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Impressions Magazine

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On 1 March 1899, Paul Elder and Morgan Shepard published “a monthly leaflet of book-notes” entitled Personal Impressions. After about six issues in leaflet form, the publication was upgraded to a monthly magazine format in March 1900, with cover artwork by Morgan Shepard. In September 1900 the magazine was renamed Impressions and given a new cover design. In March 1902 the magazine, with another new cover, was renamed Impressions Quarterly and publication was reduced to four issues per year. In March 1904 the cover was redesigned for a final time. The final issue of Impressions Quarterly was in December 1905.

Through all the changes, the contents remained fairly steady: an interesting mix of articles (usually excerpts from a book that Elder wished to highlight that month), criticism, artwork and advertisements (for both Elder’s publications and other San Francisco businesses).

Personal Impressions
The inaugural issue of "Personal Impressions", March 1899. One folded sheet, printed only on the recto of each leaf.
Impressions Aug 1900 cover
The August 1900 issue of "Personal Impressions," after expansion into magazine format
Impressions Oct 1900 cover
October 1900 issue, now renamed "Impressions"
Impressions Dec 1903 cover
December 1903 issue, now renamed "Impressions Quarterly" and issued four times per year.
Impressions Jun 1904 cover
June 1904 issue of "Impressions Quarterly," showing the final cover redesign

By the Western Sea

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Cover of "By the Western Sea"
Cover of “By the Western Sea”, with wraparound decoration

By the Western Sea was the very first book published by the new firm of D. P. Elder and Morgan Shepard in 1898. The cover artwork and lettering, by Morgan Shepard, features an ocean wave design wrapping around the spine onto the back cover.

Samuel Marshall Ilsley was a Santa Barbara poet and playwright, the first of several authors published via Shepard’s connections in Santa Barbara. Aside from being a family friend of Morgan Shepard’s wife, Mary, Ilsley was also the first cousin of writer Charles Keeler. In 1896, Ilsley had accompanied Mary’s sister, Katherine Putnam, and Katherine’s daughter, Marian, on a long trip to Italy, part of which became the travelogue, Wayfarers in Italy.

Reviews of By the Western Sea were pleasant but not enthusiastic. The book was printed at the Murdock Press, a firm that often printed Elder & Shepard’s publications before the creation of the Tomoyé Press in 1903.

Updated 2025-12-22

Title page of "By The Western Sea"
Title page of “By the Western Sea”

The House In Mallorca

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The House in Mallorca (1950), by Ernest Ingold, is the last book ever published by Paul Elder & Company, and the only one published after Paul Elder Sr’s death in 1948. It describes the purchase of Junipero Serra’s birthplace, in the village of Petra on the Spanish island of Mallorca, by the Rotary Club of San Francisco in 1931. The Club subsequently deeded the property to the City of San Francisco in 1932 “to erect an imperishable bridge of friendship between Spain and California.” The book was published in a limited edition of 950 copies, and is decorated with many fine block engravings by Mallette Dean.

The House in Mallorca
Title page of "The House in Mallorca"

Further reading: The Rotarian, December 1950, pp 18-21.

Next week: the very first book every published by Elder & Shepard.

Bernard Maybeck’s “Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon”

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One of Paul Elder’s most collectible titles, Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon (1915) has often been described as Bernard Maybeck’s only book. It is a slim volume though, coming in at just 24 pages. In it Maybeck describes his approach to designing the Palace of Fine Arts, perhaps his most recognizable building and the only surviving structure from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The text is a revised version of a speech that Maybeck gave to the Commonwealth Club of California. The introduction by Frank Morton Todd, official historian of the Exposition, is as florid and grandiose as Maybeck’s speech is thoughtful and subdued.

In addition to the orange wraps shown below, this title was also issued in a deluxe version with gilt-embossed dark-green leather over boards.

Cover of "Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon"
Cover, "Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon"
Frontispiece, "Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon"
Frontispiece and title page, "Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon". (Not shown: tissue-guard with printed poem)
"Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon", page 10
"Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon", page 10