Taking the Soup
By Bessie Smith Moulton
Falmouth, Maine: 2007. Edition of 10.

7 x 4.75 x 2.5" hinged box. Lid image of a hand holding a mug of soup under the shadow of a cross. Title and closures handmade of brass. Introduction pasted in interior of lid. 23 cards: 3 divider cards; 20 individual stories on 6 x 7.5" cards, folded to 6 x 3.75". Photograph illustrating the story printed on the front of each card. Printed on an Indigo Press.

Bessie Smith Moulton, Introduction: "Nearly every social event, whether it is two family members sitting down together or a lavish wedding celebration, a business meeting at a sushi bar in Japan or a church gathering, is around food.

"Each culture uses food to heal, celebrate, nurture, honor, welcome, commemorate, bind, sanctify, control, or even wound.

"Because food is our most basic necessity, it bonds us to each other and to the earth. Throughout history good has had power and meaning beyond the mundane. Whatever the association, food as a symbol, as connection, power or weapon, most of us experience food on more than one level.

"Taking the Soup is a collection of food stories I have written and illustrated with my photographs and drawings. Looking at the origin, myth, ritual, or history of foods that we often take for granted may add another dimension to our appreciation of what we eat.

"This book is dedicated to the day when each person on this planet will have enough to eat. Twenty-five percent of the sale of each boxed book in the edition of ten will go to a charity organization working toward that goal."

In the form of a recipe box, with each recipe card containing a food story. The stories are divided by subject cards: Food as Metaphor, Connection or Power & Weapon, etc.
$1000 (SOLD)