Received MA - Bifidus Jones (MN) - **** Assemblage Superb *****

[Julian Grant]

The incomparable Bifidus Jones strikes again with a multi-faceted piece that truly must be held to be believed. I'll walk you through it:

1. Upper Left - 1958 First Day Issue of Gene Autry with DUAL GA stamps. The original cancelled stamp plus the later issue. A nice piece of mail ephemera in itself. As a former hard-core philatelist (not what you think), this piece is a lovely edition. It only gets better...

2. The Reverse of the FDI - In his crypticc and enigmatic handwriting, he has penned I believe an excerpt from a text (would love the reference) that unfolds in glorious mystery. A gem of prose, this really must be read in full (click on pix to enlarge) to appreciate. "...the gutters steamed. This was the other season..." Man, you gotta way with words, BJ.

3. Centered - A 2 Sided collage card complete with monogrammed envelope attached and Ruanda stamp. "Slouching towards a showdown" cut-out banner headline (with whom one wonders?) as BJ's text (illegible) continues over. The envelope is stamped and dated. What can be inside?

4. The Reverse of Centered (3) - 4 Characters in Ascending order juxtaposed against a rule with a background of oil descriptions using illustration lines to draw the eye. Precise cutting as always details the work.

5. The Mysterious Letter - A Departure Form from Spain with Spanish/ English / French and Arabic translations. Stamped with a Dahomey original stamp and complete with a text cut out - about brushing teeth - that draws us into the narrative.

I believe Bifidus Jones is one of the true masters working in MA today. His precision, work ethic and outsider creativity marks him as an inspiration and an extremly talented practioner of our craft and art. Thank you for this beautiful, dark, colorful and byzantine work. I am very proud to own this.

I makes me shudder to think how many hours went into this...