Scope and Contents This ninety fifth page is titled "A Quest for Identity." Phillips writes in his diary notes on the left side of the page of his experiences in London at the opera as guest of Jeremy King and dinner at the Ivy restaurant. His exhibition at the V&A included many related Dante works and Pella's newly bound 'A Comedy of Errors.' Inferno prints are currently on show at Flowers East & at the National Theatre...Virgil in his Study at Berggruen. Still more problems with a TV Dante. Phillips writes "I know this is all a waste of time and that for me the trail is gone quite cold...Forever cross again, as ever." The collaged clipping on the bottom right describes a robot built and being tested by NASA named Dante.The center of the page is a clipping titled Momento mori found in Jerusalem and a typed label at the bottom of the page announces "The Lovesong of Alfred J Hitchcock" on Radio 3. Several shadowy painted figures reflect Phiillips' mood. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth...

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This ninety sixth page is titled "The Centre Cannot Hold." The center collage is a newspaper clipping of a tax scandal as reported in the Guardian. Elements from A Humument are included that read "he halted haunted documents, a series of parchment past.." There are also collage newspaper clippings about a newly crowned black Miss South Africa. Phillips writes in his diary notes "Although this is no. 96 it really is the last of the Dante Diary to be finished. Tomorrow I'll write to Marvin to say that the (illegible) is declared at a century. Now with a black Miss South Africa crowned & a TV Dante unresuscitatable & (illegible) sculptures of skulls in progress and work on the Africa show underway...the world seems to have turned a satisfactory circle even though England did lose the ashes." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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This ninety seventh page is titled "Dante Wraps It Up......" Phillips writes in the upper right hand corner " as I send Dante prints to the Gardner Center in Harvard and the last & sputterings of the embers of any interest in a TV Dante die down with new activities replacing them: sculpture etc & the African show I start to wrap." This page contains several found printed images of Dante and references to the end of Phillips' project. For example a page heading "Die in Dante's Desert," a red SOLD label, A comic strip bubble that reads "I guess that about wraps it up," and a scrap of a map near the African Gulf of Aden that points to Dante (Hafun). -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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This ninety eighth page is titled "I Have Measured Out My Life II." This page contains the obituary of Christopher Betambeau who was a gifted printer. "Tom Phillips, for whom Betambeau printed over a hundred images, including some inspired by Dante's Inferno, describes Betambeau as the greatest craftsman he ever worked with, and says he was almost clairvoyant in his ability to understand what artists wanted. Like a pianist who can fill out harmonies and melodic improvisations from an ineptly whistled tune, Chris could work from hints and mumblings, coming up with visual solutions which were exactly what one had in mind."The remainder of the page is filled with about 20 printed cards and matchbook covers from London restaurants where Tom has eaten. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Scope and Contents This ninety ninth page is titled "Dante & the Fatwa." In the upper right hand corner Phillips writes in green ink "The Fatwa year 5 commences and like Dante Salmon continues under sentence of death unable to return from exile. He does not even have the satisfaction of beating me at ping-pong. I do an etching & two lithographs to celebrate. Approaching is the hundredth anniversary of Dreyfus case." At the bottom right Phillips writes on top of a clipping from the Jordan Times "On Monday in the Middle East I am reminded by this (illegible) piece in the JT." The piece referred to reads "Rushdie appeals for meeting with Major - British author Salman Rushdie, sentenced to death by Iran for blasphemy, appealed publicly Sunday for a meeting with Prime Minister John Major." The main image on the page is a portrait of Salman Rushdie with his circular eyeglass lenses collaged with the newspaper article. This portrait of Rushdie also is found on a page of A Humument. the left hand...

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This one hundredth page is titled "Abandon Hope" and it is printed up side down as is the entire page. At the bottom left Phillips writes "Abandon hope. The original inscription for a TV Dante...drawing a line under dante" It is signed Tom Phillips XXII.VIII.XCIII." On the bottom left corner a collaged comic strip block with a picture of a physician in a white lab coat reads "Thank you, Doctor." This refers to Dr. Marvin Sackner's support for the Dante project. On the upper right hand corner is collaged the saying "Guaranteed for Life." The text on the page reads as follows: Through me you reach the city of despair- Through me you reach eternity of grief - Through me you reach the region of the lost - Justice it was moved my high architect - Divine omnipotence created me - Transcendent wisdom and primordial love - Before me only endless things were made - And I too shall endure without an end - You that enter here - Abandon hope -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Scope and Contents This first page from Dante Diary, which is dated from February 28, 1979 to March 19, 1979, includes several indirect references to Ruth and Marvin Sackner. First, there is a sketch of a large drawing which was subsequently acquired by the Sackner Archive, "Letters from a Crane Skin Bag." Then Phillips mentions that Grove Press is working on a portfolio of Dante heads for "Martin Ackerman's [financial] scheme. Phillips introduced Ackerman to the Sackners who became became a close personal friends as well as continuing supporters of Phillips' work. Tom Phillips writes that a portrait of Hilary Hugh-Jones is in progress in the studio. Hugh-Jones was a friend of the Sackners. "Pella meets me from Edinburg" refers to Pella Erskine-Tulloch, Tom's bookbinder and friend whose work is well represented in the Archive. Finally, Phillips composed a poem about Mallarme whose most important work, "Un Coup de Des," became the initial starting point for the Sackner Archive collection. [There was...

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This second page from Dante Diary, which is dated from March 27, 1979 to April 19, 1979, includes a direct reference to Marvin Sackner. Philllips mentions discussing with him regarding self publishing Dante's 'inferno.' There are several, diverse sketches depicted on this page including a portrait of Hilary Hugh-Jones near the center at the the lower border. Her husband Philip Hugh-Jones, a British pulmonary physician was a friend of Marvin Sackner. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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This third page from Dante Diary, which is dated from May 10, 1979 to July 10, 1979, mentions Phillips' visit with the Sackners and receiving "good Miami postcards from Sara Sackner." The sketches on its right side depict installation plans for the British Council Show and a standing man wearing shorts viewed from the rear who appears to be in position for urinating against a wall. In addition, Phillips has sketched small drawings of Inferno pages (Una Selva) and a partially completed devil-like figure at the lower right corner. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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This fourth page from the Dante Diary, which is dated from July 10, 1979 to September 15, 1979, depicts a central image of an unfinished sketch of an androgynous seated figure (Beatrice?). Its right half contains sketches for illustrative pages of the Inferno including drawings of a leopard, lion and wolf, a drawing with yellow flowers on its lower border, a drawing designed with 10 openings or fragments from the book of dreams, drawings of Virgil and Dante flanking a still to be determined image, and a sketch of calligraphic forms labeled, "a big drawing with secondary letters in white." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Scope and Contents This ninth page from Dante Diary which is not dated, was drawn in Rio de Janeiro. Text at the top left corner reads, "dante in brazil," and on the top right corner, "Waiting for Pella in the New Wave." Pella refers to Tom's friend, the bookbinder Pella Erskine-Tulloch. A collaged "NY & Lakeville," with the name Lakeville scratched out, is placed below this caption. Phillips' handwritten notes explain that the plans to go to Lakeville, Connecticut with Martin and Diane Ackerman were cancelled. Phillips also writes that on his return trip from Brazil to New York via Miami he "was able to smuggle a postcard out of the tourist lounge at 5 a.m. to send to the Sackners whom I'd have loved to have seen." Phillips mentions his search for the Virgin Butterfly native to Brazil. The image of butterflys and poetry from "A Humument" is found in the third illustration of Canto II. ["A butterfly gives meaning to brighten poetry."] In his iconographical notes and commentary on the...

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Page 50 is titled Dante & the Madnill Bank. The center of the page is filled with a large 10000 Italian lire bill with a picture of Dante in profile in the center. The collage elements are all bank papers of account information.On the left edge ofthe page Phillips writes, "XXV/VI/LXXXIII Money on hand from Waddingtons (at interest) in advance of copies not yet done. Staves off financail disaster yet again. Silkscreens all paid. Some litho & etching outstanding." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Page 51 is titled Dante Reads Comics and is collaged with many ripped pieces of comic strips and two collaged elements from A Humument. The comic strips relate to Nazi German war scenes.The Humument additions read, " cowled dejection" and " a campign of mean miltary industry." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Page 52 is titled Dante & A Humument.This page is collaged with a bit of the purple cover of A Humument, several parts of pages painted and found poetic texts presented and a partial photograph of a man in a top hat. Phillips writes, "possibility of A Humument epic. some major work retold in its pages arranged: some new Ulysses of economy ----- the Aeneid. War & Peace?" and "Sometimes difficult to find appropriate bits and I think the strain occasionally shows. I think it's worth the real success and insights." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Page 53 consists of a sketch of a round 'No Entry' traffic sign. Phillips writes, "One of the few practical field trips was Nick Tite and Antheas scaling of a traffic sign to take the exact measurements. The only moral error in this is that we ought really to have used the fading no entry sign in the car park site of 20 sites or years. Only connect!!! The bottom portion of the page contains text from a page of A Humument that relates to a blocked roadway. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Page 54 is titled "1945. Dante & the Turf 81 - 86" and the theme is horse racing .On the bottom centerof the page is a card of the "Winner of the Derby 1945 - Dante." Other collaged newspaper and racing scraps of paper contain the name of Dante. Phillips writes about the horse Dante's Rogue that seems to have been withdrawn from racing. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Scope and Contents This fifty-ninth page of the Dante Diary, dated December 10, 1982, is stamped in capital letters on the lower right corner "Working out the final page." On the left hand portion of the page is a collaged, hand-drawn diagram of the quilt-like design of the central image of the fourth illustration of Canto 34 . There are, in fact, 34 separate images starting with Dark Wood in the upper left hand corner, and including excerpts from Virgil in his study, Heads, No entry, Papal skull and crossbones, Concrete poem etc. Small print fragments making up seven of the squares are collaged to the top half of the page. Phillips' handwritten text indicates that talks about publishing Dante as a trade book continue. He notes that the first bound copy of Vol II is almost on schedule. He is finishing up bits of work on the last pages and is starting on the acknowledgements and the justification of the tirage. Phillips writes a particularly poignant account of the creation of the final page in the...

Scope and Contents Page 55 is titled "Dante & the Laser Scanner in Stuttgart." A large printed collage from the printed Dante showing three feline animals is pasted on the left side of the page.The upper right corner contains a torn portion of an announcement from the British Library exhibition celebrating Virgil's 200th anniversary. The middle section contains watercolor drawings ink drawings and diary notes. Phillips writes, "the nine large prints all finished now. Alan rings to say that T&H are interested in my version of Dante, but more promising in NY Abbeville Press aptly named to partner Talfourd Press since I used to go along Abbeville Road every day to school )are also keen. I'll believe it when I see it. Canto XXXIII rescued now with a concrete poem. Saw Peter Greenaway's ' The Draughtman's Contract' ...Brilliant. In him I meet my match (& more). Vol II now all printed and ready for binding. Bad days at 102. Gave up smoking again." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth...

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Page 56 is titled "Binding I." This page contains several ink and graphite drawings of binding designs and collaged prints of the same, along with a sample leather piece. Also collaged in the lower irght hand corner is the"First proof of the end paper later revised and made darker."Phillips writes, "The two preliminary bindingsof blank books go to the V&A for the Francis Williams Memorial Prize. Pella now has (II.VI.LXXII) the complete sections of Vol I...."First bound book completed (Vol L) XXXVII/VI/LXXXII. 1/4 vellum with designed cloth & endpaers. First order for same from Ann Berthoud." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Scope and Contents Page 57 is titled "Dante Wins a Prize." The image on the page is an abstract watercolor with a painting of three dancing figures at the bottom left and a black and white collage of two cut-up fleurs de lys on the bottom right. In his diary Phillips writes about his childhood memory of Dante."Talking to my Mother this past Saturday confirmed a half memory: when my brother and I were collecting scrap paper and books during the war (when I must have been six or seven. )We collected a lot of books (for pulping!) and amongst them was, red and gold and by far the most spectacular which we looked through before delivering to the depot.This was Dante's Inferno: the large edition with the Gustave Dore illustrations (a book which I've since acquired and reprints of which I've plundered for collage purposes). I remembered the book and size and feel & magnificence of it but it took my mother's memory to tell me what it was." Page 58 in PVC laminate is missing. -- Source of annotation:...