On the top is a photograph of an original, self-published (circa 1935) copy of H.T. Tsiang’s The Hanging on Union Square—a satiric, quasi-experimental novel that explores leftist politics in Depression-era New York. True to Tsiang’s radical aesthetic, the original copy does not show the title of the book, instead questioning what a book cover really is: “the cover of a book / is more than a book / than the book is a book.”

In redesigning this book almost 80 years later, we wanted to include as much of Tsiang’s original concept as possible, but also draw attention to the book with bright colors, and—though we considered it—we felt we couldn’t forgo the name.

We have a feeling, Tsiang would have rather liked it.

Stay tuned this summer for more about The Hanging on Union Square, Kaya’s other historical rediscovery projects, and our latest e-books!