-1955 Skitzy

Don Freeman’s wordless novel, Skitzy, is a day in the life of a man torn between earning a living and doing what he really enjoys.

Front cover of Don Freeman's 1955 wordless story, Skitzy. One side of his mouth is smiling, and the other is frowning. — Front cover of Don Freeman’s 1955 wordless
story, *Skitzy*. One side of his mouth is
smiling, and the other is frowning.

Skitzy is one of the few happy stories in the wordless novel genre.

While pre-1960 wordless novels predominantly tackle grim social realism, Freeman’s work departs from this tradition with a noticeably lighter tone. Although some might question whether these stories belong on a site focused on the genre, this site takes an inclusive approach: if a work meets the strict definition of a wordless story, it belongs here, regardless of its mood.

Skitzy: the Story of Floyd W. Skitzafroid

…the delightful tribute to creative and commercial impulses, Skitzy. This lightly comedic tale follows a day in the life of a man literally divided between life as an office worker and as an artist. Without the use of dialogue, Freeman’s fluid and economical illustrations create an engrossing and fully believable environment, seducing the reader into a familiar world where expressive, gestural drawings explore the possibility of striking a perfect balance between work and play.

From the back cover of the 2008 Skitzy reprint.

Skitzy – opening 1956: Museum of the City of New York

Images courtesy of Don Freeman’s son, Roy Freeman.

Poster for Don Freeman's show of Skitzy at the Museum of the City of New York. — Poster for Don Freeman’s 1956 show of *Skitzy*
at the Museum of the City of New York.

Page 1 of Don Freeman’s introduction for the 1956 show of Skitzy at the Museum of the City of New York. — Page 1 of Don Freeman’s introduction for
the 1956 show of *Skitzy* at the Museum
of the City of New York.

Page 2 of Don Freeman’s introduction for the 1956 show of Skitzy at the Museum of the City of NY. — Page 2 of Don Freeman’s introduction for
the 1956 show of *Skitzy* at the
Museum of the City of NY.

NOTE: Freeman comment is that he has been working on children’s book but Skitzy, “is a story without words which I hope is for adults“. (emphasis added)

Page 3 of Don Freeman’s introduction for the 1956 show of Skitzy at the Museum of the City of NY. — Page 3 of Don Freeman’s introduction for the
1956 show of *Skitzy* at the Museum of the City of NY.

Page 4 of Don Freeman’s introduction for the 1956 show of Skitzy at the Museum of the City of NY. — Page 4 of Don Freeman’s introduction for the
1956 show of Skitzy at the Museum of the City of NY.

Skitzy Bibliographic description

Binding: wire spiral
1 v. (unpaged): ill. ;
93 illustrated pages
13.8 x 10.5 cm. (5 1/2 x 4 1/8″)
Self-published in 1955
Back cover “Published by Don Freeman at John D. Hooper Lithographers, 343 Front St., San Francisco, Calif.”.
At the end of the illustrations.”Copyright 1955 by Don Freeman”.

The schizophrenic nature of Skitzy is shown on the front cover where one side of his mouth is upturned in a smile while the other side is down-turned in a frown. It is the split between Skitzy as artist and Skitzy as office drudge.

Wordless??

WORDS??? Don Freeman in his introduction to Skitzy for the 1956 opening at the Museum of the City of New York stated Skitzy was a, “story without words”. Perhaps one should treat the reference to “blissfully sleeping” as a chapter heading or a prologue. Half way through there is another “chapter heading”. On the whole, this is a wordless story.