Elisabeth Tonnard

I’m happy to announce my newest book: A History of Dogma.

It is based on a book about the history of dogma (a 1951 copy of Walther Köhler’s Dogmengeschichte) that I came upon at a second-hand booksale in my hometown. This book, it was clear, had been expertly read by its previous owner. The markings left by this most dutiful reader, who essentially created a new history of dogma, are presented here.

The edition is limited to 75 numbered copies and the books are handmade. I printed them myself for color and reproduction accuracy, and bound them by hand using cold glue, a few tools and a lot of patience. It did occur to me at times that the stubborn working methods behind this very simple but highly labor-intensive book were mirroring or even outdoing the activity of the anonymous reader whose marks I was preserving.

See more images here.

The book is priced at € 50,- plus shipping. Order through email or through the webshop. Or pick up a copy at my table at the Small Publishers Fair in London on November 15/16.

Inkjet print, full color. Perfect bound paperback, cover of embossed paper, 14 x 21 cm. 114 pages.