Books

Extinction as a theme has been a focus of The Lone Oak Press for a few years now, beginning with the publication of our book “Extinction” in 2015. “Extinct: The Western Black Rhinoceros” is the newest book addressing extinction, published in October 2022.

The idea for this book was conceived after a visit to Newfoundland and the famous gannet rookery at Cape St. Mary’s by wood engraver Abigail Rorer, proprietor of The Lone Oak Press.

One of the greatest tragedies of our time is the rapid extinction of so many diverse species. This new book is a tribute to four extinct species and an iconic fifth that nearly became extinct.

The small church in the Gloucestershire village of Whittington in the UK has been part of the backdrop of British wood engraver Miriam Macgregor’s life since she lived, until recently, and still works in the village of Whittington.

In The Lone Oak Press book Mimpish Squinnies we focused on fourteen plants that British plant explorer Reginald Farrer (1880–1920) disliked with a passion. In this new book, we join Farrer on a journey to the Alps in his quest to see in situ one of his most beloved plants, Eritrichium nanum, also known as The King of the Alps.

The Lone Oak Press is pleased to announce the publication of a fine press chapbook commemorating the eightieth anniversary of the first Robert Frost Christmas card with engravings by Abigail Rorer and an afterword by Frost scholar and collector, Pat Alger. Printed on Zerkall Book with Deepdene type in an edition of 100 numbered and 26 lettered copies signed by Abigail Rorer & Pat Alger.

The poem in this chapbook was written by Abigail Rorer to commemorate a magnificent white pine growing in the protected woods behind her house where she frequently walks with a friend. She draws parallels between the aging of this tree and her attempts to reconcile it with her own aging.

A special boxed set containing a portfolio of the nine signed original engravings by Abigail Rorer for the Folio Society’s 2008 edition of Dracula, plus a signed copy of the book. This special set was designed and constructed by Daniel Gehnrich in an edition of five.

Reginald Farrer (1880-1920) was a British plantsman, plant explorer, & prolific writer who was one of the first to promote rock gardening and alpine plants. The text of Mimpish Squinnies consists of fourteen plant descriptions from Farrer’s The English Rock Garden and are of plants that he particularly disliked and described as only he could, with humor, wit, acerbity and anthropomorphism.

Woodland pools, spring-holes and ditches are all terms used by Henry David Thoreau to describe vernal pools. Selected entries were chosen from Thoreau’s Journal from the months of March, April, and May to give a sense of the awakening spring and teeming life in the pools and woods at this time of year. Thoreau puts so beautifully into words what one would see, hear and feel when out in nature at this time of year.

This is a beautiful and haunting poem of war and desire. Christopher Howell, who lives in Spokane, Washington, is a widely published, widely traveled and much honored poet whose works reflect the human experience with all its loneliness and beauty, love and desolation. His poems touch the chord of reflection and quiet we experience in rare moments of aloneness.

Three tales of Old Man Coyote, the Trickster, Transformer, and Culture Hero. This was the first book published by The Lone Oak Press.