In 1966 the artist Tom Phillips set himself a task: to find a second-hand book for threepence and alter every page, by painting, collage or cut-up techniques, to create an entirely new version. He found his threepenny novel in a junk shop on Peckham Rye, south London. It was A Human Document (1892), an obscure Victorian romance by W. H. Mallock.

First published in 1973, A Humument—as Phillips titled his altered book—quickly established itself as a cult classic. Since then, Phillips has been working towards a complete revision of the original A Humument, replacing pages in successive editions. This process is now finished. This final edition presents, for the first time, an entirely revised and complete version of A Humument and brings to a close half a century of artistic endeavor.

Tom Phillips writes: “I took a forgotten novel found by chance. I mined, and undermined its text to make it yield alternative stories, erotic incidents and surreal catastrophes, which lurked within its wall of words. I replaced with visual images the text I’d stripped away. A Humument began to tell, amongst other memories, dreams and reflections, the sad story of Bill Toge, one of love’s casualties.”

Find out more at www.tomphillips.co.uk