Lines and Non-Lines [with ALS]

NY: Lapp Princess Press, 1977. [24]pp. Saddle-stapled in matte printed wraps, 6 x 6 in. Lightly sunned along spine, with a 2-1/4 x 3/4 in. area of light soiling to the base of rear cover, presumably where a label or sticker was once affixed. Else fine. Signed, dated, and inscribed by Renouf to inside front cover. With laid-in ALS (single sheet of tracing paper, 11 x 8-1/2 in., folded twice).

Presentation copy of the second artist's book by American painter and printmaker Edda Renouf (b. 1943), consisting of offset-printed drawings that explore minimal variations in number and length, as introduced by a brief elliptical text: "FROM ONE TO MANY / FROM SHORT TO LONG / AND VICE VERSA." Renouf's inscription is to Jack Cowart, then a curator at the Saint Louis Art Museum. In her ALS to Cowart, she references a recent trip to Saint Louis and thanks him for having invited her to give a talk for the members of the Contemporary Art Society. Though unstated, this publication from an edition of 2,000 copies—a uniform edition size for all twelve of the volumes issued under the directorship of Lapp Princess Press founder Amy Baker.