2022, Hardcover
368 pages
Dimensions: 11 x 14
$160.00
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| Dreher Masterworks |
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 Language: English
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Author: Gloria Staebler
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Edited by: Joel Bartsch, Gloria Staebler
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Illustrations by: Jeff Scovil
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A tribute to the history, life and work of Idar carver Gerd Dreher and his talented family, this limited edition is intended as to accompany a 2021 exhibit of Dreher carvings at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. For us, this is a dream contract, as Joel Bartsch and the Houston team allow us to explore literary and artistic means of expression that clients normally restrict. In other words, Joel lets us play with our craft and grow as writers and artists, albeit with goals and deadlines. It's a rare gift, and we hope so too will be this book.
The Dreher family of carvers goes back at least 15 generations. Through the many conflicts that had beleaguered Europe since the Dark Ages, Idar and the Dreher family persevered to build a unique and proud legacy that is carried on to this day. Gerd's grandfathers rose and fell with the incomparable House of Faberge. A keen observer and exceptional talent, Paul Dreher, Gerd's father, walked through fire securing the family's business and artistic independence and smoothing the way for his son.
Inheriting his father's work ethic and artistic sensibilities, Gerd Dreher became a peerless carver of whimsical hardstone animals, with a style all his own. His work belies remarkable insight into the anatomies of the domain triad: animal, vegetable, and mineral. With an uncanny sense for the continuation of form — organic and inorganic Gerd magically brought life to stone and stone to life.
Drawing from numerous references and many hours of interviews, this volume chronicles Gerd's journey from apprentice to master, placing his work and that of his family in cultural context. This outsized volume, extravagantly illustrated with Scovil photos, is a celebration of the life and work of Gerd Dreher and his family's hardstone carving dynasty that I know you're going to treasure.
We've not quite settled on the cover (do you have a preference?), but are moving the text to layout in the next few weeks with a plan to have the book to the printer next spring. It won't be released until the exhibit draws near, but we've been bursting to share news of the project that's been consuming us for months. So, without further ado, we are pleased to announce, in collaboration with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, our upcoming book: Dreher Masterworks!
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