Rutherford Witthus
Walpole, New Hampshire

Rutherford Witthus has been making books for the six years since he received his MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he studied book structures with Hedi Kyle. His interest in using digital methods for creating fine editions is stimulated by the continuing improvement in computing and printing machines. He lives and works in Walpole, New Hampshire, where he has a quiet studio.

Website: rutherfordwitthus.com

Miguel de Unamuno, Don Quixote’s Beatitude, 2012

“Blessed are the mad, for they shall be surfeited with reason!” With these words, the Spanish existentialist philosopher and novelist Miguel de Unamuno ends his story of Don Quixote’s after-death meeting with Jesus. Madness reveals the horizon beyond which creativity and enlightenment flourish. For Don Quixote, the tearful recognition of his own and Jesus’ madness is what finally propels him into eternal glory. The fragmented digital images and the parallel English & Spanish texts are inkjet prints in a Japanese album binding.

Dimensions: 14.75 × 9.5 × 0.25 inches, 37.5 × 24 × 0.5 centimeters

The parallel English and Spanish texts were composed using LTC Italian Old Style with ornamental Goudy initials. The fragmented digital images and the texts are printed inkjet on Rives Heavyweight paper in an album-style binding based on the traditional Japanese nori-ire gajo. The cover paper is handmade abaca from Twinrocker.