The Woodcut Novels of Lynd Ward

BY DAvro a. srnowA
'Wrrs the recent printing of Llnd Ward's Last Unfinislted Word-
less NotselbyBatbaru Ffenry,t a new addition to Ward's career as
a pioneer in woodcut novels is available for bibliophiles and
scholars. Ward was highly regarded in the United States as the
illustrator of books for George Macy's Limited Editions Club
and the Heritage Press, and a prolific children's book artist who
illustrated over a hundred books for Landmark Books, Illustrated
Junior Library, and others including several books written by his
wife, May McNeer. Ward illustrated Elizabeth Coatsworth's Cat
Wlto Went to Heaneru (rgSr) and Ester Forbes' Johnny frernain
Gg+il that each won Newbery Medals, and was awarded the
Caldecott Medal in r953 for flte Biggest Bear that he illustrated
as well as wrote. In addition to his paintings and drawings, Ward
was a skilful wood-engraver whose prints are included in the
Smithsonian, Library of Congress and other distinguished col-
ledtions. Along with Rockwell Kent, Clare Leighton and F'ritz
'Ward
Eichenberg, was responsible for the revival and general
popularity of wood-engraving in the United States during the
i 93os. Ward's distin&ive contribution in the graphic arts though
was his development of the woodcut novel or 'pi&orial narrative',
which he preferred to call his wordless novels. The term'woodcut
novel' refers to the genre of wordless books that used woodcuts or
wood-engravings, aid presented powerful themes of social realism
in black and white pidtures.
Ward took the s[and-alone print and extended the plot, charac-
ters, and thernes into unique sweeping narratives. His use of
visually dynamic obje&s, consistent symbols, and thematic thteads
in his woodcut novels ensure first-rate storytelling. In addition to
developing a pi6torial vocabulary for lengthy storytelling, Ward's
experimentatibn with two-colour printing opened the investigation
of the psychological world of his charadters. In this form,. Ward
established the basis for wordless storytelling that is used today
by artists of wordless pi&ure books and graphic novels.
Finally, in his woodcut novels Ward documented the injustices
in the American economic and social system during the Depres-
sion era. Ironically, the social ills Ward displayed in his woodcut
novels seventy years ago are evident in today's culture. Though
not as readily visible as the soup lines, today's economic uncer-
tainties, the breakup of the famlly, shortage of traditional blue-
collar jobs and a geinerul sense of spiritual isolation are realities
just as crucial as they were for Americans during the r 93os.
Lynd Kendall Ward was born in r 9o5 and was the second of
three children of Daisy Kendall Ward and Dr Harry F. Ward.
The story behind Lynd's name is worthy of note. His father, t+3
 Harry, was born in r873 in the county of Middlesex, England.
At an early age Harry developed a rheumatic heart and was sent
to live with his aunts in Lyndhurst, where his love of nature
developed from walking in the New Forest and fishing in the
River Test. In honour of this memory he named his son Lynd.2
Harry immigrated to the United States in r89o, when he was
seventeen. He was later ordained a Methodist minister, became a
writer and outspoken promoter of social a&ivism, and was the
first board chairman of the American Civil Liberties ljnion. Ward
later inherited Ffarry's love of nature and his concern for social
injustice.
After graduating from Columbia University in t926, Ward
married a fellow student, May McNeer, and on the day of their
marriage they left for Germany, where Ward studied wood-
engraving under Hans Mueller3 in Letpzig at the National Acad-
emy for Graphic Arts. Ward discovered the woodcut novels of
Frans Masereel during this year and was drawn immediately to
the idea of a novel told entirely in black and white pidtures.
Ward's medium of choice was rn'ood-engraving rather than the
woodcut that Masereel preferred.
When Ward returned to the United States after studying in
Germany, the New York firm of Jonathan Cape and Flarrison
Smith published his first woodcut novel, Gods' Man: a Novel i.n
Woodcutsin rgzg. Masereel's woodcut novels were not distributed
widely in the United States and did not receive wide critical at-
tention outside Europe.a As a result, the uniqueness of a book
without words immediately caught the interest of the American
public and Gods' Man became an overnight success. It sold
io,ooo copies and went through six printinei in four years. Lowe
and Brydone Ltd of London printed the English edition for
Jonathan Cape in r93o. This publishine success is even more
extraordinary considering the fa& that Gads' llan was pubiished
the same week that marked the beginning of the Depression era.
In a letter, Ward's editor at Jonathan Cape and F{arrison Smith
states the common readtion that many readers had to \Yard's book.
I it all along chieflv as a colleclion of beautiful
had thought of
wood-engravings without much thought of its narrative value,
but I found myself moved with sudden emotion as the thing
went along quite as definitely as I have ever been in reading a
story in words, but the emotion was more poignant and quick.s
Gods' Man with r39 pi&ures was printed in both limited and
trade editions and tells the Faustian story of an artist who signs a

t. Godr' Man: a Navel in Woodcuts (rgzg).

z. Madman's Drum: a Novel in Woodcuts.
3. Wild Pilgrimage.
4. Prelade ta a Millian Teart: ,4 BaoA of Woad Eagraoings.
5. Song trVit)aut Wordt: a BaoA af Engraoiags on Woad.
r++ 6. Zertigo.
 contra& with a masked figure in exchange for fame and fortune. L,rnd
The book is wordless except for the chapter headings and dedica- Wnra
tbn. The limited edition was printed dire&ly from the blocks.
The trade edition measured B{ x 5 ins with printed-paper labels
on the spine, bound in pidtorial paperboards and was printed
from ele&rotypes. Ele&rdtypes consiited of a copper shelf grown
dire&ly on the original engraving and backed witli lead, a p-rocess
which gave the trade edition an almost identical effedt to printing
from the blocks. The ele&rotypes from this edition seern-to havE
been melted down in support of the war effort during the Second
World War.6
This novel had an impa& not only on the general public but on
many artists at the time. Many unpublished poems based on
Gods' Man \Mere sent to Ward andare included in the Lynd Ward
and Mq McNeer Papers at Georgetown lJniversity. Thbse poems
show the impa&-that Ward's book had upon poets, including
the celebrated Allen Ginsberg, incorporat-ed images frori
Godl Man in his famous p9em, Howl,-who (stanias
8z-84 in-Part II)?
that defined the American Beat movement in the r 9 jos. Michail
McCurdy, the illtlstrator and engraver,s recolle&s that Ginsberg
'told me that while he was growing up in New Jersey, all hii
Communist relatives had Lynd Ward bobks on their shelves.'e
The abstra& expressionist painter Paul Jenkins wrote : 'Itl Gods'
Manfhad not only a psychic influence, but a profound artist'ic one
which I have never been able to fuly explain because of its energy
and unprecedented originality.'10 In addition, a ballet based 6ir
this 'literary curiosity'lland a feature movie were considered but
neither one of these ventures reached fruition. The comooser
Felix R. Labunski was initially asked in r93r by one oi the
members on the board of the Ballet Theatre of New York to
compose a ballet based on Gods' Man for their repertoryl2 but he
had [o abandon his work due to economic hardships.
What immediately becomes evident in this woodcut novel is
not only the obvious lack oftext, but that as the pages are turned
the necessary closurel3 between each print transpirEs almost ma-
gically. Much as with the pi&orial narratives bn Greek vases,
scholars are discovering that 'strudturally and mechanicall6 it is
possible for the visual arts to present stories.'la Ward follows the
ancient idea of staging the a&ion around one central charadter in
order to tell the story beyond a single pi&ure. His aim was to
present the necessary amount of visual information that would
flow evenly o^n each page so that the reader's imagination could
follow the pi&ures and weave the various aspe&s of plot, theme
and personil interpretation into a cohesive whole. 'A'forerunner
of the tg{ery graphic novel is found in the work of Lynd Ward',
states Will Eislner, the.father of the graphic novel. 'ile
[Wardj
stands out as perhaps the most provo-ative graphic storyt-eller ii
this century.'r5
'Ward's
commitment to the integrity of his naffatiye continued
in his next five woodcut novels and contributed to the develop-
ment of standards now central in today's visual arts. r+5
MArRrx The first visual units immediately establish charadter and set-
ting. Each succeeding unit must ielate to what has been estab-
lished and, by focusing on a slightlylater point in the develop-
ing.adtion, move the itory thal much further along. The dif:
ficulty, of course,lies in determining how much of"an interval
between units will be effe&ive. If iiis too great, you lose the
reader because he cannot make that leap wiih the'information
r.!u- havg given him. on the other hand, if the interval is too
slight, the new unit will seem repetitious and the reader,s in-
terest will flag.16

ward used pi&orial composition to intensify the impa& of his

narrative. I-ooking qt few of these compositiorr. *ill demon-
V
strate a technique of pi&orial arrangement that he continued to
develop in his future nbvels.
The first element of ward's composition involves the black
and white print. working in black utd white allowed ward to
take advantage of the associat_ions of darkness and light. For ex-
urp.I", in the city, the charafters are outlined only ln the most
minimal terms.by gaslight and candles. Even in thd daylight, tte
P",qr,r,g
bull*ingibloik the sunlight, making tt" .lty'.ti""i.
forbidding. The darkness creates a feeling that"one is noi safe on
the streets and that danger exists around &ery corner. In contrast
to the element of darknEss in the city was the natural light warj
depidied in the country scenes.
Another element of ward's pi&orial composition was his use
of space. By placing a different shape in t'he midst of similar
shapes, a greaier senie of isolation is Jpparent. ward showed the
intense isolation of the artist when he ii depi&ed standing behind
a thro-ng of glasses raised in his honour. Tfie isolation of ihe artist
would not have been as effedtive if ward had displayed the figures
of the men and the women holding their grasse's (hgure ,1.'rrr"
glasses as a group frame the artist aid makEthe focuion th6
- artist
more dramatic.
In addition to space, ward begins to dispray his own unique
style in the exagge-rated expressio"ns of his cilaia&.r, i;;;;i;;
communicate a feeling or rea&ion without the aid of words. ward
developing a certain manner of seeing things tfrrr fr"
IT,rlr:ray
would later advise yo.unggl arrists to follow. Fof e*rripl", in u
letter to the young artist Michaer Mccurdy, '[!vard] ,d;i."j;;
in drawing-io int-"erpret what I saw u"i-tiJn'uaJ'Jutrt. what I
don't see.'rl
ward was noted for his laborious and painstaking attention to
detail in every woodblgck and to the impal& each bl&k had in the
flow of the narrative. visitors to his honie found many block,
cu.i
aside because of a slight.technical flaw noticeable ooly to
lvard, o,
a minor obstrudtion in the narrative such as a figur"
ilrced too'rui
to one side in the foreground. These brocks #"r" fft"n ,r"a ,,
kindling in their wood Jtove.t8
146 ward followed the success of Gods' Man the next year with
Madman's Drunz (rqfo). In this book of rr8 blocks, ranging in Lynd
size from 4 x 3 to 5 x 4 ins, the plot is more complex and involves Ward
a family's slave trading past and the next generation's quest for
scientific knowledge. Madrnan's Drurn is rich with symbolism and
Ward develops the elements of pi&orial language within the limits
of composition and narrative flow. He focuses more on chara&er
development to support the narrative than he had in Gods' Man,
He uses more engiaving tools to achieve detail in his charadters
and settings. The differences are at once noticeable.
ln Gods'Man, except for the use of round and flat gravers to
remove white areas, all the rendering of figures and landscape
had been done with a single line tool. ln Madrnan's Drurn, by
contrast, I sought to develop a wider range of tool work and
utiiized small round gravers to break up a dark area with small
jabs of the tool, thus achieving avadety both of tonal effe& and
lextural quality. At the same time, I put more emphasis on
decorative patterns in such things as dress material and the
walls of interiors which I hoped would not only result in richer
and more varied impa& from block to block but also help the
reader identify recurring charadters and backgrounds.le
Although skilled wood-engravers like }Ians Mueller were cau-
tious about the use of the multiple tool, Ward is cited by Mueller
as being an example of successfully breaking the rules and finding
his own style.
There are a few cases where the multiple-line technique can be
deliberately introduced into, and harmonized with, the slngle-
track technique; namely, when the beginning and end of each
line in the multiple liner group is taken up and continued, line
for line, with the burin, and led from its mechanical sterility
back to the easy flexibility of the other lines. Of course, the
skillful and sensitive artist can override all such warnings and
still be justified in the light of his particular artistic purpose
(e.g., Lynd Ward). There is no greater delight and satisfaCtion
L E.i fo"nd than in successfully"overthrowiig established doc-
trines and producing something on one's own account.2o
Another technical innovation in this novel is Ward's use of
jabbing out large obje&s such as-the cobblestone streets, the foli-
ige on-trees, oith" fields. The effe&ive use of his tools establishes
Ward's developing pi&orial language and style. From the ho_rizon
displayed *itli-i.irunical lines] Waqd s-rdg". out areas like a
wa[ercolourist who skillfully uses white space to bring attention
to certain details in a pi6ture. Or he places a curve or a swirling
obje& or figure in the foreground that is highlighted against the
mechanicaL background, thus invigorating the drama in the pic-
ture rather than diminishing it (figure z). This is especially evid-
cnt in his use of light either across the horizon or shooting through
windows into dark rooms.
S'ard's next novel, Wild Pilgrimage (t932), consists of ro5 t+7
MA r Rr x wood-engravings and was the first and only woodcut novel printed
rn tvro colours in order to convey the psycholoq.ical
protagonist. The dimensions of.ihese -ood'of the
irrints wJre enlarged from
the previous twonovels, increasing the'size of the book to ro x
7
rns. ward not only enlarged the dimensions of his prints but also
the scope of his plot and iharadters. paper labels were attached to
the spine but lacked pi&orial boards uied in his other two wood-
cut novels.
In this novel -ward develops a psychological profile of a lone
man during the Depression who attempts to escape the injustices
around him. The protagonist is a fa&ory workeiwho deiides to
leave the confines of afZ&ory town to discover a liberated life in
th-e country. Eventually he returns to the fa&ory town where he
is
krlled in a workers' rally that clashes with armed fa&ory guards
(figure 3).
ward further developed the pi&orial narrative with another
innovation - the use of colour. h'r,r;ta r;krirnaye,ward.examines
the protagonist's subconscious in ,"ii"ty'of dr"*--like se-
quences. In order to mark the transition" from reality to the prot-
agonist's. subconscious, ward uses orange ink instead of' the
standard black ink. This jump from realiryio fantasy allows Ward
to effe&ively portray thb prbtagonist's hiddr, sexrial obsession
and his fantaiy to the social inequity in the ,eai
world. ward termed-Lscape'from"
these two states the'inner'aid,outer, worlds.
ward's fourth woodcut novel, prelude to a Million Tears(r q r t).
includes thirty wood-engrlvilgs with a title-page printef, ?iJ#
the o.riginll blbcks in a liirited Edition of gzo.bpT., p"uri.LJ uy
Equinox cooperative Press. Equinox cooperatiie press was con-
ceived by_\Yard and included-a number^of New york's finest
artists and printers who.were interested in reviving the art of
quality booli:naking. Equinox published only one of Ward,s wood-
cut novels, but it provided the financial suctess the press needed
to continue Ol
tI: remaining_fe1 ygars before its d.emise in ryt3i
after it had published sixteen"books.rt
The renowned wood-engraver John Depol remembered ward
as.'elergetic'22 and sirote t-o ward after first meeting him at an
exhibit in r g53, 'I have seen a great many of your prii't, and have
",joy..^g
ii;ii;,;'i;L^-(^i'{iiq
thein iit; preludi to a i,
-/i""_
orite.'23
Prelude to a Million Tears revisits the theme of Gods, Man. rn
th-is case, however, ward's romantic idear of the artist in Gods,
Man is revised ({sure.+). rn prelude ro a Million Tears, ward dis-
B]3ys.the idea of art foi art's sake in a world of sociil i;j".ti.;.
ward places his artist - in this story a scuiptor instead, ;'p;i;t*
- "f
in the backdrop of the Depression and-the 'long-standiirg fas-
cination, in literafure and myth, with the idea that r"epresentations
are alive or can come to lif;."i In dire& contrast to'the ,"tih ;f
Pygmalion, in which a statue comes to life in a loving
with the sculptor, ward's sculptor kneers in despair atihe""itiu."
foot of
r48 his sculpture as his room is engulfed in flames.
L
 Lewis F. White printed Ward's next woodcut novel, .foag L^tnd
Without Words (rg:6), with its controversial metaphors, diredtly wnrd
from twenty-one woodblocks in a limited edition for Random
Elouse in November 1936. White was also a member of Equinox
Cooperative Press. Like Prelude to a Million {eays, this book dis-
played the crisp quality of Ward's printed blocks. Song Wirltout
'Wirdt focusestn'the inoral dilemrira of bringing a ch"ild into a
world clouded with the ills of the Depression and the growing
threat of Fascism. This book follows a woman who has conceived
a child and ponders giving birth in a Fascist-ruled world where
people are ibured, 1irpti."o.t and murdered. (figure 5). The
woman spins around and falls"d, into a nightmarish sequence filled
with her wrenching fears embodied with slithering rats and loom-
ing vultures. Ward does not offer any solutions to these harsh
realities, only a 'need for faitlt'.2s
Ward's sixth woodcut novel, Vertigo (rgS7), is a colossal book
of z3o wood-engravings that took two years to complete. In this
novel, Ward further examines the effedts of the Depression, sPe-
cifically on the lives of three charadters - a girl (figure 6), a boy
and a rich, elderly gentleman. Since the plot of Vertigo is so in-
volved, Ward breaks the narrative into three parts, following each
of the three main charadters and the ways their lives cross during
the years 1929-3+,Ward takes us into the lives of each chara€ter
against the disturbing backdrop of the Depression. Like so much
of the evolving prolEtarian fidtion that began to emerge during
the Depressioir/ertigo was'Ward's political aftrmation against a
dvinE capitalistic svstem.
' W"ardis focus and detail on charadter with the single figure and
the crowd scenes is remarkable in this novel. In addition, Ward
uses expressions and gestur€s to express mogd and development
in his iharadters. One of the more interesting developments in
the plot is the subtle overlap in the three c-haradters' stories, and
howthe presence of each in one chapter foreshadows future in-
volvemenls and events in another chapter. Although the novel is
wordless, Ward makes use of signs and our own capability of
filling in the broken or missing letters in certain pi&ures to add
to the narcative and also provide insight into the state of the
charadters. Following Vertigo, Ward devoted his work to child-
ren's book illustration-and piintmaking. The market for children's
book illustrations was growing steadily, while the adult market for
woodcut and wordless novels had all but evaporated.
There are several prints among Ward's private papers and one
unpublished fragment that Ward called Hyn for the Nig/tt.26 This
incbmplete, short narrative of eighteen wood-elgrarliqgs dgpi&s
the Cliristian story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter in the
night. Rather than the historical setting of Bethlehem, Ward
plices the Holy Family in a Nazi occupied citydliring the Second
\\'orld War. Only the proofs, and not the blocks that Ward
worked on, remain inta&.
Taking into consideration that almost forty years passed since ,49
MArRrx his Iast published wordless nove! tle fact that ward
return to this genre near decided to
the end of his iif"i,-r;'important fact
to recosnise..Robert young, a close f.i;;;;i:W;rd,
'for a n"umbe19f years, off ind,on, il recalls that
on a series of blocks which. when conipf"t.J,, [w;;f hrj'b"", working
new novel in woodcuts.'2, This *r. drrlng
*orrd comprise a
was beginning to
,L;r_. when Ward
,
would eventua-ily take .suffer more from Ar;heim;;;s disease that
lis life in r9g S.
'The book lLlnd ward's t)tt uiyulrhed wordress
been workingbn has gone in.ieu.ingry.to*iy,#.. Nover)r,ve
and I now pu., months
ldJust to thE certainty thriii *;ir',Jr." -" till the fail to
get it compreied - which means publi.rtir"-i,
earriest.'28-shortry
i-rrJi r of ,78at the
bleeding urcer while .after writing irri, llii.r,' wil'#ff.r.d ftom a
thev werE at their .r*-.r*.uli, o, Lonery
Lake, ontario. He lost oirt. of brood-rnJ
slow. In addition, Ward m,r!t hav" b";;;;;; iil'r".orrery was
gression of Alzheimer,s that "i" *r. b"girnl;f oi,r,. slow pro_
i" ri..et iri*.
bggan to experience small iapses in
I:,i$?rat
wrthout exertion, and periods
memory, fatieue
of ennui i"a iralr"r;;zJ.'T;-;;
changes, at first .o ..rbtl" th"y were
tfro"ght^tr lJ"rotiilrg
more than 'lows' to which i. ."ffi ;;
"rr"iyon"
another, very slowly., but with iirr" o,
themselves -or" urd more.ri---
ii.idio,r.
-----*' ,t.iiir"r.,"#nif.rt.a
The followino yearr.after their summer vacation
Lake, the Wards"rriorr"d t-o R..ton, iilgir;r, on Lonerv
near their dr"*h,:;'J
IlLyno jTIq,h"se,last fi u". y."rr' tt uT Wura,, health wea?ened.
_:1. works everv
day on his booklLlrud ward's Lott
wordlessNotsetl;lg,,rlrn"*I.-*:;J.;"'i.-ril*t|'ii"a7l"pro_ iirin;rlrrd
gress.'30 By the iollo*ing.y"ur-W-rr8,, central nervous system
was
deterioratin g from AVliiiii', d;;;;":
L.
1,n.d
is in better physical health this year than
think the move wis so traumatic for him that he was last. I
he sank into a
j;lq defression that is not y"a;;"i-;"t rr. i. g#ns;;;", u.
trm e passes. t", . in gui arly gentle rn a,
$.r_.j lo ntu"iriJJ *rr,
he hai been withdrawn tJqui,"'u?"g;." of "f
late.3r

Torng,recounts, 'not long.after this letter was written, Ward

stoppe d- w_o_rkin g alto gethei.,:z
.L1n-d ward'l Losittnfnished wordless Nover is an ailesorical
tale of a vounE man trappe-d insiJe tt
norogicar
'Nfrry devaitation
and the inforriation.
sr;i;a;h;;;H; ""t..t
;;;d-
bols that he used in hTsprevi;".;;;l;;;;;;"U';;:ir ;i;f,:'.y*_
telephone lines, as we,'.as , d;;;;li.;t ]llil, *a
seems to rerish tfi" or,_
slaught of prosress and the a;;i;; "oi
cluded in this iovel. When th;
tr," ,.;;;";;; ,r" in_
has fallen throuEh the cogs, i+i";;" t;;;man finds a woman who
togerher and out of the
ir9*"_ frl r;;ily. The unfinished blocks
devastation they"set
provide more deta,"n", ;f thi. pr",'u",- ii"irus back heavily on the
r50 themes estabt ished in S o ng iii, n r r,
w r;; ;^;;' ;r:' ff *
I )lr"ii n,
Ni.gltt. These novels express \Mard's belief that despite the worst L1il
poisible conditions in society, the strong bond of love offers our Ward
only hope for the future.
Ward remained, as Michael McCurdy described him in an
interview, a modest man. 'The man was a silent man. FIe didn't
have a lot of words to say. In fa& if he did have something to say
it was very deliberate.'33 With this special aspedt of his personality,
it is not surprising to see that he was so successful with his word-
less novels.
Thanks to the Ward estate and the printer Barbaru Flenr;/,3a
Llnd Ward's Last Unfinished Wardless Novel of twenty-six wood-
engravings from the original number of forty-four was published
in zoor.-This fine, Iimiled edition is a collaborative publishing
effort by the New Jersey Book Arts Symposium a,nd the Special
Colle&ions and University Archives at Rutgers University Lib-
raries.3s Perhaps no words of praise better convey Ward's essential
quality than tliose by the illustrator Joseph H. Lindsley:
Lynd Ward is a man with profound and abiding concern for
the human spirit. And just as inescapable is the faCt that having
said that about a manl there is little else that needs to be said.
To see his work is to know the man; to know the man is to
enrich your life.36

NOTES
r. See Barbara Henry's article on the Bowne & Co., Stationers print shop in
Matrix t7,pp. y-fu.
z. Eugene P. Lirk. Labar-Religion Proplet: lf ie Titrtes attd Life of Hary F. Ward
(Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1984), 4.
3. Ward spoke highly of Mueller's work where 'you will find, I think, perhaps the
greatest range of technicai experimentation and vatiety of statement that any
artist in wood can show' (Lynd Ward, 'Hans Alexander Mueller.' PM: .{n
Intimate Journalfor Produttian Managers,,lrt Diretlors atd tlzeir ltsociates-
4:8 (Aug-Sept, r93 8: p. [5]). It is interesting to compare the similarities in style
in Mueller's and Ward's wood-engravings. It is possible that Ward also met
Hellrnuth Weissenborn, who was appointed to the staf of the Academy in' 1925,
and was a frienii of Mueller's. They were both expelled from the Academy in
1938. The Whittington Press published Hellmutl Weissenlota, Engraoer in
r 98 3. (See also Matrix 2, oPP. P. 68, arld Matri il 2 r, PP. r t4-6.)

4. Most reviewers at the time had not heard of Frans Masereel's woodcut novels.
Herschel Brickell, the reviewer for the New Torh Herald Trilune BooLs (Novem-
ber 24, rgzg: 3) states in his review of Ward's Godi Manz 'It is a novelty in
American publishing, its only possible rival within my recolle&ion having been
kept from the public by the stupidities of our censorship. This was Mi Booh of
HoarsbyErans Masereel, a semi-autobiographical work imported by Horace
Liveright in rgzzwithanintrodudtion by Romain Rolland.'
5. Robert Ballou, letter to Lynd Ward dated 3o August r9z9.Lynd Ward and
May McNeer Papers, Georgetown University.
6. Emanuel E. Harper. Letter to Ll.nd Ward dated 3r August r942. Lynd Ward
and May McNeer Papers, Georgetown University- I5I
 7. Allen Ginsberg, Howl, Original Draft Facinile, Tranttipt U Variant Ver-
sions, Fully lnnatated b1 ,{utior,wit/t Contefi?lrane1ut Corretpondence,.4ccount
of Firtt Pubtic Bkirnitles, Precurtor Tests U Bibliograpfu-
Reading, Legal
Edited by Barry Miles. (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1986), p. r 39.
8. See John Randle, 'Wood-engraving in America .' Matris 5 pp. 8 5-86, and the
subsequent, stunning, book Eil Grait: Contenporarl Wood Engraoiag in Nortlz
lruerica published by Crispin and Jan Elsted of Barbarian Press in 1994.
g. Lynd Ward, L1rud Ward's Last Urfzi:led Wordlets Nooel. Printed by Barbara
Henry. With an Introilu&ion by Michael McCurdy and a description of The
Unfinished Blocks by Michael Joseph. (New Jersey: New Jersey Book Arts
Symposium and the Special Colle&ions and lJniversity Archives at Rutgers
University Libraries, 2oor), p. [8]. Ginsberg collaborated with Ward on a
broadside of the 'Moloch' se&ion from Houl that was printed by Michael
McCurdy's Penmaen ?ress in 1978.
ro. Paul Jenkins, letter to Lynd Ward dated 3 Juiy r98r. Lynd Ward and May
McNeer Papers, Georgetown University.
r r. Herschel Brickeil, 'Novel Without Words', Nertt Torh Herald Trilune Bookt
(24 November rgzg), p. +.
rz. Felix R. Labunski, letter to Lynd Ward dated r8 March r93r. Lynd Ward and
May McNeer Papers, Georgetown University.
r 3. I am referring to closure as described by Scott McCloud as the'phenomenon of
observing the parts but perceiving the whole.' See the extended discussion on
closure by McCloud in (Jnderctardiag Comics: the Inoisille ,!rt (Northampton,
Massachusetts: Kitchen Sink Press, r993) pp. 63-72,86-92.
14. Mark D. Stansbury-O'D ornell, Pi$orial Naratioe in,{ncieat Greeh ,{rt (Cam'
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 9.
r5. WillEisner,GraplicStorytelliag(Tamarac,Florida:PoorhousePress,1996),
P. I4I.
$. Lynd Ward, Snrydler Witloat Wor*: {le Wood Etgraoings of Lind Ward.
(New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1974), p. zz.
,7. Michael McCurdy, personal interview condudted or:' z7 April 1996.
r8. George (Marry) Barringer, personal interview condudteil on z r June r 996.
19. Ward, 8 toryteller, p. 79.
20. Hans Alexander Mueller, Woodcrtt atd Wood Eryraoittgt: Hoat I Make {len
(New York: Pynson Printers, t%9),p.38.
2t. See Henry Hart, / Releoant Memoir: ttc Storl dtie Eqaiaou CllPeratioe Prer
(New York: Three Mountains Press, 1977).
aa
John DePol, personalinterriew condu&ed on z5 February 1996.
23. John DePol, letter to Lynd Ward datecl ro Febmarl 1953. Lynd Ward and
May McNeer Papers, Georgetown University.
2+. Barbara E. Savedofl fransforniry Inaget: Hoo Plotograpll Conplicates tle
Pitture (Ithaca: Cornell University Pres, zooo), p. 9.
zg. Ward, Itorjteller,p. rgz.
26. This fragment from the papers at Georgetown University Library, Special
Colle&ions has a title sheet but the random prints were not in any assigned order.
The style of these prints refle&s his style h Sorg Witlout Wordt $936) a*d
might roughly be placed within that time.
27. Robert Young Jr.,'Lynd Ward: An Appreciation and Account', Unpublished
memoir [r981].
28. Lynd Ward, letter to Robert Young Jr. dated 7 lure 1977. Lynd Ward and
May McNeer Papers, Georgetown University.
29. Young,'Lynd'.
3o. May McNeer, letter to Robert Young Jr. dated z May r98o. Lynd Ward and
May McNeer Papers Georgetown University.
r52
3 r. May McNeer, letter to Robert Youag Jr. dated r 8 March r 98 r. Lynil Ward
and May McNeer Papers, Georgetown University.
32. Young,'L1nd'.
3 3. Michael McCurdn personal interview condu&ed on z7
April t 996.
34. The author visited the printmaker Barbara Henry in New York in June zoor
prior to the publication of Ward's novel. Barbara published her own woodcut
novel from [noleum fl oor til es called,4 lbun in r 986 that exhibits her own skill
as an engraver as well as a printer. The large format edition of her novel was
limited to fifteea copies.
35, Enquiries for Llnd Ward't Latt Unfnisled Wardkst Nooel car^ be sent to:
Barbara Henry, Harsimus Press, ro4 Grand Street, Jersey City, NJ o73oz.
36, Joseph H. Lindsien'On Lynd W'ard', Bibliognott: tle looh colle$ort little
m agazine z;z (May, r 97 6), p. 3 S.

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