''Ninety from the Nineties: A Decade of Printing'' was an exhibition held at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

from November 7, 2003 through May 28, 2004. ''Ninety from the Nineties'' showcased a selection of ninety books made in the 1990s that were chosen on the merit of book arts. Note that the books were not necessarily written in the 1990s; some were older texts that were used to make special books in the 1990s. And, the books were not selected on literary merit. In a contemporary review, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the concept of the selection like this: "books, which we are accustomed to thinking of as containers — and conveyers — of information, are placed in a context in which form is valued over content. Language is less important than the type that impresses it on the page. The paper counts for more than the story told on it. The illustrations and the binding might be the story." The books were divided into five categories: binding, paper,

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

and "inspiration." The exhibition was curated by Virginia Bartow.

Books in the exhibition

Following is a list of the ninety books selected and shown in the exhibition. The source for this list is the exhibition catalogue. {, class="wikitable sortable" !, Number, , Section, , Book title, , Author, , Press, , Year , - , 1 , , Binding , , ''Bon Bon Mots'' , , Julie Chen , , , , , - , 2 , , Binding , , ''Doubly Bound: A Tool Kit nda Tackle Box'' , , Diane Fine and Tracy Honn , , , , , - , 3 , , Binding , , ''Howards and Hoovers'' , , Indigo Som , , , , , - , 4 , , Binding , , ''

The Innocents Abroad ''The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress'' is a travel book by American author Mark Twain. Published in 1869, it humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered vessel ''Quaker City'' ( ...

'' , ,

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, , , , , - , 5 , , Binding , , ''The True Collector'' , , Frederic Postman and Bonnie Stone , , , , , - , 6 , , Binding , , ''Baucis and Philemon from Ovid's Metamorphoses'' , , Lois Morrison , , , , , - , 7 , , Binding , , ''Tea: Time in Korea'' , , Greta D. Silbey , , , , , - , 8 , , Binding , , ''Phantasies of a Love Thief'' , , Bilhana , , , , , - , 9 , , Binding , , ''Where I Live: Environments'' , , Jim Gelfand , , , , , - , 10 , , Binding , , ''The Blues and Jives of Dr. Hepcat'' , , Alan B. Govenar , , , , , - , 11 , , Binding , , ''New World Saints'' , , — , , , , , - , 12 , , Binding , , ''Exquisite Horse: A Printer's Corpse'' , , — , , , , , - , 13 , , Binding , , ''Rush Job'' , , — , , , , , - , 14 , , Binding , , ''Vorkuta Poems'' , , Sara Karig , , , , , - , 15 , , Binding , , ''The Dam Domino Book'' , , Carol Schatt , , , , , - , 16 , , Binding , , ''Anatomy'' , , Alice Jones , , , , , - , 17 , , Binding , , ''She Pushes with Her Hands'' , , Dale Going , , , , , - , 18 , , Binding , , ''Kokopelli'' , , Terry Horrigan , , , , , - , 19 , , Binding , , ''

Voyelles "Voyelles" or "Vowels" is a sonnet in alexandrines by Arthur Rimbaud, written in 1871 but first published in 1883. Its theme is the different characters of the vowels, which it associates with those of colours. It has become one of the most st ...

'' , , Arthur Rimbaud , , , , , - , 20 , , Binding , , ''In Praise of Patterned Papers'' , , — , , , , , - , 21 , , Paper , , '' Dard Hunter & Son'' , , Dard Hunter II and Dard Hunter III , , , , , - , 22 , , Paper , , ''Fine Papers at the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

'' , , John Bidwell , , , , , - , 23 , , Paper , , ''Song of Changes'' , ,

Adrian Frutiger Adrian Johann Frutiger ( ; 24 May 1928 – 10 September 2015) was a Swiss typeface designer who influenced the direction of type design in the second half of the 20th century. His career spanned the hot metal, phototypesetting and digital t ...

, , , , , - , 24 , , Paper , , ''The Lady Who Liked Clean Rest Rooms'' , , J. P. Donleavy , , , , , - , 25 , , Paper , , ''The Pool'' , , Toby Olson , , , , , - , 26 , , Type , , ''Portraits of Presses of Fleece'' , , — , , , , , - , 27 , , Type , , ''Gifts of the Leaves'' , , Dan Carr , , , , , - , 28 , , Type , , ''LETTERpressworkBOOK'' , , James Trissel , , , , , - , 29 , , Type , , ''A Printer's Dozen: Eleven Spreads from Unrealised Books'' , , Sebastian Carter , , , , , - , 30 , , Type , , ''She Who Saw with Her Heart'' , , Roni Gross, , , , , - , 31 , , Type , , '' Zapf's Civilite Disclosed'' , , Leonard Baskin , , , , , - , 32 , , Type , , ''Rex Reason, elements'' , , Simon Patterson , , , , , - , 33 , , Type , , ''Prove Before Laying'' , , Johanna Drucker , , , , , - , 34 , , Type , , ''Bad News'' , , Lynne Tillman , , , , , - , 35 , , Type , , ''Le Roi'' , , Francois da Ros , , , , , - , 36 , , Type , , ''The Architetextures'' , , Nathaniel Tarn , , , , , - , 37 , , Type , , ''Specimens of Wood Type Held at the Alembic Press'' , , Alembic Press , , , , , - , 38 , , Type , , ''Ten Sonnets'' , ,

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

, , , , , - , 39 , , Type , , ''Twenty-three Poems from the French of Max Jacob'' , , Max Jacob , , , , , - , 40 , , Type , , ''Odes'' , ,

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, , , , , - , 41 , , Type , , ''Keeping Going'' , ,

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

, , , , , - , 42 , , Type , , ''Loaded References (2)'' , , Champe Smith , , , , , - , 43 , , Type , , ''Ornamented Types'' , , — , , , , , - , 44 , , Type , , ''Poetry through Typography'' , , — , , , , , - , 45 , , Type , , ''The Officina Bodoni and the Stamperia Valdonega'' , , Grolier Club , , , , , - , 46 , , Type , , ''The Old-fashioned Snow'' , , May Sarton , , , , , - , 47 , , Type , , ''Lin He-jing'' , , Pu Lin , , , , , - , 48 , , Type , , ''A Printer's Dozen'' , , Philip Gallo , , , , , - , 49 , , Type , , ''Die Ringparabel'' , , Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , , , , , - , 50 , , Type , , ''The Steadfast Tin Soldier of Joh'' , , Ernst Braches , , , , , - , 51 , , Type , , ''The Six-cornered Snowflake'' , ,

John Frederick Nims John Frederick Nims (November 20, 1913 in Muskegon, Michigan – January 13, 1999, aged 85, in Chicago, Illinois) was an American poet and academic. Life He graduated from DePaul University, University of Notre Dame with an M.A., and from the Uni ...

, , , , , - , 52 , , Type , , ''Acts of Devotion'' , , William Bronk , , , , , - , 53 , , Type , , ''Within the Walls'' , , H. D. , , , , , - , 54 , , Type , , ''Late Fire, Late Snow: New and Uncollected Poems'' , , Robert Francis , , , , , - , 55 , , Type , , ''Poems for the New Century'' , , — , , , , , - , 56 , , Type , , ''The Valentine Elegies'' , , Tess Gallagher , , , , , - , 57 , , Type , , ''Night Lake'' , , Jean Valentine , , , , , - , 58 , , Type , , ''Song of the Andoumboulou: 18–20'' , , Nathaniel Mackey , , , , , - , 59 , , Type , , ''Le chevallier Tondal: Gloss Written by the Fall(en) Typography Students'' , , — , , , , , - , 60 , , Type , , ''Deborah, One of the Earliest Heroic Epics'' , , Elaine Galen , , , , , - , 61 , , Type , , ''The Book of Revelation'' , , — , , , , , - , 62 , , Illustration , , ''Wood Engravings'' , , June Paris , , , , , - , 63 , , Illustration , , ''Phisicke against Fortune'' , , Francesco Petrarca , , , , , - , 64 , , Illustration , , ''Waterfalls of the Mississippi'' , , Richard Frey Arey , , , , , - , 65 , , Illustration , , ''Ein Nilpferd in New York'' , , Anke-Sophie Mey , , , , , - , 66 , , Illustration , , ''Towers'' , , David Moyer , , , , , - , 67 , , Illustration , , ''Trout & Bass'' , , — , , , , , - , 68 , , Illustration , , ''Mr. Derrick Harris, 1919–1960'' , , Simon Brett , , , , , - , 69 , , Illustration , , ''The Players and Paradigms of the Commedia Dell' Arte'' , , Russell Maret , , , , , - , 70 , , Illustration , , ''North Pacific Lands & Waters'' , , Gary Snyder , , , , , - , 71 , , Illustration , , ''Buddha's Bowl: A Dreamed Folktale'' , , Alisa J. Golden , , , , , - , 72 , , Illustration , , ''John De Pol: A Celebration of His Work by Many Hands'' , , — , , , , , - , 73 , , Illustration , , ''A Canticle to the Waterbirds'' , ,

William Everson William Everson may refer to: * William Everson (poet) (1912–1994), American poet of the San Francisco Renaissance * William K. Everson (1929–1996), English-American film preservationist, historian and academic * William G. Everson (1879–1954 ...

, , , , , - , 74 , , Illustration , , ''A Canticle to the Waterbirds'' , ,

, , , , , - , 75 , , Illustration , , ''The Bread of Days'' , , — , , , , , - , 76 , , Illustration , , ''36 Drawings'' , , Sarah Peter , , , , , - , 77 , , Illustration , , ''Pochoir'' , , Vance Gerry , , , , , - , 78 , , Illustration , , ''Das Mittagsmahl = Il Pranzo'' , , Christian Morgenstern , , , , , - , 79 , , Illustration , , ''One-handed Basket Weaving'' , , Maulana Jalal Al-Din Rumi , , , , , - , 80 , , Illustration , , ''Palms'' , , John Ridland , , , , , - , 81 , , Illustration , , ''Gleichmass der Unruhe'' , , — , , , , , - , 82 , , Inspiration , , '' David Jackson: Scenes from His Life'' , , David Jackson and

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for ''Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

, , , , , - , 83 , , Inspiration , , ''All My Relations'' , ,

Susan Lowdermilk Susan Lowdermilk (born 1963) is a contemporary book artist and print maker who works "primarily in woodcut, wood engraving and etching". She also teaches graphic design and studio art classes at Lane Community College. Education In 1986 Lowde ...

, , , , , - , 84 , , Inspiration , , ''Aliens in the Big Apple'' , , Zofia Zaremba , , , , , - , 85 , , Inspiration , , ''As from a Fleece'' , , Gael Turnbull , , , , , - , 86 , , Inspiration , , ''

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

'' , ,

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

, , , , , - , 87 , , Inspiration , , ''Batterers'' , , Denise Levertov , , , , , - , 88 , , Inspiration , , ''The Red Ozier: A Literary Fine Press'' , , Michael Peich , , , , , - , 89 , , Inspiration , , ''Cartesian Dreams'' , , Judith Mohns and Francois Deschamps , , , , , - , 90 , , Inspiration , , ''Notebook Used Along the New Jersey Coast'' , ,

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

, , , ,

References

* ''Books as Art Objects (Reading Is Optional)''. Michael Frank, ''

'', January 2, 2004

* ''Ninety from the Nineties: A Decade of Printing.'' (Catalogue of the exhibition at

The New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

.) Text by Virginia Bartow, curator, 2003.

External links

* ''Books as Art Objects (Reading Is Optional)''. Michael Frank, ''

'', January 2, 2004

* ''Ninety from the Nineties Showcases a Decade of The New York Public Library's Contemporary Rare Books Acquisitions'', www.nypl.or

Book publishing in the United States Paper art Book design

Books in the exhibition

References

See also

External links