-Audrey Sage
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Special Collections has acquired a copy of the delightful artist book, created by Peter and Donna Thomas, which gives homage to the awe inspiring Half Dome batholith at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California.
The artists created this tiny tome in 2000, making 130 copies. They tell the story of Yosemite’s Half Dome, its discovery and first ascents with footnoted text. Within the thirty two pages are two black and five 3-color block print illustrations by Donna Thomas and text that is hand set and letterpress printed on Peter’s handmade paper.
The book has been coptic bound with redwood boards and is 3 inches by 2 1/4 inches.
“YOSEMITE VALLEY, nestled in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, is undoubtedly one of the ten wonders of the world, and Half Dome is its crown. The Ahwahneeche, the native people of Yosemite, tell a story about Half Dome: Tis-sa-ack was beaten by her husband for drinking all the water in Mirror Lake and leaving none for him. Humiliated and in pain she threw her basket at him. The Great Spirit was angered and turned them both to stone. Tis-sa-ack became Half Dome, and the Ahwahneeche say the streaks on the cliff’s face are the tears that ran down her face.
Settlers did not find the valley until the time of the gold rush. In 1849 a prospector, William Abrams, penned the first description of Half Dome.”
“(It is a) rounded mountain… the valley side of which looked as though it had been sliced with a knife as one would slice a loaf of bread …” -William Abrams journal entry, October 18, 1849. (The Abrams’ diary was not discovered until 1947, when William C. Barry of Glendale, California, found it while tracing the Abrams’ genealogy.)
“The first California Geological Survey of the Yosemite region was made in 1864. Josiah
D. Whitney, who was in charge of that expedition, made the first official report on Half Dome: “It is a crest of granite rising to the height of 4,737 feet above the Valley, perfectly inaccessible, being probably
the only one of the prominent points about the Yosemite, which never has been, and never will be trodden by human foot.” –“The Geological Survey of California, Volume I,” was published in 1865. This statement was also included in his 1869 “Yosemite Guide-Book”
“It was not long until Whitney was proven wrong. On October 12, 1875, George Ander-son, a Yosemite trail builder, summited Half Dome.”
‘When the naturalist John Muir, who was the first to ascend many of the peaks in the Sierra, heard of Anderson’s achievement, he “made haste to the Dome, not only for the pleasure of climbing, but to see what I might learn.” He climbed Anderson’s ropes in November of 1875 and recorded the plant and animal life in his diary, which included many wildflowers and “four clumps of pines growing on the summit, representing three species…” ‘
‘Before the 20th century, first ascents had been made on most of Yosemite’s peaks and climbers began to attempt more difficult routes. Technical innovations, like the use of safety ropes in the 1930s, enabled climbers to reach summits by routes previously thought impassable. It became a mountaineers’ dream to climb the remaining slopes of Half Dome.
John Salathe, a Swiss mountaineer and ironworker, designed and built steel pitons which he used to make the first ascent up the southwest face of the Dome in 1946.
Rock climbing steadily grew in popularity during the 1940s and 50s. In 1957, Royal Robbins made the first ascent of the almost vertical northwest face.
The route inched up narrow cracks and traversed along tiny ledges. He pioneered another route, which he called “Tis-sa-ack,” for it followed the algae-stained “tears” on the granite face. He made four “first as-cents” on Half Dome, one with his wife Liz, who became the first woman to climb the northwest face. Robbins once said,
“I’d love to own Half Dome,” a statement representative of an attitude of that time. There was great competition to be the first to establish new routes up Yosemite Valley walls to the shoulder on the north side where a pair of seven hundred foot cable handrails stretch to the top. Adventurous hikers cling to these cables as they summit Half Dome and add it to their list of mountaintop experiences. ‘
To honor and preserve this special book, a custom enclosure was designed by senior conservator, Audrey Sage. Because if it’s small stature, unlike Half Dome, the enclosure needed to be large enough to make a stand on the shelf to ensure it does not become overlooked. The silver ink embossed on the redwood covers provided a perfect opportunity to utilize the silver bookcloth.
For added fun, a special platform and tab within the box was created to lift the book up and out of its comfortable recess.
It is delightful to be a part of the caretaking of special artist books, protecting and appreciating the vision, artistry, and craftsmanship that has gone into this work of art.
