The Picture Box Inc table (at MOCCA) told me this book is a one of a kind. I should have asked what they meant by that because I saw another one at their table later. Plus the interior is all xeroxed. It has a hard cover which seems to have been hand colored- so maybe that’s what they mean. Or maybe there’s only a few that exist. It’s dated December 1999. In any case, whether it’s a one of a kind or not, it’s still pretty awesome. It reminds me of old black and white silent films where short text is inserted between the action. This book has text opposite drawing. The text is short phrases or titles describing the scene. The pages continue in short stories like this sometimes rhyming- for example: “Careless feet” next page “Cliff Path”, next page “Loose Stone”, next page “Early Bath” alongside drawings of a man hiking on a cliff and then falling into water. The drawings seem to take place in the olden days too- all the men are in suits and top hats. And they seem to all be stories that end bad for the main character. I don’t know much about the artist. I did find a page of his work here with an email address. Maybe someone can email him and request a copy of this book and the one of a kind mystery will be solved.

© Julia Rothman 2007