Limited Edition Black & White Print of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea

Now available — a limited edition print of Ursula K. Le Guin’s original map of Earthsea, presented by the Watershed Center for Fine Arts Publishing and Research at Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation

A Wizard of Earthsea, published in 1968, is one of fantasy’s most famous works, the story of a young man who looses a shadow upon the world—and must figure out how to contain it. Earthsea is an archipelago, and its map was Le Guin’s own creation.

Years after the book was published, Le Guin recreated her original map, which was drawn before she started writing A Wizard of Earthsea, by tracing the map from early editions of the book in two versions: one line-drawn in black ink, the other ink and color pencil.

This edition is a painstaking representation of Le Guin’s hand-drawn map, created by students at the Watershed Center, led by master printmaker Matthew Letzelter.

Starting with a high resolution photographic image of Le Guin’s original, the team digitally cleaned or reinforced each line and letter, separating each color in the drawing as a layer, to make the maps as legible as the original and to avoid the artifacts of a typical CMYK process.

Two editions are available, one color and one black-and-white. In the color edition, colors were matched by hand, taking account of how each layer of drawing materials was applied in the original image.  Prints were made through a traditional lithography process, using a Mailander offset proofing press from the mid-twentieth century, allowing the team to drop layers of ink on a sheet of paper and control registration down to the slimmest of margins. Prints were then manually embossed to create a subtle framing effect. Each print is "signed" with an embossed chop.

Prints will ship rolled in heavy duty tubes, with instructions included for flattening and framing.

Dimensions: 20.5 inches wide by 17.5 inches high

PRICING
Color map: $300
Black-and-white map: $150
Artist, student, educator discounted black-and-white map (quantity limited to 125 prints on first-come basis): $100

All net proceeds from the sale of these maps will go to Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Freedom to Read Foundation.

This edition is limited to 50 color maps and 250 black-and-white maps.

There is a MAXIMUM of ONE color print and ONE black & white print per address.

All Domestic/US orders will ship Priority Mail with $300 insurance. All International orders will ship First Class with $300 insurance.

Items are expected to ship Friday Dec. 8th.