The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt reprints high-quality scholarly, intellectual, and creative works by or in support of our campus community. The press supports the Cal Poly Humboldt mission to improve the human condition and our environment by promoting understanding of social, economic, and environmental issues. Suggest a reprint proposal through the Submit Proposal link on the sidebar.
The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt is a non-profit service of the Cal Poly Humboldt Library and is supported by dedicated members of the campus community, student assistants, and Library Scholar Interns. To support open-access publishing or student learning at the Press, please select the Support Publishing Internships button on the sidebar or contact us at press@humboldt.edu.
-
North Coast Otters Public Arts Initiative: Commemorative Auction Catalog
J. M. Black
In 1999, a citizen science program for submitting river otter observations was created through the Humboldt State University Wildlife department. In 2017, Jeff and Gilly Black from the HSU Wildlife department were inspired by the public arts initiative by The Art of Fundraising project of England's Dartmoor National Park. In 2019, a special partnership with Ink People Center for the Arts, North Coast Open Studios, HSU’s Art Department, Crescent City Art, and the Trinity County Arts Council led to local North Coast artists decorating more than 100 3-foot-tall otter sculptures. The sculptures were displayed at shops, galleries, schools, and other North Coast locations. The auction delivered the otter sculptures to permanent homes, with the proceeds funding future otter studies and student internships with community-based watershed projects.
The Otter Spotter Activities Booklet authored by Anna Spitzer, Natalie Sanman, Isabelle Otillio, Joshua Overington, Brissa Christophersen, Sarah Duffy, Brighton Hayashida, Jennifer L. Tarlton and Jeffrey M. Black is also available above for download. The booklet invites you join in the fun and learn about our North Coast Otters.
Browse the otter sculptures.
-
To Japan and Back: The Art of Orr Marshall
Orr Marshall
How many ways are there to interpret an idea, to present a vision? The artist Orr Marshall's exploration of these questions is the subject of this book in text and images. Like most children, he began drawing pictures as soon as he could hold a pencil or a crayon, depicting the weird creatures of his imagination. He maintained a concentration on art through school, majoring in painting at Yale School of Art and Architecture where Josef Albers was his most inspiring teacher. Another interest of his was language study, especially Japanese and Chinese with their writing systems and calligraphy. He taught art in the San Francisco area, where he continued learning those languages. Then with a scholarship from the Japanese government he went to the National University of the Arts in Tokyo to study for a year and a half.
Orr Marshall finds inspiration in many places—especially in imagination and dreams; also in everyday surroundings when he sees promising source material. Ranging in technique from realism to semi-abstraction, he challenges himself further with questions and goals such as:
- Could he paint entirely in patterns of colored dots yet retain a recognizable subject?
- Could he depict nudes—essentially curvilinear—made entirely of squares and rectangles of varied sizes?
- Could he turn the amorphous dreams of his mind's eye into something solid and believable for all to see?
- As a Westerner, could he mix scenes of modern Japan with traditional imagery, labeled with names of places and characters (including his signature) in various styles of Japanese calligraphy?
These are a few examples of his approaches to art that require extensive preparatory sketches, drawings, paintings, to figure out how to do them. Along the way, through his trial studies he often discovers new ideas, new color combinations, leading him to yet other works. So he goes on creating, spurred by a constant flow of inspiration.
-
Maasai Dictionary
Charles Richmond
This dictionary of English-to-Maa (the language of Maasai peoples of Kenya and Tanzania) was written and compiled by Charles Richmond. It is one of the earliest Maasai dictionaries. The dictionary was developed from 1935 until 1951 while Charles lived in the back country of Kenya colony, East Africa as a subject of the King of England. His stay there began as a Captain in the King’s African Rifles, in which position he fought alongside tribal chiefs in northern Kenya and Ethiopia against the Italian dictator, Mussolini during WWII. Subsequent to his military service, he returned to England to study theology and to be ordained as a minister in the Church of England. He then returned to the Maasai and Samburu tribes of central and northern Kenya colony near Lake Rudolph, as a missionary.
-
Library Publishing Toolkit - Introduction Chapter
Cyril Oberlander
The Library Publishing Toolkit looks at the broad and varied landscape of library publishing through discussions, case studies, and shared resources. From supporting writers and authors in the public library setting to hosting open access journals and books, this collection examines opportunities for libraries to leverage their position and resources to create and provide access to content.
-
Vietnamese Perspectives on the War in Vietnam
John C. Schafer
An annotated bibliography of works in English
-
A View from the Hill: A History of Humboldt State University
William R. Tanner
A View from the Hill: A History of Humboldt State University is an attempt to record a social memory for former students, faculty, staff, and, administrators. This volume is not meant to be a comprehensive institutional history. Thus, the reader will discover an emphasis on the people of Humboldt State.
-
The Pinetum Britannicum
Edward Ravenscroft
The Pinetum Britannicum: A Descriptive Account of Hardy Coniferous Trees Cultivated in Great Britain was authored by Edward James Ravenscroft (1816-1890) during the time period of 1863 through 1884.
This first edition Pinetum Brittanicum is regarded as an important British study of pines. Edward James Ravenscroft’s exquisitely detailed illustrations exemplify the widely embraced enthusiasm for the art and science of capturing and classifying conifers during the 19th-century. Ravenscroft was a master in the field of natural history illustration, which is often called “art in the service of science.”
-
History of Humboldt County, California : with Illustrations Descriptive of its Scenery, Farms, Residences, Public Buildings, Factories, Hotels, Business Houses, Schools, Churches, etc., from Original Drawings, including Biographical Sketches
W. W. Elliott & Co.
"We have the pleasure of presenting to our patrons one of the largest and most elegant County Histories yet issued on this Coast. Not only ample in the number and beauty of its illustrations, and quality of paper and binding, but also in the extent and accuracy of its historical matter. We hope our efforts to represent the important features of this county may lead its inhabitants to understand and appreciate more fully its varied resources. We hope we have furnished information to the traveler, the tourist, or the emigrant who is seeking a location."