Malashka and Akulka, two little girls, are playing together happily when they get into a disagreement… and before you know it, the entire village is involved in an imbroglio!
Little Girls Are Wiser Than Men is a book for all ages and times adapted from a poetic short story by one of the world’s greatest storytellers, Leo Tolstoy. This astute tale about conflict and resolution is illustrated with linocut art by Lebanese printmaker Hassan Zahreddine and printed on handmade paper, using a vintage 1965 Heidelberg letterpress.
Digital files of the text and art were used to create plates that relief-printed on to the surface of paper (200 gsm – handmade from recycled cotton waste). This technique captures the spirit of the times that the story was set in while connecting it to the context in which this edition was created. It also makes for a unique reading and viewing experience: the words are deeply etched on the page, the colours are solidly on the surface, and the texture of the paper invites exploration.
Read a blog post on the Tara books site by V Geetha and Sanjana Vamadevan – Letterpress Prints: The Making of Little Girls Are Wiser Than Men
– exploring the possibilities and constraints of the classic letterpress printmaking technique.
