The Whispering Veils Signed Association Copy (1988)
Price: $1,150.00 CAD
Author: Cyril Christo
Publisher: Whitecap Books Ltd. (North Vancouver, B.C.)
Year / Edition: First Edition (1988)
Binding: Full publisher’s cloth boards, issued without a dust jacket., portrait format
Original Acquisition Lot Number: Lot #358 (Lindsay Reference Library Selection)
Legal Estate Liquidation: Sourced directly from the private library of the late Hon. Roger Lindsay, FRHSC (1941–2023), via public dispersal at Luke’s Auctions (St. Catharines, Ontario)
Author: Cyril Christo
Publisher: Whitecap Books Ltd. (North Vancouver, B.C.)
Year / Edition: First Edition (1988)
Binding: Full publisher’s cloth boards, issued without a dust jacket., portrait format
Original Acquisition Lot Number: Lot #358 (Lindsay Reference Library Selection)
Legal Estate Liquidation: Sourced directly from the private library of the late Hon. Roger Lindsay, FRHSC (1941–2023), via public dispersal at Luke’s Auctions (St. Catharines, Ontario)
Association Copy / Inscribed Provenance
This spectacular, museum-grade volume functions as an intimate family document of the defining duo of late 20th-century environmental art, Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The book is hand-signed on the title page by the author:
“Cyril Christo”
Accompanied by an unaffixed archival insert consisting of an official, double-sided Christo exhibition postcard. The front face features a striking full-bleed color reproduction of their historic 1962 Paris installation, Wall of Oil Barrels – Iron Curtain, Rue Visconti, featuring Christo’s stylized signature graphic in red. The reverse face features a deeply personal presentation inscription entirely hand-written in black ink by Jeanne-Claude:
“our son Cyril signed his first published book of poetry. Friendly thoughts from Jeanne-Claude and [arrow pointing to Cyril’s signature]”
Sourced from the private library of the late Hon. Roger Lindsay, a prominent Toronto philanthropist, corporate executive, cultural patron, and advisor to the Canadian Heraldic Authority. Because Jeanne-Claude rarely wrote personal introductory inscriptions for her son’s literary output, this unique dual-sided document carries immense institutional and collector value with zero authentication risk.
Condition Report
Presenting in very good, clean antiquarian condition. The boards remain sharp with only slight rub loss top right, age-appropriate soiling, and the binding is perfectly tight. The interior pages, including the tipped-in presentation postcard, are bright and entirely free of foxing, highlighting, or internal markings. Issued without a dust jacket.
About the Book
The Whispering Veils is the rare, premier anthology of poetry by Cyril Christo, directly inspired by and responding to the monumental, site-specific wrapping installations engineered by his parents, Christo and Jeanne-Claude. A scarce and deeply evocative cross-disciplinary work blending contemporary poetry with the spirit of the post-war avant-garde.