Auction lots no 7: a woman of quiet subversion.

The Lost Words took two and a bit years to make, from idea to publication. While I was illustrating The Lost Words another book of mine was in the making. With Lost Words I worked with Robert Macfarlane. He wrote, I illustrated. A partnership. Meanwhile James Mayhew took the words I had written for Mrs Noah’s Pockets and clothed her in the most glorious skin, bringing to light a different take on the story of the ark. You can read more about her here, and I urge you to watch the wonderful film of James at Tewkesbury Abbey, the seed of this book.

Now, Mrs Noah has more in common with The Lost Words than you might think. The Lost Words is in part an act of quiet rebellion, against a tidal wave of urbanisation of language. It is, I hope, a beautiful protest, and it is seeding in the hearts and minds and on the tongues of the many who would join us in celebration of the nearby wild. Mrs Noah, watching her husband building an ark, with intentions of tidying up the world a bit, goes quietly about her own subversive business. Never under estimate the power of a quite and creative woman, especially if she has a sewing machine.

I asked Mrs Noah if she could help us to raise more money for Jane Beaton’s initiative to place a copy of The lost Words in all Scottish schools. ( And I asked Janetta, of Otter-Barry Books, who has donated these two sets of galleys for auction.) The result is what you see below.

To bid, please place a comment on this posting. This auction will close 22nd Jan ( ish) unless I am out walking the dogs. Sorry if the process is a bit ramshackled. I have to action the comments, so it takes time, so if your comments doesn’t appear straight away that is why. As a result sometimes bids get tangled. The two highest bids will win a set of proofs each. If you win the auction I will ask you to donate the money directly to Jane’s amazing initiative to place a copy of The Lost Words in every primary school in Scotland.

In the past few days Penguin have thrown their support mightily behind Jane’s project by massively reducing the price of the books for her. This will now enable her to place a book not just in every Primary School in Scotland, but also into Secondary and Special Schools.

What can I tell you about them? Well, they are on beautiful paper. Some of the images, like the three below, are whole, double page spreads, which would look wonderful in frames, but…..

because of the nature of galleys, being how a book is put together, some are split.

You can see this best with Mrs Noah at her sewing machine.

These are curious and unusual things that are normally never offered for sale. They would be ideal for displays in school, for book nerds, or for people who just love James’s work. I love Mrs Noah. She is the woman I would like to be.

If you want a copy of the book you can get signed copies from Solva Woollen Mill. Hachards will have signed copies at the end of this week. All good indie bookshops should stock it, but if they don’t you can ask them to order it for you, and you can also order it from your local library.

Bidding starts at £50. All bids in £ sterling, but happy to post anywhere. Please share.

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