A56. Alphabet People

A56. Tanya Thomas. Alphabet People. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1989.

60.5 x 47.5 mm (2 3/8” x 1 7/8”), 64 pages, 200 copies.

Binding: Copies 1-25 full-bound in peach pigskin. Title on label on cover. Copies 26-200 bound in peach paper, handmade by Peter Thomas, over boards. Title on label on cover. Cover paper printed with letters of the alphabet, set in Greeting Monotone, in red. Paper: Peach, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Letterpress. Typography: Hand set Greeting Monotone; initials in red. Illustration: Reproductions of twenty-seven line drawings by Tanya Thomas. Illustrations hand-colored by Tanya and Suzanne Thomas in copies 1-25.                        

“This is an alphabet book...each letter of the alphabet is illustrated with a sketch by Tanya Thomas (at age six) of what a person would look like when forming the shape of the letter with their body. Tanya originally made only the letters A-E. I told her if she finished the alphabet I would make it into a book. Nothing happened. Then I told her that she would get some of the money from each book that sold and she finished it up in a few hours.”