Route 66. Peter Thomas, Bobby Troup. Santa Cruz, California, Peter and Donna Thomas (2023) 1.875 x 2.875 inches. One scrolling page 21 x 2.125 inches. 33 copies. $99

Binding: Scroll; folded paper cover, affixed to wooden framework at one end, digitally printed on Peters handmade paper using art from a 1950s Route 66 postcard. Text block: Scroll wound over wooden dowels passed through holes drilled in a painted wood framework. Toy Hot Wheel tires as knobs, affixed to dowel, to assist turning scroll. Paper: White, handmade by Peter. Printing: Letterpress. Typography: Various wood type fonts, Futura Bold.

Artists' statement follows images:

Over the past 40 years Peter has made more than a dozen editioned books as surprise birthday gifts for Donna. Her 66th birthday presented the perfect opportunity to create an artists’ book about Route 66, a subject that could conceptionally encompass the wild ride he and Donna have had together as book artists and life partners. The historic Route 66 linked Chicago to Los Angeles as the “main street of America in the 1950s,” and has come to symbolize fun and freedom to be found on an open road: “Get your kicks….” Recently having driven the modern Route 66, which no longer follows the route, they experienced a archetypical nostalgia for that past and a seed was planted, from which this book sprouted. Given that Peter and Donna have been “rolling down the road” for 50 years, it seemed most appropriate to make this book a scrolling book that looked a bit like a car. It would need knobs that are easily grasped and turned, and toy Hot Wheel car tires were the perfect choice. The text is letterpress printed on Peter’s handmade paper, using lyrics from the famous song about Route 66 modified so they allude to Donna’s birthday. The wooden scroll structure is casebound with a paper cover, which Peter printed using art from a 1950s Route 66 postcard. As a nod to the fact that Route 66 is only half there today, Peter limited the edition to 33 copies.