261 - RAMON [Ramón Cueco]. This Morning the Nettles Are Red.

RAMON [Ramón Cueco]. This Morning the Nettles Are Red. First edition. Copy No. 1, featuring an autographed dedication by the author. Uzerche, Edited by Jean-Michel Ponty, 1991. Small 8vo, loose-leaf format, anthracite-colored cover with flaps, printed in black and perforated. 58 pp. (unpaginated) on bluish-purple paper, red compositions by Ramón, “potato-engraved” on every page. Spine slightly warped. First edition of this offbeat poetic work, illustrated with charming red compositions by the engraver, draftsman, and lithographer Ramón (whose real name was Ramón Cueco), brother of the famous painter Henri Cueco. Limited edition of 100 copies, numbered and signed by the author; this is No. 1, accompanied by an autograph dedication signed by the author in red pencil on the colophon: “For Mathieu, whom I love … he tells me I’m no good... how do you correct an alliteration (?)". The colophon attests to the collection’s pataphysical inspiration: “Since Parmentier, computer, potato, aluminum, oil, and ultraviolet light are finally united. The repurposed potato (approximately 2 kg, eternal fries and soft mashed potatoes) is the essential, indispensable link in contemporary potato engraving...” A fine copy.