Song without words;: A book of engravings on wood

Woodcuts #5

by Lynd Ward

Limited to 1250 numbered copies signed by Ward. Contains 23 woodcuts by Ward. Covers rubbed; spine age darkened. Name in ink along top edge of front free endpaper. iv , 22 pages printed French-fold. parchment-backed gold foil covered boards.. 8vo..

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fiction, Art, Comics

4 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

LYND WARD (1905-1985) illustrated more than two hundred books for children and adults throughout his prolific career. Winner of the Caldecott Medal for his watercolors in The Biggest Bear, Mr. Ward was also famous for his wood engravings, which are featured in museum collections throughout the United States and abroad.

Married to May Yonge McNeer, several of whose works he illustrated. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Umm no. The first of the Lynd Ward I actively didn't like. There was no clear story which is relatively typical. But the art was ugly. And leaning on the horror side. Just not a pleasant book. At least it was short.

[Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✭✭✭½

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Song Without Words: A Book of Engravings on Wood by Lynd Ward (Random House 1936) (~686) (4006).

Master illustrator, woodblock engraver, and author Lynd Ward has been called “one of America’s most distinguished and accomplished graphic novelists.” Song Without Words: A Book of Engravings on Wood is a wordless novel in which the story is told exclusively through starkly beautiful black-and-white prints. Published in the Depression era, it is said to represent a scream of outrage against fascism.

This is one disturbing piece of work. Ward’s woodcuts are beautiful, but they are not pretty.

My rating: 7/10, finished 12/5/24 (4006).

[Nathan BR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful story about a very contemporary question : why do we keep giving life in desperate times ? When this book was published (1930s), the two main issues (in North America and Europe) were the aftermath of the Great Depression and the rise of fascism. Not that far from now, but we've got a pandemic as a bonus !

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should kids be brought into a world filled with evil? Lynd Ward ponders this with a series of harrowing woodcuts that are very evocative. Not my favorite sequential woodcut graphic novel by any stretch, but Ward achieves a fair amount with a brief number of pages.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 5th of 6 woodcut 'novels without words', a dark yet hopeful vision of Depression-era America. The images are beautiful, some of Ward's best.

[Brendon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with most of his work, the story can be hard to pick out. I found this one easier to follow, and the artwork is also on a whole other level.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the least plot orientated of the Lynd Ward novels, as the title indicates this is more of a song than a story. A series of evocative illustrations, a woman walks around a world full of starvation and struggle but one with children. Skull imagery and birth.

[Daniel Oster · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more so just a scene, rather than a complete story. Nicely done, however, although very unsettling

[Chris Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some amazingly powerful and beautiful woodcuts in this book! Some of my favorite Lynd Ward woodcuts, for sure. The story element was somewhat lacking though. For a wordless story this is too abstract and disjoined--making it hard to understand the story that ties the images together. After looking up the meaning of the story, I looked back through the images and was able to appreciate it much more. Feels incomplete in and of itself.

The image of starving children behind a barbed wire fence under a swastika is eerily prophetic considering this book was published prior to WW2.

Art is a 5, story is a 2, overall I give it a 4.

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ward visually tackles one of the hardest questions to ask: why in the name of god would you ever bring a child into this world. There's no answer really, but Ward creates some stellar work around it. Includes maybe the most upsetting image he ever made, too.