A154. To Err is Human

A154. Peter Thomas. To Err is Human. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2014.

15 x 17 x 3 cm (5 ¾” x 6 5/8” x 1 ¼”), two 6-page accordions, 5 copies.

Binding: Double nested accordion; covers are pulp-stenciled ivory paper, handmade by Peter Thomas, over boards. Housed in a slipcase covered in blue cloth and mottled black handmade paper. Paper: Grey and cream, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Text is letterpress. Illustrations are pulp sprayed through stencils. Typography: Hand set wood and metal type; multiple color runs. Illustration: Two paper pulp prints from stencils originally made for A153.

“Donna and I both decided to take a month to make a very limited edition in a larger book format. I had been invited to create a book for the 7th International Artist’s Book Triennial Vilnius 2015. The theme of the exhibition was Error (Mistake). I decided to use the ‘nested book’ binding structure Donna first invented in 1999 for Song of Creation [A94]. I had been using it in binding workshops on our Wandering Book Artists’ trip, and in one of those classes I came up with the idea for the double nested structure I used for this book.

The book is a typographic exploration of the aphorism: ‘To Err is Human.’ The label on the slipcase is printed, ‘To Err is Human.’ The title on the front cover of the book is ‘To Air is Human.’ The printed page of text has the words ‘Errare est Humanum’ printed over ‘To error is human,’ ‘To air is human,’ and ‘Ad spiritum est humiliato.’”