Once described as ‘small explosions of intelligence and sensation,the seeds of wonder’ by poet Thomas A. Clark, the eschenau summerpress publications stretch the definition of ‘artist’s book’ as far asit will go. Since 1974, from his home in Eschenau, Germany, renownedartist herman de vries (1931) sends out leaves of gold, the dust ofsome roads, the forbidden down of thistles. A longtime key figure inthe book-as-art himself, most of these publications are the result ofan open invitation from de vries to artist friends like James Lee Byars,Marinus Boezem and Melanie Bonajo, but also to poets and musicians– even to a keeper of bumble bees.This book facilitates our reception of all 77 of these shared objectsthrough full illustrations and written clarification. Two essays connectthe series to the international context of the artist’s book.