2019 Rare Book - Affairs Of The Heart Peaceable Creatures by Charles van Sandwyk
Author: Charles van Sandwyk.
Title: Affairs of the Heart According to Peaceable Creatures.
Language: Text in English.
Publisher: North Vancouver, B.C., Charles van Sandwyk Fine Arts, 2019. Third printing, following the first printing of 2003 and the second of 2007.
Size: Oblong 8.5" x 10".
Pages: Unpaginated, 25 pages.
Binding: Fine and particularly attractive original pictorial wrappers, with metallic gilt decoration and a mounted colour illustration of a scholarly hedgehog to the front cover. Hand-stitched binding, firm and intact.
Content: Fine. Bright, tight and clean throughout, with crisp deckle-edged leaves and no notable defects observed.
Illustrations: Complete with the wonderful hand-lettered calligraphic text and 14 tipped-in colour illustrations after watercolours by Charles van Sandwyk. The plates are mounted on richly coloured leaves embellished with elaborate gilt botanical and animal designs.
The book: A beautiful production by Charles van Sandwyk, Affairs of the Heart According to Peaceable Creatures is one of the artist’s most charming celebrations of affection, courtship and companionship in the natural world. Van Sandwyk’s birds, frogs, tortoises, raccoons, deer and other gentle creatures become actors in a miniature world of romance and quiet humour.
Every element of the book reflects van Sandwyk’s distinctive aesthetic. Delicate calligraphy, hand-drawn flourishes, richly coloured papers, gilt ornament and individually mounted illustrations combine to give the volume the character of a finely made artist’s book. Among the memorable images are embracing birds, courting frogs upon a lily pad, raccoons setting off on a fishing expedition, and an elaborately crowned tortoise.
This is the 2019 third printing, retaining the intimate format and elaborate presentation of the earlier editions. A wonderfully decorative and highly collectible example of van Sandwyk’s work.
The author and illustrator: Charles van Sandwyk is a Canadian artist, illustrator and author celebrated for his exquisitely detailed, whimsical work inspired by the traditions of the great Golden Age illustrators. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1966, he moved to Canada while young and developed a highly individual artistic world populated by animals, fairies, insects and other fantastical beings.
His books are distinguished by their remarkable attention to craftsmanship, combining calligraphy, watercolour, pen-and-ink drawing, decorative borders and fine printing. Van Sandwyk has also illustrated major literary works for the Folio Society, while his own privately produced books and prints have attracted an international following among collectors. Much of his imagery draws inspiration from the landscapes and wildlife of British Columbia and Fiji, where he has spent considerable periods of his life.