Westport, CT: Pembroke Press, 1985-86. 4 vols. Respectively [38], [36], [28], and [8]pp; illus. Saddle-sewn in wraps. Light bump to lower forecorners of Synthetic and Dreams, else fine. Housed in the original stiff card mailer, from which the address label has been removed. With a folded two-page TLS from Cairns, dated November 14, 1986.
A grouping of four artist's books by Phyllis Cairns, each with its own coherent theme informed by feminist perspective, and making clever and sophisticated use of the photocopier as mode of production. Synthetic Fabric (1985) presents photocopies of lacy undergarments, with the title phrase repeated throughout along with a text recounting a mother's advice to always wear nice underwear "in case of an accident." You Tell Me Your Dream (1985; signed and dated) collages together images of food and found text from recipes, with the title phrase insistently reappearing throughout. Scrapbook (1986; signed and numbered 49/140) presents a stylized interrogation of language and textual meaning, with holograph and typewritten texts overlaid often to the point of abstraction, and occasional mounted collage elements. Why Are These Girls Smiling? (1986; Signed and numbered 183/200) consists of the enlarged faces of eight young girls, finally seen posing together in ballet outfits across the final spread.
Accompanying the four books is a candid and touching letter of presentation to a close friend, in which Cairns discusses her struggles with alcoholism, and the bond of sobriety she shared with the recipient's late father. About Cairns, we have been able to learn little, except that she was a frequent contributor to Louise Neaderland's copy art periodical I.S.C.A. Quarterly (perhaps a clue to the dedication, "For Louise," in Why Are These Girls Smiling?). She issued numerous titles under her Pembroke Press imprint between 1985 and 1987, but we find no examples of her work thereafter. All four of the titles gathered here are scarce, and scantly held; OCLC reports between 1 and 8 holdings of each.
