Northland Press and the Fine Art of Bookmaking

WHEN LAWRENCE CLARK POWELL did an article on Northland Press in this magazine back in 1963, he said some very kind words about our printing and bookmaking and predicted a fine future. In his most complimentary article, this Dean Emeritus of the UCLA Library School said: "If I had been asked to name the Arizona locale of a typographical renaissance, I am sure Flagstaff would have been the least likely place; and not because of any prejudice I have against that community up in Coconino County."

A few months ago an eastern critic, while reviewing one of our most recent books, expressed surprise that a book of its calibre could have been produced ". . . in Flagstaff, Arizona, which is not exactly the book publishing capital of America, or anything else. . . ." We were amused by his comment; it had a very familiar ring to it. The question we hear over and again is: "Do you actually design, print, and publish your books in Flagstaff?"

The answer is an unequivocal "Yes!" but as Dr. Powell noted in his article, which gave a complete history of Northland Press as well as biographical notes on my career, the choice of both the locale and the bookmaking came about probably more by accident or destiny than through any planned program for the future.

In the few years prior to my arrival in Flagstaff, my activities were not even remotely related to publishing. I had spent almost three years sailing in the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic, and finally doing charter work with my own sailboat in the Windward Islands.

During the day I had been waddin' money up and stickin' it in my pockets. I set down on my bedroll and straightened out my money and felt good about the whole trip. Since I had bought these horses cheap and drove 'em a long ways, this had been a successful trip. I paid Choc and Friole all I owed them and gave them an extra $20 apiece for travelin' money to get home on. BEN K. GREEN

LAST TRAIL DRIVE THROUGH DOWNTOWN DALLAS

However, in my earlier years, printing and publishing had been my dominant interest. I grew up in my father's printing plant in Santa Monica, California, and had graduated with a major in journalism from the University of Nevada. In 1950, after a few short-term forays into the graphics field, I founded the Pacific Palisades Post in California. This venture was quite successful, but in early 1954 I sold the newspaper, and it was then that I took leave of the U.S. to look around the Mediterranean and Europe. In 1958, an offer to temporarily manage Northland Press, with an option to buy, was accepted, and the move to Flagstaff was accomplished. The Press was a typical small, country printing plant and did not suggest the idea of fine printing, much less publishing. The eventual growth into bookmaking did not follow a necessarily logical sequence of events, but was more the gradual realization of a desire to return to publishing. Most small regional publishers have made the transition, either partial or complete, from the commercial printing field as an artistic and creative release or as a “filler” for some of the inevitable slack periods. The transition at Northland Press was motivated by both factors. Naturally, in the past few years the creative aspect has dominated, and the so-called slack periods no longer exist — about now we could use a good breather. As you grow you discover, many times the hard way, that it is difficult to be a part-time publisher, and the total transition to bookmaking, particularly when you're a long way from “the city,” has some unique and unpredictable rough spots. In retrospect, it seems ironic that we even really considered ourselves publishers in the early sixties. I'm sure no one else did, since our number of titles was so small. One year we didn't publish one book. In less than a decade, though, the complete tran-

Of all the talented and well educated men who were attracted to the West in the 1880s and 1890s, these two are of the most important. It is good to know that these old accounts by Roosevelt, and their dashing and accurate illustrations by Remington, are to be put within reach of the public once more. HELEN CARD

RANCH LIFE IN THE FAR WEST

I have always admired both the man and the painter but I can see that, in most cases, it takes a Westerner to really appreciate Maynard Dixon. Westerners know that he could paint into his pictures much of their own feelings toward the country they live in, and vast lonely ranges can best be appreciated in picture form by people who know these ranges by experience. DON PERCEVAL

MAYNARD DIXON SKETCH BOOK

Transition has been made, and our list of new titles for this fall alone will be a baker's dozen. Now our entire staff is busy making books, and the last of the small commercial work has finally been phased out.

Fine printing and the attempt to produce fine books go back a long, long way. It seems incredible today, with all of our technological advances, that the Gutenberg Bible, printed before 1456, should still be considered by experts as one of the most beautiful books ever printed. In this instance, technology may have proved to be more of a hindrance than a help. As the beautiful handset, handprinted books gave way to machine-printed books, the making of books, except in limited editions by men of real dedication, gradually changed from an art to a trade. The old masters of the printing art, it must be remembered, worked hard to satisfy a select few. Later, as mechanization took over to supply books in greater quantities, there were still many men like William Morris and Ben Franklin who did their best to preserve the real art of fine printing.

Fortunately, despite the transition to modern printing and bookmaking methods, there were men like Bruce Rogers of the Riverside Press to guide the makers of fine books. His influence, along with that of others such as Frederick W. Goudy, is still inspiring many book designers today.

Rogers once described the kind of book we are sincerely trying to produce at Northland Press: "... a beautiful book should first be an efficient instrument; it should be legible and easy to read. It may at the same time be a work of art, with a beauty and personality of its own."

To me, the making of a book is exciting in all phases and encompasses a vast variety of creative challenges. From the initial mention of an editorial idea or manuscript, or the first glimpse of an illus tration, the romance begins and doesn't end until the book is completed. It is the full and gratifying satisfaction of doing your best in selection, design, and final execution.

I consider Olaf Wieghorst the outstanding contemporary Western artist. There are many others who share this feeling, for his paintings are in the private collections of Western art including those of The Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas, and The Whitney Gallery, Cody, Wyoming. Although there are some who challenge this, Olaf Wieghorst is top hand for me. BARRY GOLDWATER

THE STORY OF OLAF WIEGHORST

Each of our very first two books in 1962, Navajo Sketch Book by Clay Lockett and Don Perceval, and Torrent in the Desert by Jeanne and Weston Lee, had a unique beginning and presented many challenges. Lawrence Powell stated: "The Navajo Sketch Book is the most beautiful book ever published in Arizona." I'm damned if I'll disagree. It is hard to top the drawings of Don Perceval, the knowledge able writing of Clay Lockett, and the design talents of John Anderson, who was with me at the time. Navajo Sketch Book is now in its second edition and continues to sell and receive favorable attention in reviews. It holds its own on the display shelf with our newer books and has, as Bruce Rogers said, "... a beauty and personality of its own." Torrent in the Desert has been out of print for years, but it was considered a success in all ways. Nevertheless, we certainly feel we have learned a great deal about bookmaking since our first titles appeared and we expect to go on learning.

When the reading of a manuscript immediately ignites the formation of both visual and graphic ideas, the book is beginning. The ideas may ebb and flow, be altered and modified, but they are always funneling to one goal - the finished book. Each demands a different approach, each offers a special challenge.

The story of bookmaking in a small regional press such as Northland can best be told by retracing major steps of one of our recent books a limited edition which was published in April and sold out in June. This book was sheer fun all the way and combined every element which is indigenous to our scale of operations and our part of the country.

The author, Dr. Ben K. Green of Cumby, Texas, The Seri Indians have not only the sky and the land, but the sea also. And they belong to no one. They have to work for what they have and they have to work even harder to survive. Because they live so close to nature, they live a natural life. They respect and honor Mother Nature's ways. They have learned tolerance. And they know how to wait, and wait . . . and wait. TED DE GRAZIA The big potbellied stove was kept roaring and the bullpen was plenty warm, but back of the counter it was really cold. The Navajos would come in, wrapped in their robes, and, if it was snowing and the robes were wet, so much the worse - they would make for the hot stove and hover so close they steamed and scorched their robes. CHARLES NEWCOMBhad been introduced to me through mutual friends at the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. He was a successful veterinarian in West Texas for many years and a noted expert on horses. When I first visited him at his office in Greenville, it was to discuss his book, The Color of Horses. During the visit he mentioned another manuscript, which he had tentatively titled The Last Trail Drive Through Downtown Dallas, and we then talked about the possibility of my publishing it in a limited printing. Well, Ben Green is a damn funny guy and a most successful storyteller, so I was very anxious to read this West Texas yarn of his boyhood horsetrading experiences.

From the first reading I knew this was a wonderful story for Northland Press and I could already visualize it as a fine little book.

After simple, but firm contract negotiations (Ben's a tough, wily old codger), the editing of the manuscript was started by our editor Doris Monthan. Now, some manuscripts are difficult, take considerable rewriting, checking, researching, and general reorganization; but in this case, it was flat simple. Ben writes exactly as he saw it, and that ends it, as Doris soon discovered on her first meeting with the seasoned author. Only two minor changes were recommended and both were shot out of the saddle by a brief, but eloquent lecture on West Texas dialogue from author Green.

Ben writes with full command of the era in which the story takes place, and the manuscript demanded illustrations which created the same feeling and authenticity which Ben had caught in his words.

The person I thought of immediately was friend and well-known Western artist, Joe Beeler, who lives just a good lope from here in Sedona. I gave him the manuscript, and after a few days, checked back to see how he felt about it. As I anticipated, he

The Navajos are the largest American Indian tribe. They are a colorful people in a colorful country. They have been attracting artists and photographers for over a century. Don Perceval and Clay Lockett in their book have caught the land and its people, the feel and the atmosphere of the Navajo. WILL ROGERS, JR.

A NAVAJO SKETCH BOOK

thought the story fun and said he'd really enjoy doing the illustrations and working with Ben. The final acceptance of all illustrations for the book was up to Ben, so Joe did a preliminary sketch. In many of our books, particulary the art books, we work very closely with the author from the original concept through most of the planning, editing, and design stages. When we presented the sketch, Dr. Green expressed not only satisfaction but downright enthusiasm, so Joe went ahead with the illustrations and we were one more step down the trail.

With an edited manuscript and finished illustrations in hand, I then worked very closely with our designer, Robert Jacobson, to actually set on paper a working layout of the visual ideas suggested by the story and illustrations. We decided on the typeface, the deposition of space as to margins, color combinations, paper, and binding cloth - all with an eye to general harmony and suitability to the book's theme. In this case we aimed at an earthy, rustic quality, choosing coarse-textured brown cloth for the cover, textured gold end sheets, and offwhite, laid text paper. We chose sepia and black for the two ink colors, using the black for the type and combining it with the sepia to achieve greater depth and tonal variation in the illustrations. Also, the sepia tones seemed to suggest the period and general area of the story. Publisher's Weekly gave the book a send-off with an advance review and a reproduction of one of the illustrations. They fastened on the very quality we were hoping to achieve throughout the planning of the book: "A warmly appealing bit of nostalgic Americana, enriched by some fine authentic illustrations. ." It was the beginning of an actual bombardment of great reviews, and to top it off, it was just our luck to finally hit the best seller list with a limited edition. The Last Trail Drive Through

Al Nestler's Southwest, forty years of it,

presented through the perceptive eye and skilled hand of a fine landscape painter. ROBERT MACLEOD

AL NESTLER'S SOUTHWEST Now I've watched these dudes all pretty clost

And from what I've observed right here at the ranch the tougher you make it for a dude an' the more miserable he is while he's out on the courst the better he likes this game. ROSS SANTEE

THE BAR X GOLF COURSE

Downtown Dallas was in the top ten of the Fort Worth-Dallas area for weeks, and for a while it was second only to The Sensuous Man, which shows even Texans have more than one interest.

At any rate, the entire production was one of those happy combinations of talents and decisions which prove to be right all the way down the line. I say "prove to be" because you cannot be sure until the book is in the hands of the reader. There are no hard and fast rules to guarantee success. In good book design there are no exacting bounds or limits, but I feel you have an obligation to the reader, your ultimate audience. Here, as Bruce Rogers said, is the final test of good book design: is the book a happy experience for the reader, is it properly telling the story, is it effectively utilizing the art, do all of these elements seem to be naturally and effortlessly combined? Too often books are designed for the designer's sake, not the reader's. Margins, type selec-tion, tone of paper, and even the proportions of the page can either help or hinder the reader.

Here at Northland we still believe in setting our type by the linotype machine or, what is called, "hot" rather than "cold" composition. Computerized typesetting has certainly made its mark in newspapers and textbooks, but I feel fine typesetting is still in the hands of a skilled linotype operator and will be for some time to come. Not only does the linotype hold a consistent quality in the actual printed word, but when operated by a skilled typesetter, it provides the proper spacing in word division, use of ligatures, and achieves the fine, even look that a page of type should have. When quality is the chief concern, mechanical typesetting in no way competes with the handset or monotype methods. England is about the last country to still do most of its composition by monotype, which is mid-ground between handset and linotype.

He paints in a liberated yet disciplined style; and as a colorist, few can surpass him. Boren is a versatile artist who works well in both oil and watercolor. This book has the extraordinary quality of being the outgrowth of mutual respect resulting from hard work and years of close association. Dean Krakel's research and writing, like James Boren's painting style, is disciplined. JACK BARTFIELD

JAMES BOREN: A STUDY IN DISCIPLINE

Another phase of bookmaking, graphic reproduction, is one of particular importance to us as we continue to do more and more art books. Some of the various art media are easier to reproduce than others. Reproducing wash drawings, for instance, can be very elementary. In the case of Ben Green's book, they were expertly rendered by Joe and eventually reproduced in two colors. But reproduction of illustrations can be the major effort and dominating factor in the making of a book such as our Olaf Wieghorst which had thirty-two full-color paintings. In this award-winning book we made our color separations directly from the original oil paintings and watercolors selected by Olaf to illustrate the story of his life. This necessitated shipping original art from collectors and museums in all parts of the country. At one time over $100,000 worth of the Wieghorst work was in our plant. We feel it is very important, if at all possible, to work from the original art rather than color transparencies. Color reproduction is always critical, and when working directly from the original art, you eliminate the interpretation of the photographer. Also you are working from an original art surface to a printed surface which gives you the advantage of both surfaces reflecting the same light rather than the light being transmitted through the transparency. However, if we relied solely on working from the original art we would be producing far fewer books; it is frequently too impractical if not impossible because of logistics to have the original art. One of our most monumental efforts in fine bookmaking was the recently published Harmsen's Western Americana which had 100 color reproductions of Western paintings. We did all the color separations from very fine, professionally photographed 4 x 5 transparencies and the final results were excellent. It's a simple theory of not attempting unnecessary shortcuts or working with materials that are not of the finest quality, for in bookmaking too many unpredictable problems arise, even under the best of plans and ideal conditions.

This is a bilingual book, in which the English was written to be completely translatable into Navajo without any change of meaning. Such a text was made possible with the help of Irvy Goossen. Words and phrases are introduced gradually, the entire vocabulary is controlled, and repetitions are made where possible to give needed practice. JERRY HALL

KEE'S HOME: A BEGINNING NAVAJO READER

The man seen here was a man who knew the value of freedom; a man who walked and lived with God; a man whose eyes needed beauty as a way of life. Come then with me and join these men who have just come in from the mountains and the prairies. Come and rub shoulders with these men who have made the history of the West and who live again in this book of the Brulé people. PAUL DYCK

BRULE: THE SIOUX PEOPLE OF THE ROSEBUD

After the final typesetting and art reproduction, the book goes through a number of other steps - the preparing of negatives, stripping and plate-making - before going to press, another crucial step. The press of today is regulated by automatic controls and the whole printing process can be rather mechanical. It's a long way from methods used centuries back - the dampening of the paper and application by delicate pressure to a handset, movable type. Even today, though, it is an exacting process. The applying of ink to paper on the press must be done with a consistency in color and coverage that in no way varies to the eye or in the densitometer which electronically guides the pressman in his control of color density. Here, again, the personal touch enters. In the case of color reproductions, the pressman, as well as myself when possible, continually check against the original art or against the transparency. This constant comparison is often the saving grace in accurate color reproduction.

When we have finally "put our book on paper," the signatures, or folded pages are taken for binding to Roswell Bookbinding in Phoenix. Here the pages are Smyth-sewn, glued, and the cases, or clothcovered boards, made for final bookbinding. It is our good fortune to have such book-oriented and dedicated people as Mark and Iris Roswell to work with us at this important stage. Again, in our hurried world, they take that additional time and give that extra attention which is essential in producing a quality book.

It is always an exciting day at Northland Press to see the final book bound, dust-jacketed, and ready to be sent out into the world - hopefully, to Ryan is painting the contemporary West with understanding and ability. He has almost completely veered away from the typical historical episodes and scenes of the Old West, accomplished by names like Russell, Remington, Leigh, Schreyvogel. Tom feels strongly about the West of today. As a result of this feeling, he is living and painting in the heart of one of America's greatest ranching countries. DEAN KRAKELAs bring pleasure to that ultimate audience, the reader. As satisfying as the artistic and mechanical production of books can be, it cannot compare with the thrill of working with their initial creators, the authors and illustrators. Working with an author like Frank Waters while doing a book on the late Leon Gaspard was unforgettable. Robert Kittredge brought back old sailing days while editing and designing the little book we did with him called SelfTaught Navigation. When working with artists like Phil Curtis, Ted De Grazia, Lew Davis, Joe Beeler, the late Al Nestler and authors such as Alvin Gordon, K. T. Palmer, Joe Lincoln, and Charles Newcomb, one is aware of the tremendous talent in our state. Kind of a double-header was putting our Brulé book together with Paul Dyck, who filled the roles of both artist and author. All the nice things I could say about this experience are pretty well summed up in the American West review: "Coming at a time When the nation is inexorably turning, under pressure, to a long-delayed reexamination of the fate of its Indian citizens, this book is more properly valued as a timely book of worth and significance, brilliantly executed by its author and its publisher." A meeting in Westport, Connecticut with the famous illustrator Harold Von Schmidt to discuss our forthcoming book on his life was a look back into the pages of the old Saturday Evening Post. The author, Walt Reed, a former New York illustrator of note and now with the Famous Artists School, is also a wonderful man and very skillful in his appraisal of Von Schmidt. Reed's earlier book, The Illustrator in America, is recognized as the Bible of the illustrating field. Both editorially and artistically we've been fortunate to associate with a lovely lady like Janice Lovoos, now writing the life of Frederic Whitaker, nationally famous watercolorist, which is scheduled for publi-cation next spring. Add to that, the dynamic Dean Krakel, Director of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, who wrote our James Boren book and has now finished his second title for us, Tom Ryan: A Painter in Four Sixes Country. Tom, like James Boren and Joe Beeler, are members of the Cowboy Artists of America and all have been award winners at their annual shows at the Cowboy Hall of Fame. I'm proud to say that Northland Press now produces the CAA annual exhibition catalog.Incidentally, Arizona should be proud of its six Cowboy Artists of America members which include Charlie Dye, Sedona; John Hampton, Scottsdale; Wayne Hunt, Cornville; Brownell McGrew, Cottonwood; and Jim Reynolds, Sedona, as well as Beeler. The annual show in Oklahoma City is attended and supported by many Arizona Western art collectors.Our sights are zeroed in on the Southwest, I admit, but we've added an international touch by the recent signing of a book contract with sculptor Harry Jackson. His forthcoming book, The Art of Bronze Casting, deals editorially and pictorially with the lost wax process. Harry maintains his studio in Wyoming and his bronze foundry in Italy - it's located at the foot of the Carrara Mountains where Michelangelo once worked. You might recognize Harry as the fellow who did the "True Grit" bronze of John Wayne, which appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

So you can see, bookmaking has some thrilling sides, all the hurry-up and wait of the military, the creation of possibly an artist or author, and at times the satisfaction of having contributed to the Western or, hopefully, the full scene.

Whatever the day may bring in this personal attempt at contributing, we all find it much more pleasant here in the cool pines below the Peaks in Flagstaff, Arizona.

ROUND THE WORLD Subscribe To ARIZONA HIGHWAYS THE MOST GIFTED OF ALL

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$5.00 U.S.A. & POSS. $6.00 ELSEWHERE Start your gift subscriptions with the fifty-two page full color Christmas issue which will be mailed in a specially designed envelope.

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GIFT ORDERS

RE-CREATED

Horizon-ringed by mountains, this desert plateau waits in darkness no bird calls no wind rustle all is freshly created waiting for the breath of life . . .

A golden gong sounds, sun haloes a blue peak bird calls answer wind warms as with a burst of light desert breathes alive!

TRANSITION

Sunset lays a scarlet cloak Across the evening sky And twilight pins it with a star As shadowy night draws nigh.

EARLY AUTUMN

Now the predicted season Begins A slow design; Changing Summer landscape With advancing Haste.

Deep woods wake, New colors Brighten the maples, Stir; Continue Autumn's promise In the festive air.

THE WIND

The movement of wind, The green mint as it twines: All pleasant things That the heart binds Into dreams of beauty and grace Wherever one might go If found in your face And its heavenly glow.

CACTUS AND THE COTTONWOOD

In thorned regions Stand the ranks Of patient cactus Watching with vegetable patience The deserts' dying The winds' empty voice As aliens Obliterate In well meant ignorance The cactus and the cottonwood

YOURS SINCERELY THE VIEW FROM ENGLAND

Some friends who live in California have been sending me your various publications for the past few years. I have always found them interesting, extremely beautiful, and, in the case of the Bar X Golf Course, hilariously funny. I am like Mrs. John Moore of Las Vegas (does anyone actually live in Las Vegas?), and I do not let my copy out of my house.

Since I have been working as an IBM Composer operator, I have been associated with a publication called The Greenwich Times, which is produced locally and aimed at the tourists who come to Greenwich in large numbers every year. The publication takes the form of a newspaper, and is proving very popular. It is a very different production from ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, but it does mean that I take something of a professional interest in my monthly reminder of my American friends.

I have found your June issue with the Kachina dolls strangely moving. Even though the text is written with genuine sympathy and understanding, I felt that there was still a gulf between the European-based cultures I know (and understanding up to a point) and this native American culture of which I had previously been quite unaware. Maybe one day I will visit your state and perhaps understand a little better.

Many thanks, though, for opening my eyes to the beauty of America. Those of us who have never been there, but think we know it well through the inexhaustible flood of "Westerns," are almost completely unaware of the beauty of America, although much of it appears to be geological, whereas the English countryside tends to be primarily agricultural.

I shall continue to read your magazines with great pleasure, and only hope that my American friends, who apparently normally holiday in your area, will continue to give me this delightful twelve-times-a-year Christmas present.

Mrs. J. Birchenough London SE 12 8 LR England

HONORS FROM OUR NEIGHBORS

The featured article, "The Enduring Intrigue of the Glass Trade Bead," by Cloyd Sorensen appearing in the July issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS was well presented and beautifully illustrated with the author's own photographs.

Our Assemblyman John Stull's Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee is studying and dedi cating local historic sites as landmarks or points of interest in our San Diego County area. Members are becoming more and more aware of the necessity of accurate accounts of historic items and events. Also our awareness is broadening as to the wide spectra of items which are significantly related to history and which are in dire need of careful study, of preservation for the future, and of thoroughness of recording.

The committee has been organized for a year and a half and are proud of Mr. Sorensen's membership and contribution to the deliberations of the advisory group. Members appreciate his intense scrutiny and desire for accuracy in projects with which he becomes engrossed.

At our July meeting, the advisory committee voted to express to you our thanks for publishing this fascinating article.

Helen E. Green, Secretary Assemblyman John Stull's Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee San Diego County, Calif.

SEE AMERICA FIRST

"Arizona Wild Flowers" issue has just arrived, and I heartily agree with Mr. Wayne Williams' appraisal on the unmatched artistry in the world's greatest magazine.

Last year my brother Ben and wife Hermine were in Europe and spent some time in Switzerland. They were scheduled to spend a month in Spain. I wrote him at Geneva as follows: "The post-card scenery in Switzerland is great. If you will pick up a copy of the current issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, you will note that Sedona's Oak Creek Canyon area has been pronounced "the most beautiful spot in the entire world. That covers a lot of territory, but it is true."

To my surprise my brother cancelled his intended trip to Spain and caught a plane to Phoenix, and spent a month at Sedona. He agrees with the pronouncement.

We were former residents of Tucson for twenty years and my son Bill is just now completing the building of a home in Sedona.

S. H. Mathews El Cajon, California

If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.

OPPOSITE PAGE

The Last Flowers of the Old Season BOB BRADSHAW

BACK COVER

Road to Sunset Crater National Monument HERB AND DOROTHY MCLAUGHLIN