Almario.
A bibliophile edition by José-Miguel Ullán, entirely designed and typographically composed by the author himself. The poetic texts are presented behind die-cut windows and accompanied by nine vibrant color collages — in white, green, red, blue, or orange — featuring graphic elements by the author. The book contains four black drypoints and one etching by Joan Miró, created in 1982 and printed posthumously in 1988. This unique collaboration offers a vivid visual-poetic experiment where graphic art and language converge with intuitive resonance. The edition was strictly limited to 165 copies, printed on handmade Auvergne paper from Moulin Richard de Bas. This copy bears Miró’s facsimile signature, authenticated by his son Emilio F. Miró. Almario stands as a refined late 20th-century example of avant-garde book art, merging literary and visual expression into a total artwork.
Quantity
ULLÁN, José-Miguel
Miro, Joan
Almario.
1985 | Paris | R.L.D.
A unique mix of poetry, graphics and book art in a bibliophile edition.
A bibliophile edition by José-Miguel Ullán, entirely designed and typographically composed by the author himself. The poetic texts are presented behind die-cut windows and accompanied by nine vibrant color collages — in white, green, red, blue, or orange — featuring graphic elements by the author. The book contains four black drypoints and one etching by Joan Miró, created in 1982 and printed posthumously in 1988. This unique collaboration offers a vivid visual-poetic experiment where graphic art and language converge with intuitive resonance.
The edition was strictly limited to 165 copies, printed on handmade Auvergne paper from Moulin Richard de Bas. This copy bears Miró’s facsimile signature, authenticated by his son Emilio F. Miró. Almario stands as a refined late 20th-century example of avant-garde book art, merging literary and visual expression into a total artwork.
€2,900
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-4 (Quarto) approx. 25 × 32 cm
Edition Particulars
1 of 165 on Auvergne du Moulin Richard de Bas
Print Run
165
Copy Number
124
Paper
Auvergne du Moulin Richard de Bas
Inscription
Signed by the Author,Signed by the Illustrator
Product DETAIL
The text of Almario unfolds as a sequence of poetic fragments that hover between the visual and the verbal. Ullán works with shattered sentences, typographic silences, and semantic shifts, so that the pages are read more as graphic rhythms than as linear poetry. The open spaces, omitted punctuation, and formal placement of words within the cut-out frames enhance a sense of introspection and linguistic dislocation.
The title Almario refers in Spanish to a small cabinet used to store religious books or relics. Ullán likely alludes to this by presenting his texts as fragments of an inner ritual — linguistic artefacts that, through their spatial layout, acquire a sacred or tangible presence.
There are references to the body, time, memory, and disappearance, yet always incomplete — as if language itself were incapable of full representation. This deliberate fragmentation resonates with Ullán’s wider oeuvre, in which he connects the legacy of the Spanish avant-garde (notably Valente, Zayas) with international visual poetry.

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