HERetic: Joan of Arc
7” x 5”, 56 pages, Edition size 55.

This small tribute to Joan of Arc resembles a limp vellum prayerbook of a kind that she might have carried during her battles. On each left hand page is text from “Le Ditie de Jehanne d’Arc” by Christine de Pizan, a French poetess. Written in 1429 when Joan was at the height of her successful campaign, it celebrates her life and achievements. On each facing page, an image, incorporating photographs from the extensive collection of Joan of Arc memorabilia of the Boston Public Library, is combined with comments on Joan of Arc’s brief history. The pages covering her trial for heresy incorporate Joan’s own words, taken from the trial document.

The book was printed by Acme Bookbinders on the HP Indigo press 5500 on Mohawk Via Superfine Eggshell 100# text and bound in Mohawk #80 cover. The fonts used were German Latin (sepia) for the text by Christine de Pizan, Uncial (red) for the history with William Shakespeare used for numerals, and 10th Century Bookhand (gold) for the words of Joan of Arc. Gold pigment and leaf were added after printing.

The phase box, pigment printed on archival barrier board, was designed to resemble a well-worn library enclosure for a rare book with semi-appropriate labels, rubber stamps and written notations.

Deborah A. Fraioli, Joan of Arc scholar and author, provided inspiration, expertise and encouragement. Susan Glover, Acting Keeper of Prints, Rare Books, Manuscripts and Archives at the Boston Public Library, graciously gave access to the extensive BPL collection and a disc of images photographed by library intern Michael Spelman. Viola Kaumlen, photographer extraordinare, captured the spirit of rare items, including their library labels. Mary Taylor and Richard Krause provided advice and support.

Click on the small arrow to the right of the cover to open the book and turn each of the the pages in succession. Click anywhere on the book to see a full screen version in which you are able to read the text. The menu tab brings you to the company which produced the flipbook software. You can close it by selecting the "back" button.

More books, organized by year, can be seen in "the books" section of this website and on ViewpointEditions.com.