Zebra Noise with a flatted seventh

Berkeley: Peter Koch, printer, 1998. Hardcover. Fine. Hardcover. Number 41 of 70 numbered copies signed by Richard Wagener on the colophon. This is a limited edition alpha-bestiary written by and illustrated by noted wood engraver Richard Wagener. Richard Wagener (born 1944) is an American wood engraver known for his prints and fine press books. His work has been collected by over one hundred and thirty public institutions. Wagener has been engraving wood for over forty years and his work has been in a number of fine press editions, most notably with Peter Koch in Berkeley and the Book Club of California. In 2006 Richard established his own imprint Mixolydian (truncated) Editions to publish his own fine press editions of his work. Zebra Noise with a Flatted Seventh, was his first artist's book and was included in Artists' Books in the Modern Era, 1870–2000 at the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

This witty and artistic work includes 26 full page wood engravings in black that face a page of text. These are introduced by 26 small engravings in red with a letter of the alphabet. The text pages have 26 laconic short fictions that are obliquely related to the biological alphabet. The text pages are preceded by a page with a list of the animals along with their Latin name. Animals depicted include the armadillo, common European frog, blackened moray eel, jack rabbit, locust, walrus, prairie dog, fiddler crab, vampire bat and flea. All engravings were printed by the artist. Peter Koch printed the letterpress text on Zerkall paper in Erhardt types. Bound by Peggy Gotthold in quarter red leather with a gray paper covered boards, with the title and the image of the armadillo on the cover. Title in gilt on spine. In a gray cloth covered portfolio and both housed in a red slipcase with a gray title label to spine. In fine condition. Measures 8.5 x 14.5 inches. Unpaginated [55 leaves]. PRI/092024. (Inventory #: 37473)