Page 7 (January), from All the Year Around

Bleak January! Cold as fate,And ever colder—ever keener—Our very hair cut while we waitBy winds that clip it ever cleaner:Cold as a miser’s buried gold,Or nether-deeps of old tradition–Jeems January! you’re a coldProposition!James Whitcomb Riley, “A Hoosier Calendar” This color woodcut depicting the month of January was part of a series of 12 prints that served as the illustrations for All the Year Round, a book of poems written by James Whitcomb Riley, popularly known as the “Hoosier Poet.” In addition to the images of the months, Baumann designed the book’s borders and typeface. Ultimately, however, the volume was received poorly, and Baumann later recollected that the entire project was “a dismal flop.”