Red Butte Press/ Publications
Text page and flyout detail
Problems of Description in the Language of Discovery is the second Book Arts Program imprint. Katharine Coles—Guggenheim Fellow, University of Utah literature and creative writing professor, and former Utah Poet Laureate—wrote Problems of Description during a research trip to Antarctica, where she worked and lived alongside scientists and engineers. Coles’s text explores the language and apparent magic inherent to scientific discovery. The book’s wire binding and sturdy Mylar® cover allude to field researchers’ weatherproof notebooks. Fully extended, the vertically oriented accordion resembles an ice core, and translucent flyouts and overlays reveal content as through layers of ice.
Red Butte Press announces Wo/Men at Work, its first Book Arts Program imprint. The book contains an introductory essay by Matthew Basso and Andrew Farnsworth; Ralph Powell’s story about the rodeo, “Everything’s Dangerous,” from the Federal Writer’s Project collection Men at Work(forthcoming from University of Utah Press, edited by Matthew Basso); and a contemporary response by Judy Blunt entitled “Cooking from Scratch,” in which the author, who grew up on a Montana ranch, explores the notion of “women’s work.” This unique, 32-page, W-fold pamphlet is printed on Rives Heavyweight and BFK papers.
Perhaps this is reflective of a cultural desire to resituate the sacredness of the crafted object just as its status and physicality is being degraded and confused by the rapid advancement of textual technologies. Or, simply put, it’s nice just to be able to touch something.
—Excerpt from “Consuming Labor: A preface to Wo/Men at Work,"Matthew Basso and Andrew Farnsworth
Editions & Imprints
Problems of Description in the Language of Discovery
Katharine Coles
2012/13
Illustrations by Mary Toscano
Zerkall Frankfurt and Arturo papers, with Minogami flyouts; wire bound with sanded Mylar® cover
Limited edition of 275 numbered, 26 lettered
Available price: $165
Contact Red Butte Press at 801-585-9191 or email
Wo/Men at Work
Matthew Basso and Andrew Farnsworth, Judy Blunt, and Ralph Powell
2012
Illustrations by Laura Decker and Claire Taylor
French mouldmade papers bound in a W-fold pamphlet; 32 pages
Limited edition of 226 (26 lettered and 200 numbered)
Available price: $125
Contact Red Butte Press at 801-585-9191 or email
To a Young Writer
Wallace Stegner (1909–1993)
2009
Dedication by Wendell Berry, introduction by Lynn Stegner
Printed on an 1846 Columbian Handpress
Bound in wood, cloth and calfskin; housed in clamshell box; 28 pages
Limited edition of 125
Available price: $790
Contact Red Butte Press at 801-585-9191 or email
Something Lived, Something Dreamed; Urban Design and the American West
William McDonough (1951)
2004
Letterpress monoprints by Christopher Stern
Signed by author and artist
Bound using post consumer recycled aluminum and reclaimed wood; housed in clamshell box; 32 pages
Limited edition of 125
Available price: $690
Contact Red Butte Press at 801-585-9191 or email
The Firebird's Nest
Salman Rushdie (1947)
2004
Linocuts by Alfredo Benavidez Bedoya
In collaboration with the publisher, the International Institute of Modern Letters
Signed by author and artist
Patterned black boards and quarter yellow leather spine in a matching clamshell box; 24 pages
Limited edition of 125 (26 lettered, 99 numbered)
Samarkand and Other Markets I have Known
Wole Soyinka (1934)
2003
Woodcuts by Robert Kleinschmidt
In collaboration with the publisher, the International Institute of Modern Letters
Japanese handmade and French mouldmade papers; housed in dark purple covered slipcase; 24 pages
Limited edition of 425 (26 lettered and 399 numbered)
Available price: $900
Contact Red Butte Press at 801-585-9191 or email
Wilderness Letter
Wallace Earle Stegner (1909–1993)
1995
Etchings by V. Douglas Snow; foreword by Page Segner
Oversize, bound in cottonwood; issued in case
Limited edition of 100 copies
A Poet's Alphabet of Influences
Mark Strand (1934)
1994
Drawings by Bonnie Sucec Signed by poet and artist
Issued in linen-bound case; 28 pages
Limited edition of 95 copies.
The Genius of the Culture
Sterling M. McMurrin (1914–1996)
1991
Lithographs by Wayne Kimball 23 pages
Limited edition of 85 copies
Dale L. Morgan's Utah
Dale Lowell Morgan (1914–1971)
1987
Woodcuts by Royden Card; afterword by Everett L. Cooley
30 leaves
Limited edition of 25 copies
Children of the Sun: Myths of the Mandan and Minnetaree as transcribed by Prince Maximilian zu Weid in Travels in the interior of North America in the years 1832–34
Prinz Maximilian von Wied (1783–1867)
1985
16 pages
Limited edition of 50 copies
An Excerpt from a Journey to Great-Salt-Lake City in 1855
Jules Remy (1826–1893)
1984
Introduction by Davis Bitton 35 pages
Limited edition of 50
Collaborations & Keepsakes
The First Mormon Book: A Celebration of the 1830 Book of Mormon with an Original Leaf
2000
Collaboration with Benchmark Books, Publisher
A Review, 1997
Luke Cosgrave (1947)
1997
LeConte Stewart (1891–1990) drawings rendered from engraved plates
Housed in linen clamshell box; 8 Pages
To Place an Order
Contact Red Butte Press at 801-585-9191 or email
Available for Purchase Now
Problems of Description in the Language of Discovery
By Katharine Coles
Problems of Description in the Language of Discovery is the second imprint of the Book Arts Program. Katharine Coles—Guggenheim Fellow, University of Utah literature and creative writing professor, and former Utah Poet Laureate—wrote Problems of Description during a research trip to Antarctica, where, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, she worked and lived alongside scientists and engineers. Coles’s text explores the language and apparent magic inherent to scientific discovery.
A gloss, extracted from Antarctic researchers’ handwritten field notebooks, interlaces the primary text of the poem. The gloss’s composition mirrors the process of percolation and embodies the concept of dialogue between disciplines and their respective dictions. The book’s wire binding and sturdy Mylar® cover allude to field researchers’ weatherproof notebooks. Fully extended, the vertically oriented accordion resembles an ice core, and translucent flyouts and overlays reveal content as through layers of ice. The edition is limited to 275 copies for sale, 26 hors de commerce.
$165
Wo/Men at Work
By Matthew Basso and Andrew Farnsworth, Judy Blunt, and Ralph Powell
Red Butte Press announces Wo/Men at Work, its first Book Arts Program imprint. The book contains an introductory essay by Matthew Basso and Andrew Farnsworth; Ralph Powell’s story about the rodeo, “Everything’s Dangerous,” from the Federal Writer’s Project collection Men at Work (forthcoming from University of Utah Press, edited by Matthew Basso); and a contemporary response by Judy Blunt entitled “Cooking from Scratch,” in which the author, who grew up on a Montana ranch, explores the notion of “women’s work.” This unique, 32-page, 6 by 9 inch, W-fold pamphlet is printed on Rives Heavyweight and BFK papers. The edition is limited to 200 copies for sale, 26 hors de commerce.
$125
To a Young Writer
By Wallace Stegner
This limited edition spotlighting Wallace Stegner's essay “To a Young Writer” contains new writing by Wendell Berry and Lynn Stegner as well as three original engravings by renowned artist Barry Moser. Marnie Powers-Torrey and staff printed the book on Red Butte Press's 1846 Columbian handpress. The cotton paper was handmade by Twinrocker mill in Indiana. The typeface is Fournier with casting and composition by Michael Bixler at the Press and Letterfoundry of Michael & Winifred Bixler in New York. Peggy Gotthold and Lawrence Van Velzer bound the books and made the boxes at Foolscap Press in California. Victoria Hindley developed the project and designed the book, typography and binding. This 28-page book is 13 by 9 inches; bound in wood, cloth and calfskin, it is housed in a clamshell box. The edition is limited to 125 copies for sale, 15 hors de commerce.
$790
Something Lived, Something Dreamed: Urban Design and the American West
By William McDonough
Designed as a model of sustainable thinking, Something Lived, Something Dreamed was composed and cast in hot metal by Christopher Stern. The type is Monotype Univers, text set in 9 point Didot. Christopher Stern also created the three letterpress monotypes. The cotton paper was commissioned from Cartiera Magnani paper mill in Italy. Marnie Powers-Torrey and Jennifer Sorensen printed the book on an 1846 Columbian handpress at the Red Butte Press. Craig Jensen bound the books using post-consumer recycled aluminum and reclaimed wood. Creative Director, Victoria Hindley, designed the book, which consists of thirty-two pages and is 10 by 7.5 inches. Each book is signed by the author and artist and housed in a clamshell box. Limited edition of 125.
$690
Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known
By Wole Soyinka
Drawing on history, myth, and contemporary culture, Nigerian Nobel Laureate poet Wole Soyinka explores the human exchange as posed through the world's great marketplaces. In addition to Soyinka's poetry, this fine press edition contains four original color woodcuts by Robert Kleinschmidt. In collaboration with the International Institute of Modern Letters, this edition was printed at Red Butte Press from photopolymer plates on a Vandercook 15-21 by John Balkwill assisted by Marnie Powers-Torrey and Antonia Nelson. Daniel Kelm produced the bindings. Campbell-Logan Bindery made the boxes and slipcases. Victoria Hindley coordinated the concept, design, and typesetting. Signed by both the author and artist, Samarkand has been issued in an edition of twenty-six lettered copies, three hundred ninety-nine numbered copies, with fifteen hors de commerce.
$900