A Passover Haggadah

Artist Leonard Baskin (American, 1922-2000)

Publisher Grossman Publishers, Viking Press, [New York], 1974

Printer prints: Mercury Litho, a dvision of Georgian Web Offset Co., Inc. text: Mercury Litho (from text set by the press of Maurice Jac

Author W. Gunther Plaut (born 1912)

Date1974

DimensionsBook: H: 14 1/4 in. (362 mm); W: 9 13/16 in. (250 mm); Depth: 3/4 in. (19 mm).
Page: H: 13 15/16 in. (354 mm); W: 9 5/8 in. (244 mm).

MediumReproductions: 20 photolithographs of watercolor drawings in colors, incl. jacket. Text: letterpress (typefaces: Monotype Dante, Peninim 217M, Sonzino). Paper: Mohawk Superfine white wove paper.

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss

Object number

1984.242

Not on View

Label TextArtist Leonard Baskin was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The son of an orthodox rabbi, it is no wonder that he developed an affinity for Old Testament themes in his art. However, he was not limited to biblical and religious themes—mythological figures, birds and animals, Native Americans, and figures of death also feature in his often large-scale woodcuts. In 1942 Baskin founded the Gehenna Press, a small private press specializing in fine book production that issued more than a hundred handcrafted literary books, designed and often illustrated by Baskin himself. Along with his achievements as a bookmaker, Baskin was an accomplished sculptor, printmaker, and illustrator. Leonard Baskin designed A Passover Haggadah with book jacket designer Jacqueline Schuman. It was edited by Rabbi Herbert Bronstein and includes an essay, “Preparing for the Seder,” by noted scholar W. Gunther Plaut.