Smitty’s Cocks. Eight Woodengravings...Drawn & Carved for the Use of Smith Glass, 1955 - 1974...Introduction by Carol J. Blinn.
Easthampton, Massachusetts: Warwick Press, 1998. One of two hundred copies designed, printed by letterpress, and hand-bound by Carol J. Blinn at Warwick Press. Signed on the colophon by Baskin, Blinn, and Perry Smith, and initialed by Harold McGrath. With eight wood engravings by Leonard Baskin, printed from the original blocks on Basingwerk paper, and an original Smith Glass & Mirror Co. framing label printed by Harold McGrath, Baskin’s printer at the Gehenna Press. Letterpress printed in Monotype Spectrum on Biblio paper. A fine copy with the prospectus and a Warwick Press business card laid in. Red silk over boards with printed paper labels on front cover and spine. Red endpapers. 5 in. x 7 in. [13] ff. Item #17059
From the preface: “Smitty’s Cock showcases eight unique and rare wood engravings by artist Leonard Baskin cut for Smith Glass & Mirror in Northampton, Massachusetts. The blocks were made over a nineteen-year span (1955 – 1974) to the delight of Louis & Sarah Smith for use on printed materials for their custom framing and glass business. A rare treat for Baskin collectors, only two of these blocks have been reproduced in Baskin’s catalogue raisonné. The origin of the cock logo is lost but as Baskin says today, ‘Lou Smith was if anything a great, noisy cock of the walk.’ In her introduction, Carol J. Blinn writes of her association with Baskin, the Smiths, and Perry Smith, the owner of Smith Glass since 1974 and the owner of the blocks since Lou’s death in 1997. This is a sweet gem of a book from the press.”.
Price: $500.00