Drucker, Johanna.

Testament of Women.

Granary Books & Druckwerk, 2006. Item #GB_134

10 x 13 1/4 in., 40 pp., cloth over boards.

Testament of Women is a radical retelling of tales of biblical women. These figures are archetypes in Western thought—Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Esther—whose stories have been reinterpreted by generations. In this version, the women are each represented by a linoleum cut based on a real, living woman whose identity embodies a current, lived experience that parallels the original. The biblical story is recast and retold, alongside an excerpt from scripture and a statement of the lesson to be learned. The typographic layout and motif of broken rule(s) in the headers and on the end sheets reinforces the contemporary feel, though the use of letterpress and handmade cuts extends traditional fine print values. Taken as a whole, the book is a feminist artist’s dialogue with a received tradition, and a deliberate attempt to rethink the interpretation of these major female figures. The writing combines multiple registers–vernacular, popular slang, literary syntax, poetic vocabulary, and scriptural tones. The linoleum cuts are in a contemporary expressionist idiom, physical and striking in pose and presence.

The end sheets are original paste papers, the book is letterpress throughout, handset in Goudy bold 6 pt., 8 pt., 10 pt., 12 pt., 14 pt., 18 pt., 24 pt., 30 pt., 36 pt., and 48 pt. The book is bound in poppy silk in a single signature. Testament of Women is a Druckwerk/Granary Books publication, produced between 2005–2006, by the author/artist, in Charlottesville, Virginia at the Virginia Center for the Book Arts. This is from an edition of 40 copies, of which 25 were for sale. Out-of-print.

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