At Hurtwood, our work in fine art publishing also encompasses the meticulous recreation of rare and historically significant documents.
We call these New Originals™ – faithful reproductions of unique works, from artists’ notebooks and personal letters to drawings, certificates and other irreplaceable materials. These editions allow scholars, collectors and institutions to engage with the content and form of the original, while ensuring the original itself remains protected from handling and display-related wear.
One of our most fascinating recent projects is our collaboration with The Shulgin Foundation to recreate the extraordinary laboratory notebooks of Alexander ‘Sasha’ Shulgin – the chemist, pharmacologist and psychedelic pioneer whose influence continues to reshape modern medicine.
For more than four decades, Sasha and his wife Ann developed over 200 novel psychedelic compounds in the laboratory at their home in Lafayette, California. Each was meticulously documented in a remarkable set of nine handwritten notebooks, combining scientific observations with personal reflections and first-hand ‘trip reports’ from trusted friends and colleagues.
Sasha believed he was developing ‘tools for studying the mind’, and today many of the compounds he pioneered are being explored for their therapeutic potential. His work with MDMA helped lay the foundations for its use in PTSD treatment, while other compounds continue to be investigated across a range of medical and psychological applications.
A graduate of UC Berkeley with postdoctoral research at UC San Francisco, Sasha’s scientific rigour and extraordinary independence of thought shine through in these notebooks. They stand as a testament to his legacy as both a pioneering scientist and a compassionate, curious explorer of human consciousness.
Following the deaths of Sasha and Anne, their family established The Shulgin Foundation to preserve their home, laboratory and legacy for future generations. As part of this work, the original notebooks are being donated to The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley.
Hurtwood is working closely with the Foundation to produce a limited edition of New Originals™ – meticulous facsimile recreations of each of the nine notebooks, produced in an edition of eleven. One set remains at the Farm, while the others are presented to major donors helping to secure this extraordinary legacy.
Leafing through these recreated notebooks, it quickly becomes clear just how powerful these objects remain. Most people who encounter them can scarcely believe they are not handling the originals.
Contact us at [email protected] to find out more about our printed reproductions.
