By Carol Cunningham

Mill Valley, CA; Sunflower Press, 1984. Hardcover. As new from the printer. First edition. Unpaginated (36 pp: vi, 30). Book is 2 ³/₄ (height) x 2 ¹/₂ (depth) inches. A handmade miniature book. Letterpress printed on Arches paper using 8 pt. Bembo for the text block and Legend for the title. Several multi-color blocked illustrations printed using a combination of linoleum and zinc cuts. In addition five uncancelled Chinese stamps are pasted in—each of these are from the 1983 series showing different views of the terracotta warriors at Xi’an. Single sheet Apologia laid in. Hand-bound with gold-stamped pictoral endpapers.

Limited to 125 copies, numbered and signed by Carol Cunningham. 25 of these (numbered I-XXV) were hand-bound by Joseph D’Ambrosio in tan leather with a pointed spine and an embossed cover design surrounding the Chinese word for Emperor. The deluxe binding is encased in a black-papered clamshell box which has a brown grosgrain pull-ribbon to release the book from the box. The remaining 100 were hand-bound by Carol in golden silk with a multi-color paper illustration of the Great Wall pasted on the cover.

Carol was so enamored with the announcement about the extraordinary discovery of the terra cotta warrior statues at Xi’an that she busily started to research and plan for this book. Upon learning of the Chinese stamps issued to commemorate the find, she placed an order for some and incorporated them into the design. The result is another of Carol’s beautiful, culturally informative little books. This one will appeal to those who would like to learn more about the silent army and ancient Chinese customs, and anyone who is an archaeologist at heart.

Standard: $175
Deluxe: Sold out