Little Red Riding Hood by Warja Honegger-Lavater (1971)
Experience a classic fairy tale reimagined through the lens of mid-century avant-garde design. Published by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1971, this rare artist’s book by celebrated Swiss artist Warja Honegger-Lavater transforms “Little Red Riding Hood” into a groundbreaking, wordless visual narrative.
Artistic Format and Design: This exquisite collector’s item is bound as a continuous accordion-fold book, printed in brilliant color lithography by the famed Ateliers Arte in Paris. Spanning nearly 15 feet when fully extended, the layout invites readers to view the story either page by page or as a breathtaking, continuous multi-panel panorama. The book is bound in elegant, deep red cloth-covered boards featuring a minimalist printed paper title label, and housed in a matching red cloth-covered slipcase, making it a beautiful sculptural piece for any bookshelf or art collection.
Visual Narrative: Honegger-Lavater relies entirely on a coded symbology where abstract shapes stand in for characters, emotional states, and settings. A printed key at the front translates the iconography for the reader: a simple dot or color form represents Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf, the grandmother, and the path through the woods. Once the cast is known, the reader easily tracks the geometric choreography across the folding pages, viewing the tension, danger, and ultimate resolution of the folktale unfold purely through shape and color theory.
Product Specifications:
- Title: Little Red Riding Hood
- Artist: Warja Honegger-Lavater
- Publisher: The Museum of Modern Art, New York (MoMA)
- Publication Year: 1971 (Originally published in France by Adrien Maeght, 1965)
- Printer: Ateliers Arte, Paris / Produced by Adrien Maeght Éditeur
- Format: Accordion-folding artist’s book (Leporello) with 40 panels
- Binding: Hardcover, maroon/red cloth boards with printed paper cover label
- Packaging: Publisher’s matching red cloth slipcase
- Dimensions: Closed slipcase measures approximately 6.75″ x 4.5″ (12mo); extends to an impressive 14 feet 10 inches when fully unfolded.
- Language: Wordless/Pictographic (Symbol key included)
[In glass cabinet by front counter]
$ 150.00
