The first edition of 22 Remarks On the Old Ones was printed on a single large sheet of paper. When folded into a quarto the text is in the correct order but the pages can't be turned unless the quarto is cut. It must be unfolded both to read it and to see the paintings spread out, which means that the sheet must be flipped and rotated repeatedly to read the text. The text is printed on mylar overlying the paintings, masking both unless turned back. In one way or another some aspect of the book is always hidden. The experience of reading repeats its meaning, which thus cannot be fully captured in a digital version.

The second edition treats this problem in a different way, with the text on acetate overlays on eight plates which can be arranged in visual or reading order but not both at once.