Speaking Through the Aspens: Basque Tree Carvings in Nevada and California (The Basque Series)
Many Basque sheepherders came to the American West between 1850 and 1950. As they worked their way through the isolated areas of the West, they carved an amazing variety of items into the bark of the ubiquitous aspen trees. Mallea-Olaexte (history, Truckee Meadows Community Coll. and adjunct faculty, Ctr. for Basque Studies, Univ. of Nevada, Reno) has been documenting and analyzing these carvings, or arborglyphs, in California and Nevada since the 1980s. He has discovered much about the carvers, including how to trace their wanderings through the presence of their carvings. He presents detailed descriptions and analysis of the arborglyphs, from political statements about the Basque homeland to prayers to pictures of nude women. Photos and drawings provide many examples. A rich but narrow study; for academic libraries and specialized collections.AGwen Gregory, New Mexico State Univ. Lib., Las CrucesCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.