EDITION KALDEWEY. SUZUKI, Jun. ~ Koto Hajime - In the Beginning.
One of only 35 copies. 10 leaves made from machined galvanised zinc, 9 of which have red silkscreen Japanese lettering by Jun Suzuki and the corresponding one-word English translation cut out of the plate below it by a stencil making machine, the final leaf has a mounted printed sheet of brown paper made by Schusaku Tohmi with ‘tell me your name please’ printed in red and the Japanese equivalent in original calligraphy as well as the details of printing. 30 x 30 cm. original binding of 2 sheets of machined galvanised zinc attached with rods along with the zinc sheets of the book to a metal spine with screws, spine with red lettering with the title ‘In the Beginning’ in English and Japanese, housed in the original thick card slipcase.
The zinc leaves were treated with acetic acid to give them an antique finish to resemble ice crystals.
"The book illustrates the process of the creation of language. On the last page the first sentence of the earliest known work of Japanese literature" - ie Tell Me Your Name Please (Kaldewey Press, First Five Years)