Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Margaret Atwood and Charles Pachter
The Journals of Susanna Moodie 57/100 - original, illustrated book of poems

1980

About the Item

A rare and original illustrated boxed folio of The Journals of Susanna Moodie, arguably Margaret Atwood’s finest work of poetry. In it, she adopts the voice of Susanna Strickland Moodie, an English woman who came to live in the rural area near Peterborough. Charles Pachter illustrated the poems, and in 1980, the sets were hand-printed in a boxed edition which is now in public and private collections around the world. -In 1852 Susanna Moodie published her journals in an effort to educate other English women about the hardships of establishing a life in Canada. -In 1962, these were reprinted as Roughing It In the Bush. -In 1970, Margaret Atwood published The Journals of Susanna Moodie – a book of poems based on the Moodie Book. Charles Pachter had illustrated Atwood's previous books of poetry, and was moved to illustrate the Journals – a project he completed in 1980. Two master Italian printers worked with Pachter for the better part of a year to create the 120 completed boxed sets of the work. Each one contains 28 hand printed pages. This wasn’t just an illustration – it was an amplification of the original poems. It has been republished in a small book format in 2014 by Cormorant Press. Only 4 original copies remain – the others are in public collections or private hands. "This is truly the most magnificent book ever to be produced in Canada, a benchmark in the history of Canadian printing. It is immensely gratifying to find how Pachter's graphics so extend, expand and explore the inner meaning of Atwood's text." Beth Miller, Special collections Librarian, University of Western Ontario "Atwood speaks in a powerful modern voice. Pachter's uncompromisingly strong yet sensitive imagery hovers properly between his vision of what Atwood is saying and what the words say on the page. This book is a magnificent example of its kind, to be savored at once and in successive stages." Cynthia Nadelman, Art News, New York
  • Creator:
    Margaret Atwood and Charles Pachter (1939, Canadian)
  • Creation Year:
    1980
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 17 in (43.18 cm)Depth: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Bloomfield, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU29111550852

More From This Seller

View All
Streetcar Situation Green A/P 1/1 -figurative, playful, pop-art, limited edition
By Charles Pachter
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This artist’s proof (1/1) is a playful homage to the beloved image of a Toronto streetcar. Pop Artist Charlie Pachter was inspired to create a series of prints on streetcars for one of his first exhibitions in the seventies. This serigraph features the detailed outline of a streetcar angled across three panels—the back and front of a streetcar painted green appears on either side—top and bottom. The backdrop is neutral, bordered in gold. Pachter is a much-admired Canadian artistic polymath, his colourful pop artwork merging playful even irreverent elements with deeply iconic imagery. “….a good art critic would compare it with Warhol’s soup cans...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Screen

Streetcar Circus 5/20 - figurative, playful, pop-art, editioned lithograph
By Charles Pachter
Located in Bloomfield, ON
For pop artist Charles Pachter, the Toronto streetcar symbolizes the urban landscape he calls home. The iconic image of the streetcar whose tracks have criss-crossed Canada’s largest city for decades was once known as ‘the red rocket’ because of its deep red paint colour. In this lithograph the bright colours of a large image of the back of the streetcar in hot pink and blue with three more smaller images of streetcars in classic red, yellow and one in green pop against a black backdrop. Pachter is a much-admired Canadian artistic polymath, his colourful pop artwork merging playful even irreverent elements with deeply iconic imagery. “….a good art critic would compare it with Warhol’s soup cans...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Lithograph

Noblesse Oblige 1/1 (Nobility Obliges) - pop-art, Canadiana, lithograph print
By Charles Pachter
Located in Bloomfield, ON
A portrait of a Canadian Mountie and his horse are the subject of this unique 1970 print (edition 1 of 1) by Charles Pachter. The French titling of the work Noblesse Oblige...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Lithograph, Screen

Study (large beak bird) - figurate, animal, drawing, charcoal on paper
By Aron Hill
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This figurative charcoal drawing of a bird is by Aron Hill. Known best for their bold modernist vision, Calgary artist Aron Hill is also a superb figurative artist. This exquisitely...
Category

2010s Contemporary Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Paper

Aphroditus - black & white, minimalist, figurative nude, female, ink on paper
By Lynne Fernie
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Calligraphic brushstrokes in black ink are used to render the nude figure of Aphroditus in contrapposto similar to ancient Greek and Roman representations of the male Aphrodite. Lynne Fernie is a Toronto artist...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Latex, Ink, Archival Paper

Text - Whistle 9/36 - colorful, calligraphic gestures, serigraph on paper
By Alice Teichert
Located in Bloomfield, ON
In a symphony of colour and form, Alice Teichert created more than 40 black ink and acrylic drawings on mylar which she transferred to silk screens. ‘The Text is Still Unwritten’ is ...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper

You May Also Like

Ambling. Contemporary Silk Screen Figurative Print
By Barbara Wagner
Located in Brecon, Powys
Barbara Wagner's love of figurative representation is what makes this silkscreen print so typical of her work. A super print showing the movement of people around their environment. ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Monoprint, Archival Paper, Screen

R. Horizon VII
Located in New York, NY
The series Reciprocal Horizon explores man’s relationship with modern social systems and his struggle to preserve his natural world. This occurs among current socio-political upheava...
Category

2010s Figurative Prints

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

R. Horizon VI
Located in New York, NY
The series Reciprocal Horizon explores man’s relationship with modern social systems and his struggle to preserve his natural world. This occurs among current socio-political upheava...
Category

2010s Figurative Prints

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

R. Horizon V
Located in New York, NY
The series Reciprocal Horizon explores man’s relationship with modern social systems and his struggle to preserve his natural world. This occurs among current socio-political upheava...
Category

2010s Figurative Prints

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Reciprocal Horizon I
Located in New York, NY
The series Reciprocal Horizon explores man’s relationship with modern social systems and his struggle to preserve his natural world. This occurs among current socio-political upheava...
Category

2010s Figurative Prints

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

R. Horizon III
Located in New York, NY
The series Reciprocal Horizon explores man’s relationship with modern social systems and his struggle to preserve his natural world. This occurs among current socio-political upheava...
Category

2010s Figurative Prints

Materials

Charcoal, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

Recently Viewed

View All