In the Hills o' Brown (a portfolio of 12 color woodcuts)

Gustave Baumann

In The Hills o’ Brown is a portfolio of twelve color woodcuts, with the title page, originally conceived and published by Gustave Baumann in 1910. These color woodcuts were carved by the artist and printed by him on the press of the Brown County Democrat with the assistance of Alonzo Allison and his sons. This portfolio was published by the artist’s Nashville studio, which he styled on the title page Ye Studio Printshop.

The subjects of these color woodcuts were the people and places of rural Brown County in southern Indiana. The titles are:

1. In the Hills of Brown 2. The Town of Nashville 3. Talking it Over (or Clinching the Argument) 4. Mathis' Alley 5. The Door yards 6. The Swimmin Hole (or The Suspension Bridge) 7. At the Forge (or The Blacksmith Shop) 8. The Wagon Builder 9. Town Gossips (or An Evening Chat) 10. The Rug Weaver 11. The Print Shop 12. The Courthouse Yard

Each woodcut is pencil signed, titled, dated 1914, and numbered 65 in the lower center margin. The reference for this portfolio is Chamberlain 16-28. The edition was limited to 100 impressions. In the Hills o’ Brown was Baumann’s first published portfolio of color woodcuts. This was a massive undertaking and Baumann printed impressions over many years with impressions dated 1910, 1914, 1915, and 1916. At first he numbered the portfolio but over time he began to number the individual woodcuts with their impression number as with the number 65 found on these twelve impressions. These woodcuts were printed on ivory Japanese paper from three blocks, the exception being At the Forge which was printed from two blocks with a third color hand applied to create the heat on the anvil and flying sparks.

The letterpress title page for In The Hills o’ Brown was greatly influenced by Baumann’s early years working in the commercial art field in Chicago. It beautifully introduces his color woodcuts with its layout, design, and font selection.