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Wooden slip case for leather bound edition of Cane, by Jean Toomer and illustrated by Martin Puryear
Wooden slip case for leather bound edition of Cane, by Jean Toomer and illustrated by Martin Puryear

Wooden slip case for leather bound edition of Cane, by Jean Toomer and illustrated by Martin Puryear

Martin Puryear (American, born in 1941)
Arion Press, San Francisco
2000
Medium/TechniqueWooden slip case made of four different woods meant to represent different skin tones: African wenge, Swiss pear, Italian walnut, and New England maple
DimensionsOverall: 34.9 x 38.4 x 4.8 cm (13 3/4 x 15 1/8 x 1 7/8 in.)
Credit LineLee M. Friedman Fund
Accession number2002.904.10
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsIllustrated books
Description
In his 1923 novel Cane, Harlem Renaissance author Jean Toomer used an innovative mixture of poetry, prose, and drama to contrast African-American life in the rural South with the urban experience of the North. This deluxe edition of the book is illustrated with ten woodcuts by sculptor Martin Puryear. Puryear also designed the slipcase, made of four different woods (African wenge, Swiss pear, Italian walnut, and New England maple) meant to represent a range of skin tones.
ProvenanceDeborah Ronnen Fine Arts, Rochester, NY;