Wordless Novels

[Patrick Murtha]

Closely related to book illustration are wordless novels, of which there are many more than most people would suppose. Frans Masereel and Lynd Ward (top and bottom below) are the most famous practitioners. Woodcut has always been a popular medium for these novels.

I knew a lawyer in Chicago who collected in this genre, and he graciously allowed me to handle and “read” many of his first editions. He was very gratified to find someone who shared his esoteric interest, an experience I’m sure we’ve all had here.

David A. Berona’s Wordless Books (2008) is an excellent introduction to this form.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

One of my friend’s treasures was Laurence Hyde’s Southern Cross (1951), a “protest novel” against nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Some other rarities from my friend’s collection. (The first is Willy Fries’ Gottlose from 1932.)

 

[kpjayan]

Shaun Tan's 'The Arrival' is fantastic...

The Arrival (graphic novel) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Patrick Murtha]

^ I’ll have to look at that one. There is so much that can be done with this form!

 

[Uemarasan]

Manga has quite a handful of examples of this. There’s a charming one called Gon about a dinosaur and his adventures and misadventures:

"Gon," a Manga Without Boundaries

How Masashi Tanaka's little dinosaur transcended culture and language through pure expression

vocal.media