Patricia Nik-Dad’s primary medium is engraving, both etching and aquatint, sometimes enhanced with watercolour. As she explains, ‘The miniature fascinates me as much for its precision as for the imaginative ideas it can encompass. My work is often erotic, which is part of a different and dreamlike register. I like the proximity of the engraving press, the smell of the inks, the printing of the proofs, the process of bringing the paper to life. I work from instinct and intuition, according to my experiences and my discoveries, and attach great importance to the choice of format, which must act like an open window to another world.’

This collection of her ex libris includes work from 1997 until recently, much of it commissioned by specialised collectors. These bookplates are produced as signed and numbered small format fine art prints, known as ‘free’ ex libris, never intended to be glued inside books but instead to be framed and displayed in the library of the client fortunate enough to be able to afford to commission it. It is clear from the names appearing on the plates that many of Nik-Dad’s clients return regularly with new commissions.