PETER & DONNA THOMAS
260 Fifteenth Avenue Santa Cruz CA 95062 (831)
475-1455
The Train Comes to Wichita. by Peter Thomas (2004). 7 by 3 by 2 3/4 inches. Three two sided 15 inch scrolling pages. 20 copies.
This book was designed and produced for an exhibit at the Wichita Art Museum.
The train is a model of the typical western steam locomotive used during the
period of westward expansion. The engineer's compartment has been hollowed
out, a hole drilled parallel through it, and a brass crank placed through
that hole. The text, on five scrolls, stacked on top of each other and rolled
onto the same crank shaft tell the story of the arrival of the train in Wichita.
The text, written by Peter after immersing himself in train lore and Wichita's
early history juxtaposes fact with folk song: two of the scrolls are the lyrics
to songs (The Old Chisolm Trail and The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe).
Each scroll is decorated with water color illustrations painted by Donna,
and has been color photocopied onto Peter's handmade paper. This book is the
first time that multiple scrolls have been used as "pages" in an
artist book.
