Educational Media Reviews Online

A fascinating look at the process of making limited edition books by hand. Barry Moser’s Pennyroyal Caxton Bible was the first edition of the Bible in over 130 years to be illustrated by a single artist. Four years in the making, the Pennyroyal Caxton Bible is definitely Moser’s most ambitious work and quite possibly the achievement of a lifetime. He is a master of wood engraving and his illustrations for this project are stunning. He makes a Hitchcockian appearance as the dead Goliath. In addition to Moser’s commentary and diary entries, the film includes remarks by others involved in the project (the typographer, the printer, the hand binders, the models), Moser’s patron, and Nicholas Basbanes. Moser observes that in the beginning, God separated the light from the dark and that in wood engraving, every stroke also separates the light from the dark. The final engraving he made for the book was Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden; in the film’s postscript, each of the participants in the project reads, in turn, from the first chapter of Genesis. Elegantly understated, this film is an excellent introduction to the art of making books; but afficionados will no doubt enjoy the upclose look at the book and the people. Highly recommended, especially for art and humanities collections.