The award-winning Red Butte Press has just unveiled its latest fine-press limited edition publication: Something Lived, Something Dreamed: Urban Design and the American West, an essay by architect and designer, William McDonough, with letterpress monoprints by Washington artist Christopher Stern.

The book, published by Red Butte Press and entirely handmade, was over two-and-a-half years in production. The essay, also commissioned by Red Butte, sets a precedent. It is the first time that William McDonough’s comprehensive design philosophy has been presented. The essay does not appear elsewhere. Something Lived, Something Dreamed examines the complex relationship between natural and urban landscapes in western American cities. It is a spirited manifesto that reimagines the city through McDonough’s visionary lens, offering a lyrical invitation to reconsider the rich relationship between nature and city in the twenty-first century.

The Red Butte Press was founded in 1984 at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, Red Butte Press places an emphasis on exceptional craftsmanship and spirited writing. Publications include Wilderness Letter, by Wallace Stegner; A Poet’s Alphabet of Influences by former United States Poet Laureate Mark Strand. Other books designed and produced by Red Butte Press include Samarkand, by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, and The Firebird’s Nest, by Salman Rushdie.

Former dean of the school of architecture at the University of Virginia, William McDonough is recognized worldwide for his writing and pioneering work in architecture and design. He is the only individual to have received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, and in 1999, Time magazine recognized him as a Hero of the Planet. Most recently, McDonough received the 2004 National Design Award – Environmental from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, widely considered the nation’s highest design honor.

Limited-edition fine-press books are rare, collectible works that increase in value. In keeping with the message of the essay, Something Lived, Something Dreamed was conceived in the spirit of sustainable design. Over fifty people from at least six states as well as Italy worked on the project under the direction of the Red Butte Press. The cotton paper was commissioned from Magnani Mill in Italy. The covers are made from a single sycamore tree reclaimed from an urban construction site as well as recycled aluminum, specially provided and finished by Alcoa Technical Center in Pennsylvania. Covers were fabricated in Utah by Woodworkers Gary Evershed and Chris Wright. The type is Monotype Univers and was cast from hot metal and composed in Washington by Stern & Faye. The text was printed on an 1846 Columbian handpress at the Red Butte Press in Utah by Marnie Powers-Torrey and Jennifer Sorensen. Artist Chris Stern contributed three letterpress monoprints, each hand-inked, resulting in slight variations among prints making each book unique. Craig Jensen of BookLab II in Texas bound each book by hand in a modern coptic variation. Victoria Hindley, creative director of the Red Butte Press, developed the project and designed the book. The edition is limited to 125 and signed by the author and artist.

For purchasing or other information, please contact:
Madelyn Garrett, Red Butte Press, (801) 585-6168

OR

Victoria Hindley, Red Butte Press, (206) 281-7135