Leonard Baskin and the Gehenna Press collection, 1952-1998 | Brandeis University

Title: Leonard Baskin and the Gehenna Press collection, 1952-1998

Predominant Dates:1954-1969

ID: 00/MWalB02555

Creator: Baskin, Leonard, 1922-2000

Extent: 0.25 Linear Feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The collection is arranged in three series: 1. Printed Ephemera, 1954-1991; 2. Oversized Material, 1964-1998; 3. Books Published by Gehenna Press, 1952-1992. Series one and two are arranged in original order and series three is arranged by call number.  For more information about each series, please consult the series descriptions in the box and folder listing.

Date Acquired: 00/00/1972

Languages: English

The Leonard Baskin and Gehenna Press collection, donated by Maurice and Edith Shulman in 1972, includes several books and ephemera printed by the Northampton (Mass.)-based publishing house. Baskin, famous for his woodcarvings, sculptures, and prints, founded the Gehenna Press in 1942 while studying art at Yale. He named the press after a line in John Milton’s "Paradise Lost."

The 27 books in the collection span 40 years of publication—1952 to 1992—and reflect the evolution of the Gehenna Press from a one-man printing house to a nationally recognized enterprise. Books of particular note include Baskin’s "Castle Street Dogs: Wood Carvings" printed in 1952, and "Horned Beatles and Other Insects: Etchings," published in 1958. Both feature Baskin’s artistic hand and represent modern versions of bestiaries popular in medieval times. 

In addition to books, the collection contains several folders of various printed material, including Gehenna Press exhibition catalogs, publication prospectuses, and holiday greeting cards, ranging from 1954 to 1998.

See also two letters from Baskin in the Autograph collection.

Leonard Baskin was born August 15, 1922, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. At the age of seven, Baskin moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, where Baskin attended yeshiva and spent the remainder of his childhood. Baskin showed interest in art at an early age, participating in his first art exhibition in 1939 at the Glickman Studio Gallery in Manhattan. The show featured Baskin’s sculptures.

Between 1941 and 1943, Baskin attended Yale University on scholarship. His encounter with the work of William Blake inspired Baskin to begin his own printing press, which he did in 1942. He named it Gehenna Press after the line in John Milton’s "Paradise Lost," which reads “And black Gehenna call’d, the type of Hell.” Fittingly, as J.P. Dwyer noted in "A Bibliography of the Gehenna Press, 1942-1975" (1976), many of Gehenna’s early pressmarks, such as the pomegranate and the owl, represent images associated with hell.

Baskin left Yale to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He married Esther Tane in 1946 and received his B.A. in 1949 from The New School of Research in New York. He studied art in Florence and Paris in 1950 before moving to Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1951. Baskin taught at the Worcester Art Museum from 1951 to 1953 before joining the faculty at Smith College, where he taught art until 1974.

1n 1955, Baskin established Gehenna Press headquarters in Northampton, Mass., and entered into a partnership with Richard Warren, who managed Metcalf Printing Company. Later, he hired Harold McGrath to work full-time as a Gehenna pressman. Despite the extra resources and manpower, Gehenna Press remained devoted to publishing high-quality, artistic books with elegant printing and binding. Trademarks of Gehenna Press books include the use of a wide variety of rare paper and ornaments to indicate new paragraphs. Several Gehenna Press books contain textured paper handmade in France in 1905. 

Baskin divorced Esther in 1967 and married Lisa Unger. In 1974, the couple moved to Devon, England, in part so Baskin could be closer to friend and poet Ted Hughes, with whom he collaborated on several works, including "A Primer of Birds," printed by Gehenna Press in 1981.  In 1983, Baskin left England, moved to Leeds, Massachusetts, and took a job at Hampshire College, where he taught until 1993. 

In addition to his prints, Baskin earned several awards and recognition for his woodcarvings and sculpture. In 1991, Baskin was commissioned to construct a 30-foot bas-relief of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s funeral procession as part of the Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. Four years later, he received the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

Throughout his career, Baskin’s art dealt mainly with religious themes, human nature, mythology, and animals.  One of his last exhibitions, “Angels to the Jews,” featured a bronze sculpture and 20 paintings of angels completed by Baskin in 1991. 

Baskin died in 2000 at age 77.

Alternate Extent Statement: 3 oversized folders, 1 manuscript box

Access Restrictions: Access to the collection is in accordance with the policies of the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University.  Please contact the department for more information.

Use Restrictions: Requests to reproduce or publish material from the collection should be directed to the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University.

Acquisition Source: Donated by Maurice and Edith Shulman in 1972.

Appraisal Information: One folder containing photocopied press clippings about Baskin and articles by him was moved to the control file.

Related Materials: Also see two letters from Baskin in the Autograph collection. For more information please see http://goo.gl/qGglo.

Other URL: http://goo.gl/qGglo