A134. Nature Paints
(Rear Left) A133. Peter Thomas. Train Depots. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas. 2008.
54 x 76 mm (2 1/8” x 3”), 34 pages, 85 copies.
Binding: Copies I-II are quarter-bound in blue and red leather. Black and blue leather onlay of train and track on cover. Raised bands on spine. Housed in clamshell box covered in red and blue leather. Leather onlay of locomotive on cover. Copies III-VII are quarter-bound in red and black leather. Enameled railroad crossing pin inset on red leather on cover. End sheets blue, marbled. Housed in a slipcase covered in marbled blue paper and grey paper. Title stamped on wood label on front. Copies 1-85 are full-bound in black leather. Title in red on blue wood panel inset on cover. End sheets blue speckled paper. Paper: Copies I and II vellum. Copies III-VII and 1-85 white, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Letterpress. Illustrations printed from photo engravings. Typography: Text is hand set Centaur. Titles are Old Town. Illustration: Reproductions of nine line drawings by Donna Thomas. Illustrations in copies I-VII are hand-colored by Donna Thomas. Notes: Text is a history of train depots in the United States written by Peter Thomas.
“When Donna took a train ride to the Southwest she fell in love with the architecture of the depots and started sketching them. The text is a brief history of train depots in the United States written by Peter Thomas to accompany Donna’s line drawings. The illustrations are printed over a solid wood block print, inspired by our earlier exploration of acrostic manuscript illustration. We used wood for the front cover label to allude to the importance of the wood block printed inside”
(Rear Right) A134. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nature Paints. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2008.
55 x 48 mm (2 3/16” x 1 7/8”), 18-page accordion, 50 copies.
Binding: Case-bound accordion; quarter-bound in brown leather with wood boards. Leather spine inset in routed grooves on the insides of covers. Title on label on cover. Paper: White, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Digital. Typography: Reproduction of text handwritten by Donna Thomas. Illustration: Double-spread reproductions of four watercolor paintings by Donna Thomas. Notes: Text is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Contains a note from Donna Thomas reading “Thanks to David, JP, Katy, Mat, Mo and Michael for waiting while I painted nature.”
“Donna used a quote from Emerson, ‘Nature paints the best part of a picture…’ to illustrate her watercolor paintings. This book further explores the use of juxtaposed maps, illustration, and text.”
(Front) A135. Peter and Donna Thomas. Kealakekua Bay. Hawaii: Peter & Donna Thomas. 2008.
66 x 57 mm (2 5/8” x 2 ¼”), 9-page accordion, 12 copies.
Binding: Simple accordion; covers are marbled paper over boards. Title on label on cover. Paper: White, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Digital. Typography: Handwritten by Donna Thomas. Illustration: Linocut by Donna Thomas originally made for A91.
“There is no text. This book was made using printed sheets left over from proofing the block for Four Views of Kealakekua Bay [A90], which was designed as a scroll. When folded as an accordion the folds did not lay in the right places. We were quite pleased with our solution: trimming the left end of the illustration brought the center of the illustration to the center fold of the book.”