THE MIGHTY JOHN HENRY

Because it's not only about clothes at the "riveted  HQ" i've decided to pull this one from the shelves and share its great illustrations .

John Henry is a larger-than-life folk hero a "steel driving" man hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock away. 

Bradford's "John Henry" is set in the late 1800's.John is a steamboat roustabout who goes up and down the Mississippi, from town to town, job to job and his run-ins with women, bosses, liquor, cocaine, bad guys and gambling men seem to never end ....

A colorful  cast of characters,including Stagger Lee, Poor Selma, and a character popping up in strange places and referred as "a nigger named Sam" make this a very amusing story and a great read.... A true superhero whose demise comes in an unexpected way. I won't ruin the end for you but if you find this book, grab it ......

 this first edition from 1931 features the woodcuts of J.J. Lankes [1884-1960]

Lankes  is unfortunately almost forgotten today ,he was a talented artist who worked exclusively in the East, and his woodcuts are mostly of scenery and structures. Lankes is arguably the first genuine woodcut artist this country produced.

Close friend of poets and writers,he was commissioned on a regular basis to illustrate books .Lankes is also the author of the first reliable and comprehensive book on woodcutting published in North America.....