A 320-page catalog of more than 300 handmade books from Ediciones Vigía, Cuadernos Papiro, and Ediciones El Fortín over the last 30 years.
Short videos of individual books are available on my YouTube Channel.
Ediciones Vigía
Of the three publishers, Ediciones Vigía is the oldest—established in 1985 by Alfredo Zaldívar and Rolando Estévez—and the best known inside and outside of Cuba. It has been the subject of exhibitions in many countries and even a monograph in the US, the recently released Handmade in Cuba.
Estévez, a set designer by profession, established the design aesthetic for Vigía. A large group of writers, artists, and artisans in the Vigía circle collaborate to publish hundreds of individually designed, and hand assembled books.
Typically, one artist creates a maquette for a book and then a group of artisans will figure out how to replicate the design 200 times. Most early Vigía books had print runs of 100 and later 200 copies, because that was as many as it was possible to produce before the mimeograph masters wore out, a tradition that continued after new printing technology was acquired.
While Ediciones Vigía has published many well-known writers from Europe and the Americas, it has retained its focus on the community of writers in and around Matanzas. Few publishers anywhere have produced so many literary books by regional writers and Vigía’s local emphasis is unparalleled among the makers of artist’s books.
In the post-Estévez era, several designers who once worked alongside him have begun to shape a new Vigía aesthetic, notably Elizabeth Valero Molina, Frank David Valdés, Adrián Milián Suárez, Marialva Ríos, and Johann E. Trujillo.
Ediciones El Fortín
Ediciones El Fortín is a spinoff of Vigía, founded by Estévez in 2014. This new Matanzas imprint claims to be based in “Bellamar”, which means “lovely sea.” Bellamar is intended to counter the violence implied by naming a city Matanzas, which might be translated as “Murderville.”. El Fortín produces books in small numbers, usually fewer than 50 copies, with elaborate structures and packaging. While Fortín books are much closer to Estévez’s one-of-a-kind book-art pieces than the typical Vigía title, they also make extensive use of Vigía-style handcoloring and paper and fabric collage.
Cuadernos Papiro
Cuadernos Papiro started as a papermaking collective in 1994 and began publishing books in 2001 under the direction of Tatiana Zúñiga Góngora and Manuel Arias Silveira. The press is in Holguín, on the opposite end of the island from Havana. Cuadernos Papiro (whose name translates as papyrus notebooks or papyrus quartos) makes all its own paper from recycled materials. Its founders obtained a linotype machine so they could print all their books with lead type. A dedication to obsolete equipment is central to Papiro’s vision. Most of Papiro’s books are illustrated with relief prints, most often linocuts and collagraphs.
First Edition. 10 leaves plus covers. 8 by 13 inches. One of 100 copies. A long poem printed letterpress on paper handmade, in part, from garlic leaves. The covers each have a unique monoprint by Freddy García Azze, with the back cover the reverse of the front. The design of.....
First Edition. 10 leaves plus covers. 8 by 13 inches. One of 100 copies. A long poem printed letterpress on paper handmade, in part, from garlic leaves. The covers each have a unique monoprint by Freddy García Azze, with the back cover the reverse of the front. The design of.....
37 pages. 7 by 8-1/2 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección Barquitos.
A collection of very short stories for children. Illustrated with drawings by Javier Dueñas.
OCLC: BNCJM DEIAI EEM EYM FHM FQG FXG IND IXA NOC NYP. Near fine, lacking the bookmark issued with the book.
Pergamino structure in a folder. Unfolds to 6-1/2 by 10-1/4 inches. Colección del San Juan. Edition size not noted. A classic Cuban revolutionary text, a heroic poem to Fidel Castro by the most famous of the comandantes of the revolution. The cover design incorporates Castro's face in a tree. The.....
A single long poem by one of Cuba's great 20th century poets (1902–1989). The poem is printed with excellent results using an attractive sans serif font and Papiro's century-old printing equipment. The poem is illustrated with a collagraph of words related to the title poem composed by José Angel Vincench.....
[6] leaves. 14 by 13 inches. An edition of 100 copies. A single long poem by one of Cuba's great 20th century poets (1902–1989). The poem is printed with excellent results using an attractive sans serif font and Papiro's century-old printing equipment. The poem is illustrated with a collagraph of.....
49 pages. 8 by 9-1/2 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección del Estero. Poems by a writer born in Cuba and living in Europe, printed on estraza (sugarcane waste) paper. The book was designed and illustrated by Yoban Enrique Trujillo with a pictorial collage cover assembled from a dozen.....
73 pages plus an audio CD. 8-1/2 by 11 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección Andante. An artist's book celebrating music copyists, who are hired to produce neat copies from a composer's or arranger's manuscript, interpreting the composer's intentions. Among the Matanzas musicians highlighted are Sigfrido Anastasio Tortoló Carrillo; Sergio.....
Hernández Espinosa, Eugenio and Rigoberto López Pego
81 pages. 8-3/4 by 11-3/4 inches. One of 200 copies. Colección Aforos. A film script inspired by El romance de Angerona by Leonardo Padura. Hernández is a playwright and López is a film director. The text is photocopied on white paper. The book is designed and illustrated by Johann E......
35 pages. 7-1/4 by 9-1/2 inches. Edition of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan. Poems, mimeographed from typescript on off-white paper from the design and illustrations of Hiram Aguiar. While many Ediciones Vigía books have uniform borders around the text, this book has unique vignettes on each page. OCLC: DEIAI.....
36 pages. 10 by 8 inches. One of 200 copies. Colección Barquitos. A collection of short poems appropriate for children, photocopied on recycled brown paper. Illustrated inside and on the covers by Zenén Calero Median with handcolored collaged drawings with a maritime theme. OCLC: BMA BNCJM CRU CUI CUZ DEIAI.....
A folded broadside in an eight-panel folded paper enclosure. Unfolded, 5 by 21 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan. An edition of this poem done in memory of the late poet. The design, illustrations, and calligraphy are by Rolando Estévez. The book incorporates paper collage, lace.....
Hernández Milián, Juan Luis (editor and translator)
63 pages. 7 by 10-1/2 inches. One of 200 copies. Colección Clásicos. An anthology of Russian poetry translated into Spanish and mimeographed onto off-white paper. The illustrations, by Rolando Estévez, are mimeographed onto Kraft paper. The sheets are stapled between coarse cardstock, with a dust jacket illustrated with two handcolored.....
10 pages. 6 by 9 inches. One of 200 copies. Colección del Estero.
A poetry chapbook that earned an honorable mention in the Concurso América Bobia in 2005. Designed and illustrated by Marialva Ríos.
OCLC: BNCJM CWR DEIAI DRB FHM FQG GZM IND IQU NOC NYP PAU. Fine.
12 pages. 6-1/4 by 11-3/4 inches in a handmade paper bag with cloth handles, 10 by 13-1/2 inches. One of 50 copies. Colección Puente de Hierro. A poem in Spanish and English translation, winner of the Premio Digdora Alonso. The text is digitally printed on white paper. Design and calligraphy.....
Hernández, Gerardo; Antonio Guerrero; Ramón Labañino; Fernando González; and René González
54 pages, printed on 27 unbound leaves of handmade paper embedded with flower petals. 8-1/2 by 13 inches. An edition of 250 copies. The text is excerpts of letters sent from the "Cuban 5" to their families. The five men were convicted in Miami of being Cuban spies. They were.....
A pergamino in a paper folder. 6-1/4 by 7-1/4 inches laid into a paper folder that opens to 13 inches. One of 100 copies. Colección del San Juan. A single poem with a laid in illustration reproducing a drawing. Mimeographed on thin brown paper with mimeographed collage elements tipped on.....
58 pages. 5 by 8-3/4 inches laid into an enclosure measuring 9-1/2 by 5-1/2 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección Trébol. A striking feminist artist's book. A collection of 17 connected stories or vignettes in which the narrator describes the daily disrespect, discrimination, and violence she faces as a woman.....
16 pages. 5-1/4 by 7-1/4 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección del Estero. The winning entry for the Premio América Bobia for 2008. This chapbook, photocopied from laserprinted typescript, is enclosed in a handcolored three-panel folder, designed and illustrated by Robiert Luque. The design of this book has a grim.....
16 leaves plus covers. 9 by 14-1/2 inches. Limited to 75 copies. Poems, printed letterpress on handmade paper, illustrated with five woodcuts by the author, a Cuban artist and poet. The binding is a three-hole exposed stitch with ribbon and what might be a black shoelace. OCLC: DLC IQU FQG.....
9 inches. 5-1/4 by 7 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan. A single long poem inspired by the American poet Charles Bukowski. The covers are stiff paper that open to reveal the chapbook inside. The front cover is cut-out to show illustrations from the lower cover.....
55 pages. 7-3/4 by 10-1/2 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan. Poems in Spanish and English translation. The book is designed like a table-top picture frame, with a paper stand on the back so the book stands up on its own. The colophon is printed on.....
60 pages. 10 by 6-1/4 inches (oblong). An edition of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan. A collection of poems, photocopied on white paper. Designed and illustrated by Manuel Darío García de Zayas, with covers serigraphed by Guillermo Rojas. The covers are also handcolored in places. Two of the interior.....
[42] pages plus a large pergamino. Book measures 9 by 12 inches, in a handmade, stiff-paper bag. Published in an edition of 40 copies. Colección Puente de Hierro. A collection of songs, printed first as poems and then as musical compositions. The book is illustrated with reproductions of drawings, some.....
8-1/2 by 11-1/4 inches. 84 pages. An edition of 200 copies. Colección del Estero. A collection of poems translated from the Portuguese by Karel Bofill Bahamonde and Maylan Álvarez Rodríguez. Ivo (1924–2012) was a noted Brazilian poet and journalist. The text is photocopied onto white paper with a densely illustrated.....