The artist book, A Letter of Columbus (Logan Elm Press, 1990) is the result of the dynamic and fruitful collaboration of poet David Citino, printmaker Anthony Rice, and book artist Robert Tauber. This book uses text and image to create a fresh, intimate, and first person account of the famous Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ earliest encounter with America.
Citino based his text on Columbus’ letter of February 15, 1493, which was written to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, but here the words have become Columbus’ private thoughts as recorded in his diary. Rice’s attractive and often lyrical monotypes, which are rendered in a somewhat naïve and unselfconscious style, complement Citino’s poetic reconstruction of Columbus’ letter.
This book represents a highly innovative and imaginative approach to the historical figure of Columbus, because it attempts to give the viewer access to his inner thoughts and feelings during his initial encounter with the Americas and its people. The purpose of the book, however, is not to praise Columbus, but to humanize him. The work showcases the beauty of the New World as seen through Columbus’ eyes, but it also foreshadows the destruction of this Eden-like paradise that would soon follow.
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