"Man has become a god by means of artificial limbs, so to speak, quite magnificent when equipped with all his accessory organs; but they do not grow on him and they still give him trouble at times... Future ages will produce further great advances in this realm of culture, probably inconceivable now, and will increase man's likeness to a god still more."
(Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud)
(Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud)
D. P. Watt is a master at transposing allegories into a field of less predictability than expected of them - the field of fantastic event, of fierce transformations in narrative "reality." This unique talent unfolds majestically in the brief but intense tale of Do Ut Des, the first bestiary of the Raphus Chartae series.
At the same time primordial narrative and perfect image of our time, Do Ut Des requires its own editorial configuration so that its impact can be savored. For this reason we use the images of Pieter (or Petrus or Pierre) van der Borcht, engravings made for a certain edition of Physiologus. This is also why we use, as an afterword, an excerpt from Michel de Montaigne's cannibal essay.
This opulent bestiary had two forms as usual in the Chartae series: our readers will be able to choose from the handcrafted edition produced by the master printmaker Márcio Simões at Sol Negro atelier or a hardcover edition printed on the Forma Certa printshop. Both will be limited and numbered, with some graphic effects and experimentation.
The covers of the handcrafted edition (called Band B), the hard cover edition (Band A) page follows below:
At the same time primordial narrative and perfect image of our time, Do Ut Des requires its own editorial configuration so that its impact can be savored. For this reason we use the images of Pieter (or Petrus or Pierre) van der Borcht, engravings made for a certain edition of Physiologus. This is also why we use, as an afterword, an excerpt from Michel de Montaigne's cannibal essay.
This opulent bestiary had two forms as usual in the Chartae series: our readers will be able to choose from the handcrafted edition produced by the master printmaker Márcio Simões at Sol Negro atelier or a hardcover edition printed on the Forma Certa printshop. Both will be limited and numbered, with some graphic effects and experimentation.
The covers of the handcrafted edition (called Band B), the hard cover edition (Band A) page follows below:
Cover for the Band A edition (hard cover).
Cover for the Band B edition (handcrafted with special materials, paperback).
Ut Do Des, a bilingual, double edition (handmade booklet or hard cover edition) with a story by D. P. Watt, illustrated by Pieter (or Petrus or Pierre) van der Borcht and a afterword by Michel de Montaigne with 5.11 x 7.4 in., 40 pages, designed by Raphus Press Immanent Headquarters, printed both by the great Márcio Simões at Sol Negro atelier or Forma Certa printshop. As usual, this edition will be very scarce: only 80 numbered copies (40 in Band A and more 40 in B editions), plus some (very few) private copies.
Release date: November, 2019.
The opinion of our readers
Golden Age of Clairvoyance
"Well I have received the books today and I had certain high expectations and I must say such high expectations were well exceeded. The selectivity of the authors as I may have mentioned before (both individually and in combination) and translations are impeccable. The book design is exquisite and enhances the holistic reading experience (by way of comparison, on first seeing the books I had the same sense of elation when I had received my first Sylph Edition Cahiers a few years ago)."
(Andrew Condous)
(Andrew Condous)
"The books look really nice - I'm especially liking the full-color images inside. Very good design."
(Damian Murphy)
(Damian Murphy)
"The chapbooks are beautiful. Well done! Equally engaging for the eye and mind."
(Rachel Kinbar)
(Rachel Kinbar)
"The initial print-run of all three is, of course, low, so any interested readers should make a quick decision; because I do hope Raphus continue on their path of intriguing little translations of the recovered uncanny and esoteric."
(Mark Andresen at Pan Review)
(Mark Andresen at Pan Review)
The great weird and fantastic connoisseur, Des Lewis, made an insightful review of Black Mirror, the second chapbook in the series, available in this link.
Spiritual Meaning of the Massacres
"Many thanks for sending me a copy of The Mendicant. It really looks rather good – a bit like one of the books you read about in short stories that start off ‘Beware if you read these words... too late!"
(Stephen Cashmore)
(Stephen Cashmore)
"It's a marvelous production, and it's great that you have resurrected the remarkable title piece. I also enjoyed the pamphlet (...). Long may Raphus Press reign!"
(Chris Mikul)
(Chris Mikul)
"I am absolutely delighted with them [The Mendicant of the Books and The Sacred Abysmal Perspective]! They are both true examples of true and original creative philosophical ingenuity, originality and also design. They are fantastickal chapbooks and it is an equal delight to have been able to contribute and to assist in other ways. Although I saw the proofed editions when you e-mailed them to me, now that they are in my hands, they veritably glow and crackle and weep with their malign embers.
I shall take myself off on a sacred journey this weekend, like the early priests going to Tibet, and will immerse myself in the deep folds and ravines these chapbooks open up."
(Jonathan Wood)
I shall take myself off on a sacred journey this weekend, like the early priests going to Tibet, and will immerse myself in the deep folds and ravines these chapbooks open up."
(Jonathan Wood)