artists' books collection

abc of bugs and plants in a northern garden, by judy sgantas

Judy Sgantas, ABC of Bugs and Plants in a Northern Garden. ([Newark], VT:  Janus Press, 2012)

"A collaboration between Vermonters Claire Van Vliet, proprietor of Janus Press, and Judy Fairclough Sgantas, an artist and gardener. This work is a double alphabet book, with classical Roman letter forms entwined with plant life and insects. For each letter of the alphabet a black-and-white image faces a second colored image, revealed by opening an opposing folded leaf, with text positioned on a center panel between the complementary images. The content is about garden pests--what attracts or repels them--and a plant's defenses. The text gives definitions of the insects for that letter including both common and Latin names. Information ranges from 'common habitat' to 'natural control.'"--Vamp & Tramp Booksellers' website

"The ink, graphite and colored pencil drawings were digitally scanned from the originals and printed using Durabright Ultra Inks on an Epson Workforce 1100 by Andrew Miller-Brown who also letterpress printed the text from polymer plates on the Vandercook SP20 at the Janus Press in Newark, Vermont. The text was set on the computer in Robert Slimbach's 9pt Utopia Display ... and printed on mouldmade Arches 90lb Cover cotton paper. The covers are Barcham Green 140lb DeWint handmade watercolor paper and the binding strips are Barcham Green Blackfriars. The strip binding was designed for this edition by Claire Van Vliet and executed with Audrey Holden."
"The [drop spine] box trays made by Mary Richardson are covered in Scholco and Seta cloths and lined out with St Armand paper that was a special making of restoration wallpaper for a house by Fredrick Law Olmsted. The cover is natural linen with the title in 42pt Augustea Open printed on ochre paper made by Katie MacGregor in Whiting Maine mounted on paste paper [on the box spine] by Claire Maziarczyk Paperworks in Niskayuna New York."--Colophon

The Clark library copy is number 11 of an edition of 120; signed by Judy Sgantas.