VOLZ, MCLEOD AND MARY MOSTELLER — The Woods

Sausalito, CA: Graphic Arts of Marin, Inc, 1961. 1st Edition; 1st Printing. Paperback. B&W Illustrations; This is an oversized paperback book. The book is in Very Good+ condition and was issued without a dust jacket. The book is in clean, bright condtion. There is some beginning bumping and rubbing to the spine ends and corners of the book covers. The text pages are clean and bright. "McLEOD VOLZ AND MARY MOSTELLER have followed and photographed two children as they played freely and let their imaginations encompass the trees and flowers, frogs and insects, of Muir Woods. The show has an introduction by Harold Gilliam which makes it a plea for conservation: preserve open, unspoiled areas where children may play and dream...Ironically, the Superintendent of Muir Woods National Monument did not concur with Mr. Gilliam and the photographers of The Woods that children should be given such freedom for delight and wonder. The Woods shows children standing on the bases of trees to run their hands over the curly bark and playing by the edges of pools. The concession stand at Muir Woods, in an action contested by the Northern California Civil Liberties Union, allegedly banned the book from its shelves. The photographs of children so blissfully enjoying themselves were a bad example. Children today must stay on the paths." (from "“THE WOODS” AT SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF ARTBy Margery Mann- found in Art Forum Magazine). "Before the logging industry came to California, there were an estimated 2 million acres (8,000 km2) of old growth forest containing redwoods growing in a narrow strip along the coast. By the early 20th century, most of these forests had been cut down. Just north of the San Francisco Bay, one valley named Redwood Canyon remained uncut, mainly due to its relative inaccessibility. This was noticed by William Kent, a rising California politician who would soon be elected to the U. S. Congress. He and his wife, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, purchased 611 acres (247 ha) of land from the Tamalpais Land and Water Company for $45,000 in 1905 with the goal of protecting the redwoods and the mountain above them. The deal was facilitated by banker Lovell White and his activist wife, Laura Lyon White. In 1907, a water company in nearby Sausalito planned to dam Redwood Creek, thereby flooding the valley. When Kent objected to the plan, the water company threatened to use eminent domain and took him to court to attempt to force the project to move ahead. Kent sidestepped the water company\'s plot by donating 295 acres (119 ha) of the redwood forest to the federal government, thus bypassing the local courts. " (from Wikipedia). Very Good+ .