One of Van Sandwyk’s Rarest Works.
VAN SANDWYK, Charles (author and illustrator). A Selection of Neighbourly Birds of the New World [Canada]. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada [C.V.S. Fine Arts.] 1987 Signed

Small 4to.; publisher’s deep red cloth with small etched paper label featuring a bird’s nest inlaid to upper cover, hand-marbled endpapers, housed in original red cloth slipcase; pp. [36], printed on fine handmade cream card, fore- and lower edges untrimmed; title-page with a small onlaid and handcoloured engraving; with 7 additional striking original etchings, each carefully handcoloured by the artist and guarded by tissue; with beautifully typeset prose in dark green and deep red, and decorative printed borders in sepia; a fine copy, as new.

First edition of one of the earliest and rarest of all van Sandwyk’s works, number 3 of only 100 copies, numbered and signed in ink by the artist, van Sandwyk and the printer Denise Carson Wilde. The typography in the volume was designed and printed in handset 18 pt. Cloister and Hadriano capitals on a Vandercook proofing press at Winter Lily Press. The etchings were printed from the original intaglio plates on a nineteenth century press, handcoloured by the artist and bound by Rasmussen Hand Bindery. The birds etc. featured comprise: The Robin; The Wren; The Warbler; The Rook; The Heron; The Pelican and The Egg Guide.

“A whimsical account of West Coast bird life, narrated in a light, witty style with illustrations reminiscent of those found in old children’s books and early hand-coloured publications. This is conceived in the style of a children’s book though it is intended just as much for grown-ups who enjoy remembering what it was like to be children.” From the prospectus.