Aurora Teardrops - Deluxe Edition, the Author's Copy

Vancouver: Heavenly Monkey. Fine+. 2016. Limited Edition; First Printing. The Deluxe Edition (7.5 x 10 inches, approx. 65 pages including prints) is 26 lettered copies. There are eight numbered hors de commerce copies for contributors. There are six two-page color reproductions of Jane Maru’s batik paintings, printed on semi-transparent vellum, that are interleaved among the text pages. Each copy also includes an original frontispiece watercolor painting by Jane. The Deluxe copies are signed by Harold Budd, Jane Maru & David Sylvian. There is an additional signature from Harold Budd on the colophon page. Volume is handbound in clear Plexiglass boards with a slipcase. While not marked as such, this particular copy, lettered "X", was one of Harold Budd's personal copies; Harold started writing the 59 poems that form Aurora Teardrops during his first collaboration with artist Jane Maru: a collection of her short films and his accompanying scores, entitled Jane 1-11. It was, however, her batik paintings on silk that he first encountered, and it is these batiks that form the vibrant visual core for Aurora Teardrops. Heavenly Monkey publisher Rollin Milroy worked with Harold and Jane for over two years on the book’s content and design, experimenting with (and discarding) a variety of ideas before settling on what all three felt was the right combination of materials, methods and presentation. Like all Heavenly Monkey books, Aurora Teardrops is printed letterpress. While letterpress is not uncommon among the today’s small- and fine-press publishers, Heavenly Monkey is one of just a handful of studios that print from a traditional handpress – nothing is automated: everything, including inking the type, is done by hand. This is not a token exercise in antiquarianism: we use a handpress because only it offers the flexibility to achieve the best possible results. The poems and introductory texts have been set in Cancelleresca Bastarda, a widely-admired face designed by Jan van Krimpen in the 1930s and briefly available in metal from the renowned Enschede foundry. It has not, however, been cast in many decades, and what few old fonts remain usually are worn and lacking the many alternate characters van Krimpen created. Aurora Teardrops is set in the first digital version of Cancelleresca Bastarda, created by typographer Pablo Impallari, and printed from polymer plates (i. e. rather than metal type, it is printed from polymer type; the letterpress process is otherwise exactly the same). Interleaved throughout the book are six of Jane Maru’s batik paintings, reproduced in full color on traditional drafting vellum, a semi-transparent sheet that creates a visual effect similar to the original works on silk. Being semi-transparent, these prints both interrupt and overlay Harold’s poems, creating an interaction between the two artists similar to their live musical performances of the Aurora Teardrops poems. Each of the Deluxe copies also includes, as a frontis, an original watercolor painting by Jane ; 7.5 x 10 inches; 65 pages; Signed by Author .