A few years back I briefly worked with a bookmaker, Micheal Kuch, and his printer/studio mate, Art Larson.

Kuch was a protege of Leonard Baskin’s, a mid-century realist of some acclaim, and the influence certainly shows in his work. While I was helping him we produced a book called “A Sphinx’s Field Guide To Questionable Answers”, which was quite fun, and contained a functioning puzzle at the end of the book after a series responses to classic riddles with woodcuts and accompanying text printed with recently acquired antique wood type.

Amazing that this collection of 150 year old wood type had type of this size.

On Kuch’s (poor and obviously not recently updated (maybe I should give him a call)) website, he also showcases his next book, which is the project I really wanted to mention. Having been there for its inception it was really interesting to see the final edition on a visit to western Mass a few months after moving to Boston. The book is called “Disasters of Love - A Defense of Delilah” and in was a self supporting twist of elements.

For the book Kuch wrote a poem based on the story of Samson and Delilah. The bottom section contained the typeset poem and was accompanied by a lithograph of Hercules, the archetype of Sampson, styled both with the face and head of Kuch himself, and in the style of a prominent image from history (the above is in the style of Michelangelo’s St. Bartholomew holding his skin from the Sistine Chapel). On the top fold is an etching from the folk narrative of Sampson and Delilah in which a Hebrew translation of the poem is etched into the plate.

I’m writing about this book because I have always been impressed with a) the sheer effort required for its construction, and b) because I have always been impressed with way he combined and referenced the elements, both as art and as literature, both figuratively and literally.

To give reference and homage, and because I own it and want to show it off, below is Leonard Baskin’s “Bartleby the Scrivener”, and a terrible image of it at that.