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The fine press company created by Vincent Fitz Gerald, a Columbia alumnus,
is the embodiment of that nexus of creativity that makes New York City such a
vital place. Through the generosity of Sylvia and Joseph Radov, the Rare Books
and Manuscript Library now owns a nearly complete run of the publications of
Vincent Fitz Gerald & Company, and also holds a significant portion of
its archives.
As Village Voice theater critic, translator, and Columbia alumnus,
Michael Feingold, a member of the company, has written: "In our degraded age of
uncaring mass manufacture ... one artist was able to find so many kindred souls
to share his love for works that are beautiful, meaningful, individual and
scrupulously made." Fitz Gerald has brought together the work of such authors as
Jalaluddin Mohammad Rumi, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Edith Sitwell, Lee Breuer,
and David Mamet with artists such as Susan Weil, Judith Turner, Edward Koren
(also a Columbia alumnus), Neil Welliver, Dorothea Rockburn, and James Nares.
Texts have been newly translated by Zahra Partovi, yet another graduate of
Columbia, and Michael Feingold. Other members of the company include artisans
such as book designer and calligrapher Jerry Kelly, paper artist Paul Wong of
Dieu donné Papermill, and printer Daniel Keleher of Wild Carrot Press, in
addition to Partovi, who is also a book binder.
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