India's Love Lyrics
Collected & Arranged by Laurence Hope
Book design by Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2021. Edition of 25.

Carol Schwartzott: "India’s Love Lyrics” was compiled and translated by Laurence Hope. The 1906 edition came into my possession from a used bookstore. I originally produced a tiny book, ‘King Zada’s Song’, in 1995, Ed. 8. This new book uses the original illustrations, re-worked. At just 2” x 3” x 3/4", the text and illustrations follow a simple flutter style/accordian format, with each of the six hand-cut arched windows folding out to create tiny theaters displaying illustrations reminiscent of classic Indian miniatures.

“The text consists of seven poems and uses Chopin Script for all the elegant drop caps, and Adobe CaslonPro for the text. Digitally printed on Mohawk superfine vellum, the seven illustrations are combinations of line drawings with additional pattern collage, a more modern approach to the classic Indian miniature. They have been hand-colored and reduced via scanning and transforming on computer. Bookboards and droplid box are covered with combinations of dyed, scanned and printed papers. The lid of the box is complete with a cut-out archway, a discard from my 2007 edition of the Rubaiyat. These tiny cardboard blanks were the remaindered interior pop-outs from the front piece of that cover...

"It is my experience that discarded treasures, often from old projects re-enter my artistic process to become integral to a new endeavor."

www.poemhunter.com: “Adela Florence Nicolson (née Cory) (9 April 1865-4 October 1904) was an English poet who wrote under the pseudonym Laurence Hope. … Adela married Colonel Malcolm Hassels Nicolson, who was then twice her age and commandant of the 3rd Baluchi Regiment in April 1889. A talented linguist, he introduced her to his love of India and native customs and food, which she began to share. This widely gave the couple a reputation for being eccentric. They lived in Mhow for nearly ten years. After he died in a prostate operation, Adela, who had been prone to depression since childhood, committed suicide by poisoning herself and died at the age of 39 on 4 October 1904 in Madras. Her son Malcolm published her Selected Poems posthumously in 1922.”
$95