A74. An Aesop’s Fable: The Donkey and the Thistle
(Left) D4. Fred Moramarco. Novel: A Poem. Santa Cruz, California: Greenhouse Review Press and Good Book Press, 1993.
70 x 51 mm (2 ¾” x 2”), 150 copies.
Binding: Full-bound in black cloth over boards. Paper dust jacket digitally printed with a marbled design. Title on front. Photo of the author on back. Paper: White, commercial. Printing: Letterpress; printed from polymer plates by Gary Young. Typography: Digital. Notes: Made by Peter and Donna Thomas in collaboration with Gary Young of Greenhouse Review Press in Santa Cruz, California.
“Gary’s friend Fred Moramarco had written this poem, which tells a story that could be the outline for a novel. Gary wanted to see it printed like a miniature novel, so asked us to help. As I remember things, Gary printed the text and we bound the book. It is definitely not printed on my handmade paper. The binding was designed to mimic the hard cover copies of a novel, and the dust jacket made by what was then the newly available color photocopy machine. We initially priced the book at a remaindered price, a statement about the relative commercial success of poetry compared to novels.”
(Middle) A74. Aesop. An Aesop’s Fable: The Donkey and the Thistle. Santa Cruz, California: Just For Fun Press, 1993.
76 x 63.5 mm (3” x 2 ½”), 7 pages, 175 copies.
Binding: Green handmade paper over boards. Title on spine. Copies 1-25 are housed in a slipcase made from handmade paperboards. Paper: Handmade by the Thomases. Printing: Letterpress printed. Typography: Lydian; initial set in Broadway. Hand set by Peter and Tanya Thomas. Illustration: Linocut reproductions of two drawings by Suzanne cut by Donna Thomas. Illustrations in copies 1-25 are hand-colored by Tanya and Suzanne Thomas.
Tanya and I read several Aesop’s fables and then Tanya wrote out her own version based on the ones we had read. Being nine years old, she did not like to use the word ‘Ass,’ so used donkey instead. For her part, Suzanne made drawings and then Donna cut those drawings in linoleum. This was the second and final book we made as a family using the Just For Fun imprint.”
(Right) A75. Glenn Clark. The Divine Plan. Second Edition. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1993.
63.5 x 47.5 mm (2 ½” x 1 7/8”), 27 pages, 200 copies.
Binding: Bound in yellow cloth over boards. Title stamped in gold on label on cover. End sheets white with visible fibers. Paper: White, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Letterpress. Text printed from polymer plates. Illustrations printed from photoengravings. Typography: Digital, typeface unknown. Illustration: Reproductions of ten color-pencil drawings by Barbara Thomas; printed with a rainbow roll.
“The 1992 edition [A69] was clearly small as we reprinted the book in 1993. We were not very satisfied with the quality of the digitally printed type, so decided to make a letterpress printed edition.”