Week 26: Scavenger Hunt, Finding the caves...

   This week's book-of-the-week is step 2 of the Scavenger Hunt book. Step 2 is a real scavenger hunt which follows a route from Angers, France to La Chapelle-Aubareil, France (about 5 miles from the famous Lascaux Cave)... The scavenged items are specific sights and experiences which have been listed in a single-spread hardcover booklet titled, Scavenger Hunt Finding the caves. The hunt is meant to take place in a single day... but could be stretched out over a week or even a lifetime. It requires a car, a camera, some euros, good walking shoes, and a map... The route was downloaded from Google® maps and then interpreted and hand-drawn on a bunch of copy paper sheets that were taped together and then rolled into a scroll and tied with a black satin ribbon.

the book of objectives and the map

   The title plate of the little book was letterpress printed onto Magnani Velata paper with 24-point Goudy Oldstyle type and a carved linoleum block of the outline of France and Spain. The little two-page book is covered with marbled paper and black silk book cloth .. evoking a mysterious and vibrant european history.

a rough hand-drawn map of much of Europe

   To make the title plate illustration, a rough drawing of France and Spain was made. This sketch was outlined with a permanent Sharpie® Marker and then transferred to the linoleum block with Concentrated Citrasolve® cleaner on a cotton ball. This transfer process is easy once you get the hang of it... 1. Copy the image with a laser printer or permanent ink pen. 2. Place the copy, image side down, onto the linoleum block. 3. Lightly rub a cotton ball dipped in Concentrated Citrisolve® over the backside of the copy paper and then quickly burnish the Citrisolve® coated areas with a bone folder until the ink releases from the copy paper and transfers to the linoleum block. This makes a mirror image of the hand-drawn map on the linoleum block... and the Citrisolve® smells nice! But go light on the Citrisolv®.. too much, and the transfer lines become a puddle of ink.

the carved linoleum block... Whoa! the image is backwards

After the linoleum block was carved, it was locked into the press bed, rolled with ink, and then printed onto the title-plate paper. The ink color mixed for the linoleum block map was teal blue. The title was printed in black ink so it would stand out against the map and also reference the coal black pigment of so many cave paintings.
   When looking at the linoleum block print, you can see  the outline of France and Spain and several dots. The dots represent the cities Paris, Angers, and Bordeaux, France. The lower-most dot is Olite, Spain, a tiny town in the Spanish Pyrenees Mountains that was once the capital of the Navarre region. Because this is the first of several Scavenger Hunt challenges taking place in France and Spain, the illustration signifies the backdrop of the entire Scavenger Hunt journey.

title plate, letterpress and carved linoleum block print

   The covers open to reveal a single page spread that has been split into two pages. The list of challenges for the scavenger hunt are inkjet printed over a Google® map of the route from Angers, France to La Chapelle-Aubareile. Beside each item is an empty check box (☐) which is marked when the item has been completed. Unless using a pencil.. which is fine!.. this book is really only good for one game... But that's how it is in life.. nothing is ever really the same when we try to repeat it. We are all living palimpsests.

 Scavenger hunt list book & Angers to La Chapell-Aubareil map scroll

check list of the 17 scavenged accomplishments

the scavenge hunt and its map

The hand-drawn map is meant to assist the scavengers in finding the next challenge...

close-up of the map's last page...  final destination,  the Lascaux Grotte (Cave)

On the last page of the map, the Lascaux Grotte (Cave) is notated... And there's another title plate attached.. just in case this hand-drawn map becomes separated from it's little book of a Scavenger Hunt.

bulls, horses, and other animals of over 10,000 years ago, Lascaux Cave, France

These images of the prehistoric paintings on the caves of Lascaux cannot really express their awe-inspiring beauty. To learn more about the history (and location) of the prehistoric cave paintings of France and Spain you can go to http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/85.

a herd of bulls, Lascaux Cave, France