Rock Rodondo. Sketches Third & Fourth of "The Encantadas."

New York: Red Angel Press, 1981 One of 100 copies printed by Ronald Keller at the Red Angel Press in Bremen, Maine, and New York City. Signed by Keller. Full tan cloth, partially painted in tan and gray to resemble breaking waves. The front pastedown is a cast paper sculpture of the rock and birds in flight. . Quarto. 12" x 12." 24 pp. (6 " x 12"). . Blindstamped decoration of birds in flight on title and following leaf. A two-color woodcut of the Galapagos birds folds out vertically to 12" x 36", On the facing page, there is an artist's note and key to the birds depicted, which include the Galapagos Penguin, Brown Pelican, Waved Albatross, Antarctic Whale-bird, (truncated) Swallow-tailed Gull, Galapagos Storm Petrel, etc. Printed on dampened hand-made Fabriano paper. A fine copy. With the prospectus. "The fascinating Galapagos Islands are the setting for the book, Rock Rodondo…Taken from Herman Melville's tale, The Encantadas, or the Enchanted Isles, the text is a depiction of a small rock pinnacle that is host to countless raucous oceanic birds…Our book is a natural history of these 'strange sea-fowl' and a panoramic view of this equatorial archipelago. The desolate Galapagos have been fertile ground for writers and researchers since before Darwin's visit, but surely The Encantadas, with its vivid, powerful images, stands out among all the works inspired by this unique natural area…Throughout the design and format of this book we have attempted to suggest this rock tower, and textural devices have been used to exploit its rugged aspect," (from the prospectus). (Inventory #: 17595)