A132. In the San Joaquin Valley

A132. John Muir. In the San Joaquin Valley. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2008.

41 x 74.5 mm (1 5/8” x 2 15/16”), 12-page accordion, 51 copies.

Binding: Simple accordion; covers are floral-printed cloth over boards. Title and illustration on label inset on cover. Paper: Peach, handmade by Peter Thomas with mottled green and red pulp coloration. Printing: Letterpress. Typography: Hand set Canterbury. Illustration: Reproduction of a line drawing by Donna Thomas; printed with a red, brown, and green rainbow roll. Notes: Fifty-one copies made for the occasion of Donna’s 51st birthday.

“The text is a quote by John Muir, written in 1868, about his walk across the then wildly verdant San Joaquin Valley. A line drawing illustration by Donna Thomas of the landscape Muir described weaves through the text and runs along the bottom of the accordion pages. The book was secretly made for Donna’s 51st birthday and so there are 51 copies. The big question is how did I get her to do the line drawing if the book was a secret? Even I don’t remember the answer to that question.”