The bizarre similarity in physical appearance between the figures Stalin & Lipton was the starting point for this gallows-shaped book (when open it resembles the letter ‘T’). These two iconic figures, one political and the other commercial, are montaged into seventeen hand-drawn images that reference Western politics, history & culture. 

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Five copies are hardbound and with tea-dyed pulp painted sections. Three copies are folders with single leaf pages.  All copies contain hand-drawn images made with Mont Blanc ink and Lipton tea, teabag collages, and Dobbin Mill paper.  Pages are made of abaca fiber, which is commonly used to make tea filter papers in the US.  End sheets and cover papers are made of abaca and linen dyed with 3 sorts of black teas.  Each copy is stored in a plywood case.  The text at the back, compiled by NY curator Laura Hoptman, offers the reader details from the biographies of Stalin & Lipton that emphasize their absurd similarities.