. In person, this print has a beautiful, almost three dimensional inky black surface. This image has been used as the cover for a vampire story compilation book. #116 Sleeping Cat Turned Left - 50/50 prints were hand signed. #117 Sleeping Cat Turned Right - 50/50 prints were hand signed.

Figbash English Soup - 300/300 prints were hand signed. This print was primarily available through Storyopolis in California, although Gotham had a few available. The Gotham list also said there were 23 Artist's Proof prints available.

Floating Worlds

"Dear Peter,
I've spent most of the day drawing sordidly conceived and erratically hung wallpaper..."

-Edward Gorey

Floating Worlds, The Letters of Edward Gorey and Peter F. Neumeyer by Peter F. Neumeyer gives us an inside glimpse into the mind of Edward Gorey, in time capsule form. Published in September 2011 by Pomegranate Books, San Francisco, the book consists of letters between Mr. Neumeyer and Mr. Gorey between September 15, 1968 and October 28, 1969.

Peter F. Neumeyer is the author of (among many other publications) the three Edward Gorey-illustrated Donald books. The letters ostensibly concern themselves with the publication of the Donald books (as well as other unfinished/unpublished collaborations between the two), but this is just a springboard for numerous subjects from both writers. In one of the earliest letters, Mr. Gorey states that he usually does not collaborate at all with authors - he usually just does the art and moves on to the next project. This is not the case with author Neumeyer.

In the process of collaboration, the work and social habits of Mr. Gorey are illuminated far better than have ever been shown before. Mr. Gorey's letters are often written over days (with time and/or date notations), typed on a manual typewriter with hand notations. This was an incredibly busy time for Mr. Gorey who was working on multiple projects of his own and also illustrating books for several authors.

Floating Worlds is profusely illustrated with examples of the hand decorated envelopes and post cards sent to Mr. Neumeyer, which would be reason enough to make this a "must have" book, as would the introduction by Mr. Neumeyer. These are merely window dressing, however, to the main event - the correspondence between the two men.

In today's world of instant communication, it is hard to imagine the anticipation of waiting for a response to something you sent weeks (or more) previously. The only way to recreate this would be to read the letters as dated, but who can wait?!

Fine Art Prints, Part 10

We continue with Gotham Book Mart's 2002 list of prints created by Edward Gorey - and yes, we are getting close to the end of the list! Most of the prints shown on this post are available for purchase from The Edward Gorey House - edwardgoreyhouse.org - although some editions may be sold out. As with Edward Gorey's other prints, the editions were completed after his death and are available hand numbered with a facsimile signatures.

This grouping of prints are the "Thumb" series. I do not have any of these prints in my collection - I will admit that I find these images rather creepy. My favorites from the group is Thumbhenge and Three Thumbs Exercise.

#97 Thumb: Left Turn - 20/50 prints were hand signed.
#98 Thumb: On the Right - 20/50 prints were hand signed.
#99 All Thumbs (four) - 30/50 prints were hand signed.
#100 Thumbhenge - 30/50 prints were hand signed.
#101 Two Thumbs: Up & Left - 20/50 prints were hand signed.
#102 Three Thumbs Exercise - 20/50 prints were hand signed.
#103 Two Thumbs Aloft - 20/50 prints were hand signed.
#104 Two Thumbs (Sistine Chapel) - 20/50 prints were hand signed.
#105 Three Thumbs Up - 20/50 prints were hand signed.

Inspirations

It is always fun to recognize something that influenced Edward Gorey and his works. This past week, I received a catalog from a book dealer specializing in children's literature. While perusing the offerings, I was struck by an illustration from an early American title. At a glance, it appears to be an illustration from Edward Gorey's first miniature book, The Eclectic Abecedarium. It was actually from Whittington and His Cat published by S(olomon) King, circa 1829 - 1831.

The border design and style of art are remarkably similar to Mr. Gorey's illustrations for TEA...actually, they are pretty much exactly the same. The catalog includes a second title by King, The Scripture Alphabet for Children (circa 1830's). Also included in the catalog is a copy of the Adama printing of The Eclectic Abecedarium.

Gorey was widely read and picked up influences from many different sources. It should be no surprise that some of them are recognizable!

The Haunted Tea Cosy

The Haunted Tea Cosy; A Dispirited and Distasteful Diversion for Christmas by Edward Gorey was published in hardcover with an illustrated dust wrapper in 1997 by Harcourt Brace & Company, New York. The Haunted Tea Cosy is a parody of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, and introduces the Bahhum Bug, who will also appear in Mr. Gorey's final book. This story was commissioned by the New York Times and appeared in the New York Times Magazine on December 21, 1997. The Haunted Tea Cosy is included in Amphigorey Again.

The first edition of The Haunted Tea Cosy was available from Gotham Book Mart as a signed hardcover, and as a signed, slipcased limited edition with 500 numbered and 26 lettered (A to Z) copies. The signed colophon page is tipped into the book. I am showing copies #42/500 and G/26. The announcement card for this title appears below.

The Elegant Enigmas show included two pieces of original artwork from this book, and the art displays the simpler, bolder line quality that much of Mr. Gorey's work from this time period exhibits. It was interesting to be able to compare and contrast the art from this book to pieces created just a few years earlier.