Oak Knoll

The inaugural issue of The CODEX Papers, an annual journal dedicated to bibliographic and art historical research and opinion in the field of contemporary book arts. The journal is edited by Gerald Cloud and Peter Koch, and the editorial brief is to publish articles that promote a clear understanding of the enormously complex and historically rich field of the book arts, including scholarly articles, artists perspectives, photo essays, interviews and profiles, reviews, letters and opinion.

Contributors to this issue include: Robert Bringhurst, Gerald W. Cloud, Kate Contakos, Johanna Drucker, Crispin Elsted, Jerry Kelly, Peter Rutledge Koch, Mark Livingston, Kitty Maryatt, Marcia Reed, Gaylord Schanilec, Veronika Schäpers, Paul Van Capelleveen, Richard Wagener, and Lesya Westerman.

From the Editor's Note:
"As the Codex Foundation prepares to celebrate its fourteenth year and host its seventh biennial book fair and symposium it was determined that a journal of some sort was due. As an organization dedicated to promoting the book as a work of art, CODEX has made regular formal efforts to document and disseminate the content it has generated over the years, including Book Art Object and Book Art Object 2; a monograph series, CODE(x)+1, which recently published its fifteenth title; and our assemblings Alchimie du Verbe and Mapping the Cosmos, two carefully curated collections of printed works from some of the finest book artists and printers in the world. Yet, there was a sense among the Directors that the Foundation could do more, that it could generate a periodical that would offer a more frequent occasion for CODEX to engage in dialog with its supporters, collaborators, and fellow travelers.

"The inaugural number of the CODEX Papers is a first shot over the bow, a clarion call for members of the book arts world to put pen to paper with an aim to articulate their observations, opinions, and critical analysis of the book, the artist book, and the book arts as they are practiced today, and perhaps, as they ought to be practiced in the future.

"The CODEX Papers will give its readers an informed view on whats happening with the CODEX Foundation, and all that it seeks to support. We hope that our readers and members of the book arts community will consider submitting proposals for future articles; our interests include: scholarly, bibliographical, and historical perspectives; research, reports, and critical articles on contemporary book arts; photographic essays documenting studios, ateliers, bookshops and libraries; interviews and profiles; book and exhibition reviews and publishing perspectives; collecting contemporary book arts; letters to the editors, opinion, and travel, and other dispatches from the global perspective."