PETER & DONNA THOMAS
260 Fifteenth Avenue Santa Cruz CA 95062 (831) 475-1455

The Grand Canyon. by John Wesley Powell. (2007) 3 by 2 1/8 inches. 10 accordion pages. 50 copies. $50.

This book is one of the series of books made every other year or so, since 1981, to celebrate Donna's birthday. This year Donna turned 50 and to celebrate we are taking a trip down the Grand Canyon in July. The text, from John Wesley Powell's 1875 book "Exploring the Colorado River", has been letterpress printed on Peter's handmade paper. The paper is "duplex", or two sided: the sheet is off white, shaded with umber pigment, and the back has a layer of darker paper pulp with petroglyph-like imagery onlayed over the surface. The type was handset in various sizes of News Gothic and unique deco ornaments.It was printed with a red brown rainbow roll, so the ink is subtly shaded from the top of the page to the bottom, an attempt to visually allude to the colors of the Grand Canyon. Both the front and the back of the accordion page are printed with imagery that depicts the elevations of the Grand Canyon. This image is a duplication of one of the original technical drawing from Powell's book.. The book is bound between paper covered boards. The cover paper is the same as that used for the text. Each sheet has been hand painted and varnished to match the color of the ink used to print the text.