Elisabeth Tonnard

A History of Dogma is a book 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.

Published in Leerdam, The Netherlands in 2019.

The edition is limited to 75 numbered copies and the books are handmade. I printed them myself for color and reproduction accuracy, plus 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.

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

Priced at € 50,- plus shipping. Order through email or through the webshop.

Available in the collections of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Bodleian Library (special collections at Weston Library), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Clark Art Institute, International Center for Photography, Jan Michalski Foundation for Writing and Literature, Kunstbibliothek (Berlin), Museum Meermanno, MoMA Library, Mumok library, National Library of The Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek), University of West England Library, Van Abbemuseum, Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (Munich).

See more images here.