A Review of A Wood Engraver's Alphabet - Not Your Child's Alphabet Book

There are plenty of alphabet books out there, ones that have cars, fruit, clothes, kids, toys and animals. However, this isn't your child's alphabet book. A Wood Engraver's Alphabet Book 2008 Porcupine's Quill, Inc. by G.. Brender a Brandis is a beautifully crafted art book comprised of 26 wood cuts of both familiar and rare flowers and plants.

In his introduction Mr. Brandis talks with a love for his craft and an almost intimate feeling about his subjects. He talks about his drawing process of drawing on paper and later transferring this to wood while other times drawing directly on "the highly polished wooden block (usually boxwood if available although the lady's mantle was done on a piece of holly wood)."

"Something mysterious happens in my brain when I actually begin engraving. Throughout the drawing process I make dark lines on white paper or onto the blond wood, but the minute I pick up a graver or burin to start incising lines into the block I am thinking in terms of white line in a black field since what ever bits of the block's surface I lower by cutting will not catch any ink... I have never understood how I do this reversal of black and white- it just came to me from the first engraving I did..."

The prints themselves are beautifully intricate portraits. Emerson said "In every work of genius, we recognize our thoughts. They come back to us with a certain alienated majesty." Bandis has made the familiar flowers new, beautiful. They're rendered devoid of their usual color but with a greater richness and texture. Each print is quite unique. My favorites are the Iris and the Morning Glory. Where some of the prints appear more even in their presentation, the blossoms in these two stand out from the rest of the image, giving a layered and multi-textured appearance. Though I would have liked to see some of the prints larger, it didn't detract from my enjoyment. Being an amateur woodworker and even more amateur gardener, I enjoyed the book from both aspects. The intricate cuttings are amazing. His description of the process makes you appreciate what a patient art wood cutting is.

This is a beautiful book as a gift for yourself or someone else. Printed on heavy textured paper, the prints will surely please the wood cutter, gardener, botanist, or art lover.