Letting go of things you love...

One of the only hardships in this business is having things you love “leave you.” The Boston show resulted in two such partings for me.

I had a really lovely copy of Die Nibelungen, this little German children’s book by Keim and illustrated by Czeschka. It is widely considered to be the finest example of Vienna Secession graphic art, richly illustrated in cobalt blue and gilt (and a touch of red on one plate). Simple and extremely well executed and wildly beautiful. I loved having it. I loved this one image of mounted soldiers across two leaves. I would display it open to that spot and it literally drew people in. It found a new home in Boston and I am happy for the book but I miss it already.

The other was far less significant, but I miss it even more. It was a really lovely copy of The Necromancer: or The Tale of the Black Forest; Founded on Facts; Translated from the German of Lawrence Flammenberg by Peter Teuthold. It was (well, is) a yellowback, which is to say a turn of the century (20th) equivalent to the mass market paper back. They were bound in very cheap yellow boards, had wonderful, vibrant color front and spine artwork and Pears Soap ads on the back boards. There was something about the Necromancer, in brigh purple robes against the yellow boards that was really very striking. It is a fun read and a lovely book and again, I just loved having it and the way it looked on a shelf. I know who bought it and know it will be in exceptional company on his shelves. I wonder if it will miss me as much as I miss it…