A Half A Cent A Year

Whidby Island, Washington, 2011. Artist's book, one of 18 copies, on Photo Smooth Cotton DUO paper, innova paper sized by the author, and Liberty fabric, each copy numbered and signed by the artist, Sande Wascher-James. Page size: 5-3/8 x 8-1/4 inches; 24pp. Bound by the artist: Cialux bookcloth in black embedded with pennies, housed in custom-made black cloth box. Ms. Wascher-James focuses here on the struggle for equal pay for women. The book is in the T format with the folded part of the book printed by Booksmart Studion on 17 x 22 inch paper. The T has a photograph of President Kennedy signing the Fair Pay Act in 1963, and then President Obama signed the Fair Pay Act in 2008. There are also photographs taken at one of the rallies to support the bill. The text is also printed on innova paper on an inkjet printer on two leaves of 12 pages each. The use of Liberty fabric is a usual element in Ms. Wascher-James books - as are the stamps of various women that appear along with the text. This book has the addition of the pennies - representing the gain in wages by American women - a half a cent a year - since the signing of the 1963 Equal Pay Act!