Cartier-Bresson’s Vowels (1996): Separate Portfolio and Book Issue

The name Vowels can refer to a book or a separate portfolio of prints. Edition size, signature placement and physical contents make the distinction important when comparing examples.

Identify the separate portfolio

The Breething Books catalog records a 1996 Limited Editions Club portfolio issued in New York with three original multicolor woodcuts by Henri Cartier-Bresson. Each print in the recorded example is signed in pencil and numbered 28/60. The product description distinguishes this sixty-set portfolio from a three-hundred-copy book issue signed on its limitation page.

A signature on each print

Record each sheet’s signature and number separately. Matching numbers across the three prints help describe the set, but signatures and numbering still require examination of the actual sheets. A signed book limitation is a different feature from three individually signed prints. Do not use the two issue sizes interchangeably in a listing.

Images translated into woodcuts

The catalog identifies Keiji Shinohara as printer and describes the images as translations of Cartier-Bresson’s watercolors into multicolor woodcuts on handmade Japanese paper. The offered objects are cataloged as woodcuts; they are not the source watercolors or photographic prints. Check medium descriptions before comparing prices or assembling a suite.

Completeness extends beyond three images

The recorded ensemble includes a printed title page, limitation leaf, red cloth portfolio stamped in black and original mailing portfolio. Assess these elements with the three woodcuts. Note folds, foxing, edge damage and any replacement housing individually, rather than treating the case’s condition as the prints’ condition.

Basis of these notes

The edition comparison above comes from the current Breething Books product record. It is intended as a practical reading of that record; it does not authenticate an unrelated portfolio. Compare the publication’s own title and limitation leaves before assigning an issue to another example.

View the cataloged portfolio and photographs · Prints & Portfolios · Original prints and reproductions

These edition notes remain available after a particular copy sells. Consult the linked item page for current availability, photographs and its condition report.

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