LEAVITT, Nancy. ALEXANDER, Pamela. ~ Table of Elements.
Written out, illuminated, constructed and bound by Nancy Leavitt. 34 unnumbered leaves, with calligraphic text throughout in different colour inks and hand-painted decoration in gouache and coloured inks by the artist on TH Saunders and marbled paper, final leaf with colophon with Leavitt's signature and dated '1989'. 8vo. (184 x 126 mm), original black marbled handmade cloth, original gouache pasted to spine, marbled endpapers, matching cloth box with mounted gouache to spine.
A fine example of the work of Nancy Leavitt incorporating her work as an artist, calligrapher and binder. For this unique work, made entirely by hand, Leavitt chose Pamela Alexander's meditative 62-line poem 'Table of Elements' and has written and illuminated the whole. Large capitals are the key text, with smaller lowercase flourishes to create the the detail, which Leavitt has then illuminated with watercolour, inserted leaves of marbled paper, small mounted gouaches, leaves stitched-in to create folding pages, and additional elements derived from the text itself. The colophon, signed by Leavitt in pencil, and written in a variety of coloured inks, is instructive: 'COLOPHON / POETRY - Pamela Alexander / PAINTING & Marbled / Papers / CALLIGRAPHY / BINDING - c. Nancy Leavitt, 1989'; Leavitt's signature and the date are beneath in pencil and at right the note 'Gouache on TH Saunders'.
Nancy Leavitt has created more than 100 unique books since the mid-1980s and this work, dated 1989, appears to be the fifth she created. Inspired by nature and biology (Leavitt states '... I could not have had a better background in art than the one I had in biology... '). Leavitt's exceptional work is held in prestigious institutions and private collections worldwide.