Magic Reader
Creator: Davie, Alan, CBE RA HRSA · 1920-2014Portfolio maker: Robert, CathyPrinter, master: Lawson, IanPublisher: Booth-Clibborn, Charles BevillePrinter, master: King, SimonPublisher: The Paragon Press
These are the first prints Davie had made since the early 1970s. The artist made hundreds of brush drawings and from these selected 18 to be used as prototypes for the portfolio. The drawings served only as a guide for the work drawn by Davie onto transfer papers, these were in turn transposed onto zinc lithographic plates. The imagery in the portfolio was inspired by ancient symbols such as spirals, ankhs and crosses and drawn from many cultural sources – Aboriginal, Carib and American Indian amongst others, with phrases in Spanish and French placed alongside the images. Together the words and images work in a suggestive way, inviting connections to be made without giving specific meanings and seeming like a book of spells or incantations.
Magic Reader was published in 1988 by Charles Booth-Clibborn under his imprint The Paragon Press and printed by Ian Lawson, Arthur Watson and Simon King in an edition of 45 with three extra copies for artist, printer, and publisher
the 18 lithographed plates were printed by Lawson
the colophon was printed by King
Booth-Clibborn was the owner of The Paragon Press
The Paragon Press was the publishing house of Charles Beville Booth-Clibborn
Additional details
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Object data
Date 1988 Accession 2020.0206 Type Print portfolio Lithograph Materials Portfolio cloth covered board
Support paper
Medium InkDimensions Portfolio size (closed)
43.5cm x 35.7cm x 2cm
Support size (each sheet)
42.7cm x 34.7cm
Image and screen size (plate 1)
20.3cm x 18.8cm
Image and screen size (plate 2)
26cm x 25cm
Image and screen size (plate 3)
15.3cm x 17.3cm
Image and screen size (plate 4)
26.5cm x 30cm
Image and screen size (plate 5)
25.3cm x 27.7cm
Image and screen size (plate 6)
23.7cm x 28.5cm
Image and screen size (plate 7)
30.2cm x 28cm
Image and screen size (plate 8)
30.2cm x 24.5cm
Image and screen size (plate 9)
29.6cm x 27.6cm
Image and screen size (plate 10)
19.3cm x 28.3cm
Image and screen size (plate 11)
28.2cm x 24.7cm
Image and screen size (plate 12)
21cm x 25.2cm
Image and screen size (plate 13)
33.9cm x 28cm
Image and screen size (plate 14)
21cm x 25.4cm
Image and screen size (plate 15)
28.2cm x 30.5cm
Image and screen size (plate 16)
27cm x 29.5cm
Image and screen size (plate 17)
19.4cm x 28.2cm
Image and screen size (plate 18)
37cm x 29.5cmAcquisition Purchase Roseberys (October 6th, 2020) -
Exhibitions
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