A145. Shenandoah

A145. Peter and Donna Thomas. Shenandoah. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2011.

76 x 76 mm (3” x 3”), 12-page accordion, 22 copies.

Binding: Simple accordion; covers are brown cloth over boards. Title in green on printed label on cover. Printed label on back cover. End sheets light red. Accordion printed on both sides. Paper: Salmon, handmade by Peter and Donna Thomas. Printing: Letterpress; printed in multiple layers. Typography: Hand set Playbill and wood types; text in green, orange, red, and yellow. Illustration: Antique printer’s cuts of covered wagons printed over paper pulp painting spanning one side of accordion. Notes: The printer’s cuts came from Karla Elling’s collection (see note in A141) and are printed over the paper pulp painting.

“The text is the refrain from the song of the same title. As we found when making Don’t Fence Me In [A141], excerpts of the lyrics from a song can conjure whole pages of text in the viewers mind. In this case the words and melody expresses what could be the archetypal westward movement experience.”