Translated here by Alfred Mac Adam, professor of Latin American literature at Barnard College and Columbia University, The Alienist is a hilarious indictment of nineteenth-century science, in which an alienist—the nineteenth-century equivalent of a psychiatrist—attempts to discover a foolproof means to distinguish sanity from madness. 

Production Details

• Edition of 250 numbered copies

• Oblong, 10 by 14 inches, 80 pages

• Bound in green cloth and featuring two drawings, in slipcase

• Arion Press publication #55, 1998

Optional Portfolio

“The Alienist’s House”

A suite of four prints by Carroll Dunham expand upon those he created for the book. One print depicts the sanatorium from the outside with transparent walls, while the other three are interior views of the insane asylum occupied by inmates and the doctor. Printed by relief from photopolymer plates in black and two tones of grey.

Production Details

• Edition of 30 sets, signed and numbered by the artist

• Italian mouldmade Tiepolo paper, 100% cotton fiber, 300 grams, white. 18 ½ by 22 inches

• $2750; available only with a copy of the book

A limited number of unbound books in sheets are available for bookbinders at a 15% discount.