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08-012. Jo Dendel
New Song in a Strange Land
Houghton Mifflin Company
USA, 1948
8.75 x 6 x 1"
Bound paper
Manufacturer's mark
It isn't often I purchase a book only for the liner notes, but that's exactly what I did today. New Song in a Strange Land is an early title by Esther Warner with illustrations by her (future) husband Jo Dendel. Esther and Jo would go on to found Denwar ceramics, makers of the Bantu line of dinnerware, and this is the reason for my purchase.
Instead of ramble on in my normal mode, I think I'll just quote directly from the back end flap of the book's dust jacket, which gives us insight into the early careers of this modernist couple. It sheds light on some little-known information about the origins of the pottery:
"Esther Sietmann Warner, a native of Laurel, Iowa, calls herself a professional hobbyist. Among her Talents are sculpture, textile design, weaving, anthropology, carving, and painting. She received her formal education at the Iowa State College and Columbia, but it was from her father that she first learned wood working."
"After teaching wood carving in the mountains of West Virginia and art in the Des Moines public schools, she went with her botanist husband to Liberia. There she took advantage of a wood carver's paradise. Among the people who came to watch and stayed to work at her mud and thatch studio, was Jo Dendel. A selection of his prints, made from his sketches and Esther Warner's carvings, illustrate New Song in a Strange Land."
"Now in California, the Warners and Jo Dendel have formed a partnership, Denwar Ceramics, using designs largely inspired by native Liberian artists."
Found on March 29, 2008 in Lincoln, IL.
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