Janus Press, Circus of Doctor Lao

Finney, Charles G. | Relief etchings by Claire Van Vliet. The Circus of Doctor Lao. Newark, VT: Janus Press, 1984. Quarto. [4], 122, [4] pp., illus. Limited edition, number 67 of 150 copies, signed by Finney and Van Vliet at the colophon. As issued, bound in stencil-printed buckram over boards and vellum spine with exposed sewing. In original stencil-printed buckram clamshell, with extremely minor wear and some foxing to the cloth as is always the case. The volume is exceptionally nice without wear and includes a specimen leaf and the original bill of sale for the first owner in 1984.

The Circus of Doctor Lao is among the most notable books of the Janus Press. Originally engaged by the Limited Editions Club to design a book for them, Van Vliet chose this title which was issued in 1982. Part of her arrangement with the Limited Editions Club was that she would retain the type and the etchings in order that she might reissue it under her Janus Press imprint in a very limited edition and in a superior form. In the words of Van Vliet's bibliographer, "a far more sumptuous production." From the box and binding with cloth printed by Van Vliet to the paper used to the reworking of some of the illustrations and pages including a large foldout "parade" offering a grander experience than the segmented version of the LEC edition, this Janus Press edition is unrivaled by the LEC. One can look at this latter Janus Press edition and see Van Vliet improving where the LEC came up short, from materials to design. Fine's words ring true when one pages through this volume. It is sumptuous; it is evocative. And in the words of Hutner and Kelly, "The presswork of both type and relief prints (by Van Vliet herself) is faultless...." Noting that it "is considered by many to be her masterpiece" (A Century for the Century, 93). Ruth Fine, The Janus Press 1981-1990, Catalogue Raisonné, p. 15, 39-40.