BY FRANZ KAFKA, WITH ARTWORK BY IRI SMITCH

On the centenary of Franz Kafka's death, we're pleased to announce the first private press edition of his masterpiece, A Hunger Artist.

This short story explores the life of an artist – an artist, of sorts. His art is starvation. He captivates audiences through feats of prolonged fasting with the existential danger inherent to his craft. With this enigmatic character, Kafka prods at the tensions between art, voyeurism, the pursuit of authenticity, and the loneliness one feels in the face of shifting public tides. Frustrated and under-appreciated, the hunger artist drives himself to death in the vainglorious pursuit of his strange artistic vision while the public gaze slowly turns away.

The story has been deftly illustrated by Iri Smitch, whose pencil drawings capture its ambiguous shades. Her twelve sketches have been etched onto magnesium plates and printed using a unique oil mix which, we think, replicates the subtleties of the original graphite. Letterpress is rarely seen in this manner.

In addition, Smitch has created fifteen "Artist" copies, each bearing a unique oil painting. These can be found on another landing page, here.

EDITION NOTES

• The twenty-seventh edition from No Reply, 2024 – celebrating the centenary of Kafka’s death.

• Translated by Willa & Edwin Muir.

• 32 pages, measuring 7 ¼ by 10¼ inches.

• Typeset in 14-point Baskerville.

• A dozen pencil illustrations throughout, printed from etched magnesium plates.

• Hahnemühle Biblio paper mould-made in Dassel, Germany. 

• Fabriano Tiziano endpapers.

• Printed letterpress by hand using a Vandercook Universal I proofing press.

Standard | Strictly limited to 160

• Hand-bound in a three-piece Bradel binding, with gold tooling on the spine.

• The boards feature a previous draft of the "Hunger Artist" portrait illustration, printed letterpress from polymer, giving a comparison and contrast of the two plate printing methods.

De Luxe | Strictly limited to 160

• A frontispiece portrait of Franz Kafka, printed from a magnesium plate on Awagami Kitakata paper and sewn into the book.

• Hand-bound in a three-piece Bradel binding, with gold tooling on the spine.

• The boards are covered with handmade paste papers, made specially for the edition.

• Housed in a scarlet cloth slipcase.

Artist | Fifteen copies, each with a unique oil painting on the cover. See here.