Sam Jacoby

Darwin's Orchid

Found only in Madagascar, Angraecum sesquipedale has an unusually long spur. Examining a specimen relayed to him by a botanist friend, Darwin posited that any accompanying pollinator would have to be equipped with appropriately distended hardware. Imagine everyones' delight then, when "21 years after [Darwin's] death," a moth with just such a 25-centimeter proboscis was discovered.

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In Dreams Begin Responsibilities

The first time I read Delmore Schwartz’s classic, “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities,” I felt like I’d been clubbed in the head. So simple, so lucid, so precise. It’s an antidote to a kind of foggy-minded adolescent angst that a lot of short stories (especially by young people) trend towards—certainly any of my own efforts. He’s got some other great ones in the collection of the same title, too, “America, America!” I maybe should’ve printed that one—actually, definitely should’ve. Anyhow, read it.

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A Reading for Group 47

I first stumbled on “Todesfuge” while working in Nicaragau—and before I could read German. It was shocking, brutal, powerful. I read it in English, then in Spanish translation—parsing through the German as best I could. I’ve since learned German—or at least, learned German well enough to stumble through these.

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Easter Week

Two Chekhov stories—”The Student,” and “On Easter Eve”—in new translation—courtesty of Michael Henry Heim. These stories are two favorites of mine—and I even read somewhere that “The Student” was Chekhov’s own favorite. It’s a spectacular update on the standard Constance Garnett translations. Handprinted on a Vandercook Universal I from mint Dante types. The paper was smuggled in from Germany.

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Sesquipedality

A small collection of difficult words culled from a variety of eccentric dictionaries. Includes useful gems like totipalmate, meaning, web-toed.

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A Few Faces of Emil Rudolf Weiss

I published this small specimen book in two editions, German and English. Weiß designed a number of handsome typefaces that are still in use today. The Weiß Lapidar that appears on the title page below is especially handsome. Bound by the inestimable Sarah Creighton, who also is responsible for the stunning pastepapers.

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The Awful German Language

Learning German is hard. Twain got that like no other. This essay, originally an appendix in The Tramps Abroad, details his trials and trevails of trying to master deutsch, and was a great solace to me while attempting to do the same.

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Wallau Broadside

I printed this broadside in Mainz, Germany, at the Druckladen des Gutenberg Museums, while I was a praktikant there. It’s Rudolf Koch’s Wallau, a rundgotisch typeface, with elements of classic German blackletter and traditional roman capitals. Dan Reynolds has a whole lot more information here.

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Useful Words & Grammar

After filling a couple of legal pads with grammar notes, I composed and printed this compendium to tuck in my jacket pocket. It’s rife with errors, but I’ve found it useful.

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