Agrippa»Deluxe Edition (selections)

The Deluxe Edition of Agrippa comes in a heavy, distressed case. In the honeycombed bed of the under-case, wrapped in a shroud, lies the 11⅛ x 15 ⅞ x 1⅛ inch book, whose title is hand-burned into the cover. The Deluxe Edition contains 63 viewable pages with ragged, sometimes scorched edges, including copperplate aquatint etchings by Dennis Ashbaugh alluding to DNA gel patterns and body text pages consisting of dual, 42-line columns excerpting a DNA sequence from the bicoid maternal morphogen gene of the fruitfly. Page 63 (and another underlying 20 pages glued together) has a hollowed-out cavity holding the diskette with William Gibson’s poem.
      The Deluxe Edition was originally priced at $1500 (later $2000). An unknown number of copies (fewer than 95) are extant; three are known to be held by public libraries or museums. Each copy is partly unique because of handmade or hand-finished elements. (See “Bibliographic Description”.) Photos selected for this site are from the “Archive-1” copy provided by the publisher.

Work with book in Virtual Lightbox

The Case

The Case of the Deluxe EditionItem #A1. The Case of the Deluxe Edition.

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The Book Wrapped in a Shroud

The Open Case of the Deluxe EditionItem #A2. The Open Case and Cover of the Deluxe Edition.

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Title Page and Frontispiece of the Book

Pages 4 and 5 of the Deluxe EditionItem #A3. Pages 4 and 5 of the Deluxe Edition.

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The Bicoid Maternal Morphogen Sequence

Pages 8 and 9 of the Deluxe EditionItem #A4. Pages 8 and 9 of the Deluxe Edition.

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A Pairing of an Ashbaugh Etching Alluding to DNA Gels with the Bicoid DNA Sequence

Pages 10 and 11 of the Deluxe EditionItem #A5. Pages 10 and 11 of the Deluxe Edition.

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The Final Pages of the Deluxe Edition

Pages 62 and 63 of the Deluxe EditionItem #A6. Pages 62 and 63 of the Deluxe Edition.

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