SEANCE FOR A MINYAN.
Northampton: Double Elephant Press, 2001. 8 x 15. Ten poems by Hecht and 25 intaglios by Kuch appear in a series of 12 fold-out triptychs. In a black silk tri-fold binding which supports the fold-out sheets. A red window in the upper cover reveals the half-title. Fine in slipcase. Item #11495
Hecht's evocative poems of Biblical characters form a figurative minyan (the quorum to commence prayer under Jewish law). Two etchings (either black aquatints or color copper-plate etchings) flank each poem.
Hecht wrote these poems for Leonard Baskin's Gehenna Press. But Baskin died in June 2000, and this book is dedicated to his memory. A portrait of Baskin as an angel with wings covering his eyes appears twice in this book. Once in black and once with blue. No. 46 of 70 copies hand printed in 16 point Spectrum on handmade Velke-Losiny paper.
A student and protegé of Leonard Baskin, Michael printed the color etchings for Baskin's Gehenna Press. A versatile artist (like his mentor) Kuch is at ease working in ink wash, watercolor, oils, pastels, etching, lithography, & bronze sculpture. He started his Double Elephant Press in 1994. The Beinecke Library, Smith College Mortimer Library, and the Library of Congress hold complete collections of the Press.
Price: $1,500.00