"Sunt bona, sunt quædam mediocria, sunt plura mala; Qui legis hæc, aliter non fit, Avite Liber."
(Martial)
(Martial)
Some books become, for whatever reason, works so rare that their very existence becomes doubtful, as if it had never existed. Such a material object loses its concrete existence and becomes immaterial as the items we glimpse in our dreams, as the paraphernalia only available in the mythical imagination.
Perhaps there are numerous books that gain this status of mythical production, perhaps there is even a definite way to do so. We at Raphus Press, however, seek only to reach our readers with the ritualistic strangeness of our authors/Photographers/Artists/Translators and the savage imagination that each of them, in their own way, evokes. But still, involuntarily perhaps, one of our books has disappeared from sight and has become a rarity, almost a mystery. In fact, this small volume, one of our first releases, bore the following title: The Mendicant of the Books. And as a commemoration of this myth-converted book (smaller, perhaps, but still a myth) we now release a new version of it.
Part of the original table of contents remains the same, especially Jonathan Wood's “Red Buried Memory” and the translation of Octave Uzanne's striking nightmare about the book-begging man. But there are at least two new features: the new story by Ramon Lasalle and the equally rare "The Blind Cinephile" as a feature of this volume.
The Mendicant of Books and Other Mysteries is the first one at our Raphus Simulacrum series, which will consist of a numbered physical edition limited to 25 copies and a simpler digital edition to be released as soon as the physical edition sold out. But each copy of the physical edition will be accompanied by a very special gift: a postcard by Angkor Wat (by Henri Mouhot), in translucent tracing paper, signed by Jonathan Wood himself. There are only 22 signed postcards. Printed by Forma Certa workshop, 48 pages and soft cover.
The physical book will be available in December at a cost of USD 34.00, including postage charges worldwide.
Perhaps there are numerous books that gain this status of mythical production, perhaps there is even a definite way to do so. We at Raphus Press, however, seek only to reach our readers with the ritualistic strangeness of our authors/Photographers/Artists/Translators and the savage imagination that each of them, in their own way, evokes. But still, involuntarily perhaps, one of our books has disappeared from sight and has become a rarity, almost a mystery. In fact, this small volume, one of our first releases, bore the following title: The Mendicant of the Books. And as a commemoration of this myth-converted book (smaller, perhaps, but still a myth) we now release a new version of it.
Part of the original table of contents remains the same, especially Jonathan Wood's “Red Buried Memory” and the translation of Octave Uzanne's striking nightmare about the book-begging man. But there are at least two new features: the new story by Ramon Lasalle and the equally rare "The Blind Cinephile" as a feature of this volume.
The Mendicant of Books and Other Mysteries is the first one at our Raphus Simulacrum series, which will consist of a numbered physical edition limited to 25 copies and a simpler digital edition to be released as soon as the physical edition sold out. But each copy of the physical edition will be accompanied by a very special gift: a postcard by Angkor Wat (by Henri Mouhot), in translucent tracing paper, signed by Jonathan Wood himself. There are only 22 signed postcards. Printed by Forma Certa workshop, 48 pages and soft cover.
The physical book will be available in December at a cost of USD 34.00, including postage charges worldwide.
Cover for The Mendicant of Books and Other Mysteries.
Sample pages of the book.
The signed postcard.
Release date: middle to end of December, 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)