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Washington State University Press, Pullman, Washington [Published date: 1994]. Softcover, xiv, 184 pp, with 16 unnumbered pages of plates. First printing (stated). Signed and inscribed (not personalized) by the author on the title page; illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs, reproductions, and one map; 23 cm.
In very good condition. Glossy pictorial paper covers featuring engraving after Victor Perard's "Salmon Fishing on the Columbia"; light bumping and creasing to edges and corners of covers and light creasing to the thin clear plastic coating on the back cover. Light overall surface scuffing to covers as well. Binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. An in-depth social and cultural history of the Columbia River gillnetters - fishermen who made their living from salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Martin, a longtime fisher and Episcopal priest in Cathlamet, Washington, examines the evolution of the gillnet fishery through the experiences of families along the Columbia, blending oral histories, archival sources, and personal observation. Illustrated with historical images of cannery operations, boats, canning labels, and fishing practices, the book captures the transformation of this once-vital livelihood from the 19th century through the late 20th century. [From back cover] "Like grasping at salmon it is, trying to understand this fishing life," writes Irene Martin in Legacy and Testament. "So solid, so substantial, and you just think you have it firmly in your hand and it slips away and skates across the deck. And still we chase it, foolish but determined, searching always for rhythm in seasons, in customs, in boats, in gear, in the past, the present, but now without the future." Perhaps no environmental issue facing the Pacific Northwest has the potential to affect more lives than the controversy over endangered salmon on the Columbia River system. Now, for the first time, Legacy and Testament gives a human dimension to the issue, providing the first in-depth look at the way of life of the Columbia River gillnetter.