Welcome Artists
Welcome to the Pterodactyl Press in Cumberland, Iowa! Owned and
operated by Floyd Pearce, The Pterodactyl Press specializes in handset
and handbound books.
The technical capabilities of the Press range from Gutenberg's moveable
type to laser printer. The Press specializes in modern poets and local
history, with occasional excursions into various other genres.
For a list of available titles visit the
Booklist.
Publisher Floyd Pearce is on the Iowa Arts Council roster. For more
information, and for a brief biography, read about
the man behind the press.
One of Floyd's latest books is:
Tesson's
Orchard, a
poem about an apple orchard planted by a French-Canadian fur trader in
a area that is now under water above the Keokuk dam. Iowa's
First Lady Christie Vilsack wrote a nice review of the book in her
annual "holiday season awards column that she writes for
Offenberger.com .
The whole column can be read at:
http://www.offenburger.com/bwpaper.asp?link=20051227
Here is the excerpt from the column:
"I
received the “Best Present From a Non-Family
Member” in Griswold on December 7, where I met Floyd Pearce. Floyd is a
writer,
poet, historian, collector and much more. After my remarks, Floyd
presented me
with a hand-bound book printed at his small press, Pterodactyl Press.
The book
is a poem titled “Tesson,” which he wrote to commemorate Iowa’s 150th
birthday.
He printed 52 copies and hand-bound it with end sheets made of Japanese
rice
paper created at the University of Iowa Center for the Book. My copy is
bound
in walnut-stained flax. It is the most beautiful book I own. More
important it
was written and presented by an Iowa treasure, one of those rare people
who
remind me that quality is better than quantity, that some of our best
writers
and best thinkers will never win a prize or find themselves reviewed in
the New
York Times.
“Tesson” is a complex poem, researched and footnoted, about an apple
orchard
planted by a French Canadian trader near Montrose. Now the orchard is
under
water just above the Keokuk dam. I will never drive the river road
between
Montrose and Keokuk without thinking about Tesson’s orchard and the
price of
progress."
(note: Mrs. Vilsack was actually in Cumberland, Iowa ,
not Griswold. We thank her for the "Christie" Award.)
Wine Arts:
NEW!
The Pterodactylpress publishes
From the Grape Vine, the newsletter of the Western Iowa Grape Growers Association.
The newsletters are available online:
Vol. 1 Winter 2006
Vol. 2 Spring 2007