Ben Shahn, Love and Joy About Letters, 1963 1st Edition, Grossman Publishers. Love and Joy About Letters is a testament to Ben Shahn’s love affair with letters: the beauty of the letter forms, the liberating influence hand-lettering, and how the incorporation of letters added meaning to his art.
The book features many examples of Shahn’s deployment of letters as an expressive device. From the book: "I discovered the Roman alphabet in all its elegance and its austere dignity, and I fell in love all over again with letters… Letters are quantities, and spaces are quantities, and only the eye and the hand can measure them. As in the ear and the sensibilities of the poet sounds and syllables and pauses are quantities, so in both cases are the balancing and forward movement of these quantities only a matter of skill and feeling and art."
In very good vintage condition. Slipcover shows signs of wear; including scuffs, loss of surface color and discoloration, see photos. Book is in excellent condition, no signs of wear to hardcover, no creases, marks or folds to the pages.
Place of Origin: Printed in New York, 1st Edition
Period: 1963
Measurements: Height: 0.875 in (2.23 cm)Width: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)Depth: 13.75 in (34.93 cm)
