Picture/Poems, by Hoyem, Andrew. Signed/inscribed to fellow prose poet Lawence Fixel

This first book published by Andrew Hoyem's Arion Press is an illustrated catalogue of drawings and related writings: 1961-1974, prepared by the artist and poet, published on the occasion of an exhibition, January 18 through March 16, 1975, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Hoyem gave a reading of at the January 17, 1975 preview party at the Little Theater in the Legion of Honor and signed hardbound copies of this book were offered.

In sum, this book documents Andrew Hoyem's pen, pencil, crayon, and watercolor drawings and paintings through 1974. Representative and stylized, many of these sparse works are the basis for or result of Hoyem's poems, some works including the poems in text. In chronologic order are descriptions of the art works and related poems where applicable. He writes in stylistically diverse styles, covering both prose poetry and verse poetry. Although retired from the direction of Arion Press, San Francisco, Hoyem the poet continues to write.

This copy's state in yellow, illustrated, French-flapped wraps over plain, cardstock covers is unusual. The edition is stated as 500 both in the colophon and in Arion Press' catalog, most copies are are found in cloth over boards, and the catalog makes no mention of binding variants for the edition. Andrew Hoyem says that after the initial 400 copies were bound in boards "...the remaining 100 copies were bound in-house with a heavy handmade yellow paper cover, with drawing and titling printed by letterpress in brown and red." These 100 are inexplicably scarce.

The colophon is signed by author and illustrator Andrew Hoyem, as called for, and also inscribed in the same, but smaller, hand to fellow poet Lawrence Fixel thus "This copy is for Lawrence Fixel, March 25, 1975." Apparently presented to Fixel in the days after Hoyem's exhibit and poetry reading at the Legion of Honor. Lawence Fixel was a wry, introspective, prose poet and verse poet, especially influential to subsequent generations of prose poets.

Per the colophon: Edition limited to 500 copies. Designed and produced at the printing office of Andrew Hoyem in San Francisco, with associated Glenn Todd, George F. Richie, & Linnea Gentry; Mackenzie & Harris for monotype composition of Goudy Californian , Phelps-Schaefer for photo-lithographic reproduction of the drawings, and Cardoza-James for the binding. Completed December 1974. Large, square 4to at 11 1/2" square. Printed letterpress. Unpaginated, but 58 pp.

Head and tail edges of the wraps are wrinkled, and a bit bent from shelving. Two tiny, faint pin-point marks and two short, faint creases to the fore edge of the front cover.

Generally clean inside and out. Conservatively Very Good condition, but approaches Very Good+, this example in wraps is scarce in the trade and even more so by its presentation to Lawrence Fixel, Hoyem's fellow San Franciscan poet.