Neo Emblemata Nova (2005)

Neo Emblemata Nova (2005)
Daniel E. Kelm
Box: H96 x W109 x D102 mm closed.
Booklet cover: H72 x W79 mm closed, H72 x W224 mm open.
Booklet: H72 x W78 mm.
Möbius strip: each tile is H70 x W70 mm; the strip extended is 1000 mm.
Edition of twenty-one, of which this is #18.
Acquired from the artist, 20 October 2018.

Opening the work.

Booklet about the work and its creation.

Inside the top of the box.

Closing and returning the Möbius strip to its box requires considerably more dexterity than reading; so much so that the booklet included provides instructions.

The Anatomy Lesson (2004)

The Anatomy Lesson (2004)
Joyce Cutler-Shaw
Middletown, CT: Robin Price, Publisher, 2004)
Limited edition of 50, of which this signed copy is the binder’s copy (Daniel E. Kelm). Acquired from the binder, 20 October 2018.

Twelve signatures of handmade cotton text paper, the central ten signatures each made up of one sheet H356 x W514 mm and one sheet H356 x W500 mm glued to the 14 mm margin of the first sheet, for a total of ninety-six pages, each measuring H356 x W253 mm.
Binding of leather covered boards (a hologram embedded in front cover) with an open spine, taped and sewn into a reinforcing concertina structure: H361 X W259 mm.
Contained in engraved steel box: H370 x W326 x D44 mm.

Detail of sewing and internal view of reinforcing accordion structure. For a description of this type of structure, see Hedi Kyle’s The Art of the Fold (London: Laurence King, 2018), pp. 82-85.

View of the doublure, which is part of the reinforcing concertina structure.

Cover page of second signature.

Second signature open to double-page spread.

Second signature open to four-page spread.

Further Reading

“Bieler Press”, in Book Art Object, ed. David Jury (Berkeley, CA: Codex Foundation, 2008), pp. 116-17.

Chizhov, Stepan. “Daniel Kelm and Book Arts: Asking Questions, Playing, and Having Fun“. iBookBinding, 3 June 2022. Accessed 4 June 2022. Kelm offers a useful distinction between “sculptural books” and “book sculptures”.

“Exhibition: Getting Physical: the Significance of Making Books by Hand, October-December 2015”, Smith College Libraries, 28 October 2015. Accessed 6 September 2019.

“Indulgence Press”, in Book Art Object, ed. David Jury (Berkeley, CA: Codex Foundation, 2008), pp. 198-99.

“Poetic Science: Bookworks by Daniel E. Kelm, 12 October 2007 – 10 February 2008“, Smith College Museum of Art. Accessed 6 September 2019. One of the few book art exhibitions that makes an effort to demonstrate the movement and articulation of the works. (Requires Adobe Flash Player)

Miller, Steve. “Daniel Kelm”, Book Arts Podcasts, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama, 22 July 2012. Accessed 6 September 2019.

Reed, Marcia. “Handling a Cosmic Book Object”, The Irish 15 October 2018. Accessed 6 September 2019.