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Both
Esslemont and Schanilec are established, accomplished and
award-winning artists in their own right and their unique
relationship is revealed in this selection from their email
correspondence. It
is both extraordinary and mundane, yet fascinating and entertaining
as they revel in the possibilities afforded by the computer
and the instantaneous transfer of electronic data. Communication
has taken on a new meaning.
Covering
a period of four years the conversations are concerned primarily
with the making of books. The daily exchange of emails during
the summer of 2002 for example, when Esslemont and Schanilec
were simultaneously working on books, reveals the anxiety
and strife associated with this particular creative activity
and displays the extraordinary detail that book artists must
consider. Domestic life is interwoven as are the passing of
seasons and world events.
With
Introductions by Andrew J Armacost, Head, Antiquarian Department,
Oak Knoll Books, and David Chambers, Editor of The Private
Library.
Armacost writes:
'In one way, the correspondence of Gaylord and David is
a daybook chronicling the seasons of the year in Wisconsin
and Wales. In another way, it is a diary, with production
notes, of editing, printing, and producing some important
books. It is also a log of two personal journeys, a record
of the writers struggles to manage personal lives and professional
lives in the midst of children, book fairs, accolades, and
calamities. Still another important story is Gaylord and
Davids continuing dialogue about their current printing
projects and the implications of their individual printing
decisions.'
Chambers
writes:
'For
the curious reader . . . there is much detail that can be
recounted, at parties in the elegance of London or New York,
to entertain one's bookish friends – and even one's
acquaintances who may be into golf or bridge.'
Illustrations Edition
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