The prestigious and beautifully-produced book series Library of America series is shortly to issue a slip-cased edition of Lynd Ward, Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts. Similar to and inspired by the wordless woodcut novels of Frans Masereel, and with a similar anarchist and autobiographical sensibility, but with a more refined style and a more gothic approach in some works. Among others he illustrated Algernon Blackwood’s “The Wendigo” (below) and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Many of his works seem to chime rather well with the Lovecraftian sensibility. One could even imagine that a way could be found to pair selected Ward woodcuts (of which there are a great many to choose from) with selected Lovecraft stories, so as to bring the two into an interesting posthumous collaboration.

At least one of his novels, Gods’ Man : A Novel in Woodcuts is in the public domain, although it appears that the estate of Lynd Ward still makes claims (possibly spurious, since its copyright was not renewed) upon it.

Viktor Wynd’s Little Shop of Horrors, London…

“The shop is perhaps best seen as an attempt to recreate or reinterpret with twenty first century sensibilities a 17th century Kunstkamera, a collection of objects assembled on a whim on the basis of their aesthetic or historical appeal, there is no attempt at creating or explaining any metanarratives or educating anyone, merely a display of naturalia and artificialia designed to give pleasure to the creators of the museum, who hope that you too will enjoy it.”

“Surprising numbers of our visitors wish to spend their time in trying to work out what is real and what is not. A distinction that we do not see, nor understand. Up until the Nineteenth century to call something original was to insult it, for if no one has done something before there’s probably a good reason, and so many people have done so much since then, and much of it to be regretted, that to be original or to claim to have something that is original can only really be seen as unlikely and extremely pretentious.”

Just what you need for a crisp cold Autumn (Fall), Creepy Knits, artfully knitting together Cuddly Cthulhu with the face-hugger concept from Alien…

What if… Lotte Reiniger had undertaken an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation in the early 1930s, as one of her fantasy silhouette films?

A little late for me to link to it, but I just found a Lovecraft birthday tribute-story-spoof in The Onion, from last week. “Mysterious Crate Arrives from London”…

“Determined investigation of the crate by men fortified in their courage by a tot of best brandy reportedly showed it to be covered with labels and seals from Cathay, the Bight of Benin, Outer Calcutta, Tangiers, Algiers, and Sumatra. Though no consensus upon its origins could be had, a majority agreed the box most likely began its dark pilgrimage in the dusky Orient. According to shipboard sources, the coats-of-arms of three separate monarchs were visible beneath divers stains, gouges, and odd discolourations.”

For those trying to recall the delivery of a crate in Lovecraft’s actual stories, there was the delivery of a mysterious box in “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn”…

“The boxed object was delivered at Jermyn House on the afternoon of August 3, 1913, being conveyed immediately to the large chamber which housed the collection of African specimens as arranged by Sir Robert and Arthur. What ensued can best be gathered from the tales of servants and from things and papers later examined. Of the various tales, that of aged Soames, the family butler, is most ample and coherent. According to this trustworthy man, Sir Arthur Jermyn dismissed everyone from the room before opening the box, though the instant sound of hammer and chisel showed that he did not delay the operation. Nothing was heard for some time; just how long Soames cannot exactly estimate, but it was certainly less than a quarter of an hour later that the horrible scream, undoubtedly in Jermyn’s voice, was heard.”