Frontispiece Engraving by Barry Moser

We received some samples of the frontispiece print for the limited edition of Misery. For those who may not already be aware, a book frontispiece is very simply an illustration facing the title page of a book. The “Annie’s Axe” engraving was created by renowned designer and printmaker, Barry Moser. Modern wood engraving techniques were developed around the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, and we love the artistic style of these engravings.

For the Lettered edition of Misery, the engraved art is printed on a paper called Kitakata, which is tipped onto the page facing the title page. The effect is really quite beautiful. For the Numbered and Artist Gift editions, the artwork is printed directly on the paper, and in the case of the Numbered edition, is it printed letterpress.

Barry is a master in his field, and we are grateful for his involvement. After it is printed, the wood block will be ‘canceled’ by scribing a line through part of the art, and it will join all of Moser’s other blocks in his archive at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga where it will be catalogued, curated, and never printed again.