Historic Photos of Oregon

Last week, William C. Stack was at Broadway Books to present his recently published book, Historic Photos of Oregon, published by Turner Publishing. The book offers a pictorial history of Oregon from the 1860s to the 1970s. Before the event, he spoke briefly with Roberta Dyer, co-owner of Broadway Books.

Tonight at 7 - Oregon's History in Pictures

Oregon is one darned beautiful state. Of course, some might consider me a little biased, given that I am a native Oregon, but what the heck. Just try and prove me wrong! Tonight, historian William Stack will likely prove me right, as he presents his recently published book Historic Photos of Oregon (Turner Publishing), through discussion and slides.

This pictorial history of Oregon, which offers 200 black-and-white photographs, covers the years 1860 through 1971, in five chronological chapters. Although many people are aware of Dorothea Lange's stunning photographs humanizing the tragic consequences of the Great Depression, most people associate her work with California and the Southwest. But she also came to Oregon, where her images of southern and eastern Oregon during the Depression reveal the hardscrabble life of that place and time while also showing the inner strength, pride and joy of those hardworking people. The book includes fifteen of her photographs of Oregon.

Another major photographer represented in the collection is Edward S. Curtis, who spent his life documenting life among the indigenous peoples of the American West. The book also shows scenes from the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition; an early shot from the Multnomah Athletic Club, established in 1891; a motorcycle club from 1941, the construction of the Bonneville Dam, Celilo Falls before the building of the Dalles Dam flooded the falls; climbers on Mt. Hood throughout the years; and a wonderful photograph from 1912 of Abigal Scott Duniway, Oregon'smost prominent suffragette, with Governor Oswald West and Viola M. Coe, signing Oregon's Equal Suffrage Proclamation.

In addition to its gorgeous scenery, Oregon has a marvelously interesting history. We hope you can join us tonight at 7 pm for this wonderful event.

A Moment of Silence

We were terribly saddened yesterday to hear of the passing of Terry Toedtemeier, curator of photography at the Portland Art Museum for more than 20 years. As the Museum's first curator of photography, he assembled a collection of more than 5,000 images for the Museum which chronicle the history of photography. Most recently, in collaboration with John Laursen, he produced the spectacular book Wild Beauty: Photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867-1957, the basis for the current exhibit at the Museum. Prior to joining the Museum, Terry was one of the founding artists of the Blue Sky Gallery in 1975 and served as its co-director. As a photographer, he particularly liked to explore the spectacular geology of the Pacific Northwest, building on his degree in earth science from Oregon State University.

Terry was a native Portlander whose Oregon ancestry dated back to the pioneer migration along the Oregon Trail in the 1850s. His passion for the geology and history of the Columbia River Gorge, for the history of photography, and for the beauty of the world that surrounds us was evident when he spoke at the launch of Wild Beauty.

Our condolences to Terry's friends and family, and also to his collaborator on Wild Beauty, John Laursen.

Ok, so this doesn't have anything to do with books, but we're all readers, right? And readers are interested in all sorts of things. I drive on Highway 26 between here and the coast a fair amount, and I am consistently amazed by the level of damage caused by last winter's wind storms. Even now, almost a year later, you can still see giant tree root balls by the side of the road, looking like some angry giant came through knocking trees down. According to an article in today's Oregonian, from Newport to Astoria "the storm flattened 3500 acres of trees, leveling 40 million board feet of timber, enough to build 1100 2000-square-foot homes." Wow. That is an astonishing level of destruction.

That's a lot of candles!

February 14, 2009, marks the 150th birthday of the state of Oregon. To honor this sesquicentennial (try saying THAT word three times fast), Matt Love and the Nestucca Spit Press have just released Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon's Sesquicentennial Anthology, A Merging of Past and Present Oregon Voices and Stories. Edited by Matt Love, the volume contains works both contemporary and historical and includes writings by Kim Stafford, Don Berry, Kathleen Dean Moore, H.L. Davis, Melissa Madenski, Monica Drake, Joe Kurmaskie, Henk Pander, Ken Babbs, Ken Kesey, Jeff Baker, Barry Lopez, Cheryl Strayed, and many many more. It concludes with the poem William Stafford, former Poet Laureate of Oregon, read at the opening session of the 1987 Oregon House of Representatives. This wonderful treasure of all that is Oregon can be yours for only $30. What a wonderful holiday gift this would make.

Signed First Editions!

Speaking of Wild Beauty, we have signed first editions of this spectacular volume. This book has knocked our socks off, and we were thrilled to host John Laursen at the store recently, discussing the making of this book -- which was literally years in the making. The book is a splendid combination of scholarship, history, and art that illuminates the rich photographic heritage of the Gorge with 134 images by three dozen photographers. The amazing photos -- many never before available to the general public -- and insightful text are printed on yummy archival paper, and the whole package was produced locally. At only $75, this book makes an excellent gift -- especially for yourself! We also have unframed posters for $20 and boxes of cards (10 cards with 10 separate images) for $15. But they're all going fast!

PNBA Book Award Short List

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association has just announced its first-ever Book Awards short list! The titles were selected by a committee of independent booksellers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The following twelve books were chosen from a list of more than 100 nominees, all of which were written by Northwest authors and published in 2008.

• American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon, by Steven Rinella (Spiegel & Grau)
• The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein (Harper)
• Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs, by Buddy Levy (Bantam Books)
• The Eleventh Man, by Ivan Doig (Harcourt)
• The English Major, by Jim Harrison (Grove Press)
• Guernica: A Novel, by Dave Boling (Bloomsbury)
• The Jewel of Medina: A Novel, by Sherry Jones (Beaufort Books)
• Little Hoot, Jen Corace, illustrator (Chronicle Books)
• Selected Poems: 1970-2005, by Floyd Skloot (Tupelo Press)
• Shopping for Porcupine: A Life in Arctic Alaska, by Seth Kantner (Milkweed Editions)
• Wild Beauty: Photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867-1957, by Terry Toedtemeier and John Laursen (The Northwest Photography Archive & Oregon State University Press)
• The Wink of the Zenith: The Shaping of a Writer's Life, by Floyd Skloot (University of Nebraska Press)

Congratulations to all of the nominees! The winners will be announced in January 2009 -- stay tuned to this blog for more information!

Twilight on the Big Screen

Last night the filmed-in-Oregon movie based on the book Twilight hit the theaters to astoundingly large and enthusiastic crowds. This romantic thriller about teen vampires and the human girl who falls in love has taken the teen -- and adult -- world by storm. Check out all four books in the series by Stephenie Meyer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. If you've read all of those and are hungry for more, here are some ideas: The Host, Meyer's first adult novel, a science fiction tale with an eye for romance; Marked, Book One in the House of Night teen vampire series by P.C. and Kristin Cast; and the Sookie Stackhouse vampire mystery novels by Charlaine Harris -- the basis for the new HBO series True Blood.