The Bridge: With Woodblock Prints by Joel Shapiro

San Francisco: The Arion Press, 2017. Paper. Near Fine. Joel Shapiro. From the Arion Press's laid-in announcement: "The Arion Press edition of Hart Crane's 'The Bridge' is in an unusual format. It is a scroll, over fifty feet long. The Chinese hand-made paper on which it is printed is wound on a single spool, in the Chinese manner. When you remove the lid of the box that contains the scroll, you will first encounter the bound booklet that contains the introduction. Beneath that volume you will find the scroll rolled up, with a ribbon tie securing the outer fabric attached to the beginning of the scroll. Untie the ribbon and place the scroll flat on a (truncated) table. It can be unrolled for viewing in segments, all the while rolling up the scroll loosely around the cloth reinforcement at the beginning of the scroll." An unsual, wonderfully-designed edition of Hart Crane's legendary Modernist poem, paying homage to the Brooklyn Bridge. A pristine copy to boot. The box (which measures 15" tall x 6" wide), the bound booklet and the scroll itself are all in immaculate coindition. Also includes 7 lavish woodblock prints by artist Joel Shapiro, 2 tipped-in photographs of the Brooklyn Bridge by the redoubtable Michael Kenna and an Introduction by Langdon Hammer. The 2017 1st thus, limited to 300 copies. (Inventory #: 21251)