Wharton Esherick's illuminated & illustrated Song of the broad-axe / by Walt Whitman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892, author.

Eisenhauer, Paul, author of introduction.

Contributor:

Esherick, Wharton, wood engraver.

Wharton Esherick Museum, associated name.

Schiffer Publishing Ltd., publisher.

Jean-François Vilain and Roger S. Wieck Collection of Private Presses, Ephemera, & Related References (University of Pennsylvania)

Standardized Title:

Song of the broad-axe

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Esherick, Wharton.

Whitman, Walt, 1960- Song of the broad-axe.

Whitman, Walt.

Illustration of books--United States--20th century.

Illustration of books.

Wood-engraving--Printing.

Wood-engraving.

United States.

Genre:

Private press books (Printing)

Penn Provenance:

Vilain, Jean-François, 1942- (donor) (Vilain-Wieck Collection copy)

Wieck, Roger S. (donor) (Vilain-Wieck Collection copy)

Physical Description:

[192] pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm

Other Title:

Wharton Esherick's illuminated and illustrated Song of the broad-axe by Walt Whitman

Song of the broad-axe

Place of Publication:

Atglen, PA : Schiffer Publishing, 2010.

Summary:

Harold Mason, owner of the Centaur Bookshop in Philadelphia asked Wharton Esherick to illustrate Walt Whitman's "Song of the broad-axe", which Mason published in a limited edtion in 1924. Esherick created a hand-bound prototype book of Whitman's poem, using prints made directly from his blocks and hand-lettering it in Esherick's own calligraphic style. Illuminated letters were used to begin paragraphs, and spaces at the end of lines were filled with blue and yellow drawings that reflect the content of the verses. The result was a work of art, 17 x 12 inches, with pages of handmade paper, folded and uncut. This book is a reproduction of Esherick's prototype, authorized by the Wharton Esherick Museum in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Though this edition is smaller than the prototype book, the original was carefully scanned and printed to provide as true a reproduction as possible. It faithfully captures the artist's vision and skill and, for the first time, makes this work available to the general public.

Notes:

Introduction by Paul Eisenhauer, Curator, Wharton Esherick Museum.

On double folded leaves, uncut.

Local Notes:

Kislak Center Vilain-Wieck Collection of Private Presses copy presented to the Penn Libraries in 2014 by Jean-François Vilain and Roger Wieck.

Vilain-Wieck Collection copy has dust jacket.

ISBN:

9780764336775

0764336770

OCLC:

711101605