Ephemerus by Hannah Batsel
"Ephemerus is the 2017 artist's book edition from the Marjorie S. Coffey Library Endowment Residency at the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The book was designed by H.M. Batsel during the semester-long residency in the fall of 2017. The book is inspired by Batsel's research and study of occult and magical texts from the Harold and Mary Jean Hanson Rare Book Collection in the Special and Area Studies Collections Department.
"When the apprentice of a learned magician falls ill, the magician must push to (and beyond) the boundaries of his power to prevent the apprentice's soul from slipping into an inescapable sinkhole, the Devil's Millhopper. A dark fairytale about the limitations of human ability and the inherent impermanence of human life." - Hannah Batsel
Processes, Dimensions, and Edition Information
Gainesville, Florida: Hannah Batsel, 2017. Edition of 45.
6.25 x 8.75"; 20 pages plus 2 double-size fold-out pages. Includes three pages with pull tabs. Letterpress printed from linoleum reduction blocks by the artist and photopolymer plates by Boxcar Press. Printed on Murillo paper in ivory, red, and black. Bound in black bookcloth with paper medallion on front cover. Letterpress printed in the UF School of Art and Art History Type Shop. Co-produced by H. M. Batsel (Chicago, Illnois) and Ellen Knudson (Associate in Book Arts, University of Florida). Signed and numbered by the artists.