Der Archipelagus

California: Ettan Press, 1978. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Mengershausen, Cornelia von. Number 85 of 90 (total edition 100), quarto size, [20] pp., each plate hand-numbered and signed by the artist, in German. Friedrich Hölderlin's (1770-1843) hexameter poem, his longest, comprised of 296 verses. The poem represents through both lamentation and hymnal-like praise the Greek philosophy of "pantheism" or the divine existing in all things; Archipelagus is geographically the Aegean Sea, but for the poet a vessel for revealing divinity in the natural world.

The accompanying etchings were made from a combined photogravure aquatint technique; the images at first glance appear to be abstracted landscapes located in or around the Aegean Sea, but a deeper look reveals human features. This layering creates another dimension of meaning to the text, reflecting Hölderlin's intention to both mourn and exalt the ancient world. German artist Cornelia von Mengershausen (b. 1945); in the U.S. her work is included in museums such as Harvard University and the Worcester Art Museum.

___DESCRIPTION: Original full white paper covered boards, with a large letter "H" stamped in blind to the upper board, lettering in black to the backstrip, leaves french-fold, six color etchings, each hand-numbered and signed by the artist in pencil, text in German; Baskerville type, Rives paper, quarto size (10" by 8 1/8"), pagination: [i-ii] 1-17 [1 colophon], limited edition, this number 85 of 90, from a total edition of 100. Housed in a plain white paper slipcase.

___CONDITION: Fine; crisp, clean, as new and free of prior owner markings, absolutely stunning; in a like slipcase.

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