Residents of Beacon, New York, are justifiably proud of a community that is rich in history and promise. In this exquisite collection of images, local historians Robert J. Murphy and Denise Doring VanBuren uncover the fascinating past of Beacon and the people who have called it home. The community's earliest permanent European settler was Madam Catheryna Rombout Brett, whose c. 1709 home is preserved within the city as the the oldest building in Dutchess County. Within the vicinity of the Madam Brett Homestead, two distinct villages grew: Matteawan, a manufacturing community at the foot of the mountain, and Fishkill Landing, a Hudson River port. Both villages prospered and eventually merged in 1913. Through the decades, the community was hailed as a model of a successful manufacturing center and became the location for several significant Hudson River estates. It played host to one of the longestrunning ferries in American history and introduced one of the first electric streetcar systems in the Hudson River Valley. Perhaps its most well-known feature was the Mount Beacon Incline Railway, a feat of engineering documented as the world's steepest incline railroad.

Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice is a two-part book on gum bichromate written by the medium’s leading expert, Christina Z. Anderson. Section One provides a step-by-step description of the gum printing process. From setting up the "dimroom" (no darkroom required!) to evaluating finished prints, it walks the reader through everything that is needed to establish a firm gum practice with the simplest of setups at home. Section Two showcases contemporary artists’ works, illustrating the myriad ways gum is conceptualized and practiced today. The works in these pages range from monochrome to colorful and from subtle to bold, representing a variety of genres, including still lifes, portraits, nudes, landscapes, urbanscapes and more. Featuring over 80 artists and 400 full-color images, Gum Printing is the most complete overview of this dynamic and expressive medium that has yet appeared in print. Key topics covered include: The history of gum Simple digital negatives for gum, platinum, and cyanotype Preparing supplies Making monochrome, duotone, tricolor, and quadcolor gum prints Printing gum over cyanotype Printing gum over platinum Troubleshooting gum Advice on developing a creative practice