The world’s foremost craftsmen and scholars contributed to the new edition of The Szyk Haggadah (Historicana, 2008), making it a truly international, world-class publication.
Explore the people and places behind the making of The Szyk Haggadah by clicking below.
Location: Burlingame, CA
The force behind the Szyk renaissance, Irvin Ungar is the publisher of the new edition of The Szyk Haggadah. He also contributed the companion volume essay, “Telling the Story: The History of The Szyk Haggadah.” Ungar entered the world of rare books and historic art in 1987, when he founded the firm Historicana, which specializes in historic Judaica and the works of Arthur Szyk. As the curator of The Arthur Szyk Society, Ungar has consulted and curated numerous Szyk exhibitions at major institutions worldwide.
Location: Dassel, Germany
Hahnemühle FineArt GmBh, Germany’s oldest artist’s paper mill, has been producing high quality paper for all traditional painting and printing techniques for more than 420 years. This vintage photograph shows Hahnemuhle’s original papermill in the German town of Relliehausen, near Dassel.
Location: Japan
The red Tsumugi cloth of the deluxe binding and box of The Szyk Haggadah, as well as the blue Tsumugi cloth of the companion volume, was produced in Japan. The two slubbed silk and rayon fabrics match Szyk’s signature colors.
Location: Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, UK
Marc Lamb is Managing Director of Harmatan Leather, supplier of the finest vegetable-tanned goat skins and smooth-grained calf skins for bookbinders. The goatskins used for the binding of The Szyk Haggadah were chosen for their beautiful natural grains and small scale, traditional tannage techniques.
Location: Kano, Nigeria
The exquisite goat skins used for the leather binding of The Szyk Haggadah originated from farms in the Kano and Sokoto regions of Nigeria. Fine craftsman have used Nigerian leather for bookbinding since the Middle Ages.
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Shalom Sabar’s companion volume essay, “The Historical and Artistic Context of The Szyk Haggadah,” examines the iconography of The Szyk Haggadah and places it historically among the greatest illustrated Jewish books. Dr. Sabar is Art History chairman of the Department of Jewish and Comparative Folklore at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. His field of teaching and research is the art and folklore of Jewish communities in Christian Europe and the Islamic East over the ages.
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Ardon Bar Hama, a master of ultra-high resolution digital photography of art and documents, photographed the original art for the new edition of The Szyk Haggadah. Bar Hama’s previous commissions include photographing the Codex Vaticanus at the Vatican, and the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem.
Location: Chicago, IL
Byron L. Sherwin wrote the all new translation and commentary for The Szyk Haggadah and served the editor of the companion volume. An ordained rabbi, Dr. Sherwin is the author and editor of more than 26 books and 150 articles. He is the Distinguished Service Professor and Director of Doctoral Programs at Chicago’s Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
Location: Asheville, NC
The award-winning graphic designer of more than 200 books in fine art and photography, Irene Morris designed the text of The Szyk Haggadah. Her decade-long association with Szyk’s art brings an intimate understanding of the artist’s palette.
Location: Lunenburg, VT
Stephen Stinehour, who spent his early career at the renowned Stinehour Press in Vermont, conducted the pre-press preparation for The Szyk Haggadah. He has been in the fine book printing world since 1970, specializing in the reproduction of photographs. Stinehour founded Stinehour Wemyss Editions in 2003.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Paul Vogel designed and hand-crafted the bindings for The Szyk Haggadah. He has earned a reputation as one of the most creative bookbinders in America through his work for the prestigious publishing firms Forbes and HarperCollins, and private clients including Colin Powell, Ralph Lauren, Robin Williams, and The White House.
Location: New York, NY
Tom Freudenheim, former director of YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and head of major museums in the United States and Germany, wrote “Arthur Szyk In Context,” a companion volume essay placing Szyk’s art within the context of his time and our own. He currently sits on a number of museum and arts-related boards including the American Federation for the Arts and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.
Location: El Cerrito, CA
Coriander Reisbord is a rare book conservator in private practice since 1996, with a specialty in 19th century publisher’s cloth bindings. Reisbord writes, designs, prints and binds books and small ephemera under the imprint of the Skeptical Press.
Location: Emeryville, CA
John DeMerritt owns and operates a bookbindery specializing in small editions and box making. He created the custom fabric and leather box for The Szyk Haggadah.
Location: Staten Island, NY
Artist Sage Reynolds of Four Hands Design Studio created the custom, hand-painted paste paper of The Szyk Haggadah.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
James Ruxin produced and directed the documentary “In Every Generation: Remaking The Szyk Haggadah,” which is included with every copy of the new edition of The Szyk Haggadah. The Emmy-nominated filmmaker also directed the award-winning “Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art” (2006).
Location: Ivyland, PA
Pavel Repisky is the founder of Atlantic Papers, provider of fine handmade, mould-made, machine-made and inkjet coated fine art papers. As the custom Hahnemühle paper of The Szyk Haggadah demonstrates, Atlantic Papers solves the most complex and challenging paper needs of the country’s most innovative artists and designers.
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Rick De Coyte executed the printing for The Szyk Haggadah using an eight-color giclée process developed by Epson. De Coyte is the founder of Silicon Gallery Fine Art Prints, a collaborative printmaking company dedicated to cutting-edge digital art.