Codex Seraphinianus

by Luigi Serafini 

Limited edition, signed.  New York:  Rizzoli International Publications Inc., 2013  

Hardback is overall in VERY GOOD++ condition, with a VERY GOOD case.

• Illustrated covers are mostly clean, with gilt text and color illustration.  Corners are sharp.  
• Spine has gilt text and is bright with firm ends.
• Binding is tight.  See photos. 
• End papers/ pastedowns show little to no sign of age or wear.
• Illustrations are bright and clear.  
• Interior exhibits minimal signs of age and wear.  Inside pages are free of writing and intentional marks.
• Ta-Roc Seraphiniani card, signed by the artist, numbered 56/150, is present at front of clamshell case.  Card has slight crease at right side.  See photos.
• Explanatory booklet, in several languages, is present at back cover.
• Clamshell case of red cloth over boards has gilt decoration and text.  Exhibits smudges at upper front, some bumping to lower edge, gilt effaced on spine.  See photos.  
• PS2024.1121

9 x 13 3/8 inches

ISBN: 978-0-8478-4309-1

A near fine copy of the deluxe, signed and numbered limited edition of Luigi Serafini's Codex Seraphinianus, in its original very good red cloth clamshell case.  The Codex was originally published by Franco Maria Ricci in 1981; this deluxe edition from Rizzoli is folio-sized and features a new introduction by Serafini, plus a signed viewing card and booklet of interpretation, all housed in a presentation clamshell box. 

Luigi Serafini (b. 1949) is an Italian artist and designer based in Milan.  He is best known for creating the Codex Seraphinianus, an illustrated encyclopedia of imaginary things in what is believed to be a constructed language.  In a talk at the Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles held on 11 May 2009, Serafini stated that there is no meaning hidden behind the script of the Codex, which is asemic; that his own experience in writing it was closely similar to automatic writing; and that what he wanted his alphabet to convey to the reader is the sensation that children feel in front of books they cannot yet understand. 

Edition of 600 copies, 300 in Italian and 300 in English.  Signed and numbered by the author.  This is copy #281/600.

Please see photos. More photos available upon request.

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