Collection:
Juneau—Douglas City Museum
Object ID:
2013.28.002 A—F
Accession#:
2013.28
Credit Line:
Donated by William DeArmond.
Object Name:
Book
Title:
Raven's Revenge: An Athabascan Folktale
Date:
1992
Scope & Content:
"Raven's Revenge: An Athabascan Folktale" by Dale DeArmond.

One (1) handmade, unbound book consisting of an envelope cover (A), two doublesided text pages (B—C) and three illustration pages (D—F).

A: Piece of paper cut and folded into a four (4) flap envelope. Front of paper has an illustration of an animal boarder and title page adhered to it. Illustration is orange and white. Animal motif includes birds, fish and flowers.

B: One piece paper with unfinished left and right edges and folded in half horizontally. Top corners are adhered together. One side acts as the title page and the other as information page. All text is handwritten in black ink.
Title page text reads: "Raven's Revenge \ An Athabascan folktale \ Retold and illustrated by \ Dale DeArmond \ c. 1992". The "c" is the copyright symbol and is surrounded by a circle.
Information page text reads: This is a handmade story portfolio. The illustrations are wood engravings. The decorative boarders and the overlay on the front of the portfolio are lino—cuts. Both engravings and lino cuts were hand pulled by the artist from the original blocks on allrag, acid free paper; Rives Standard white for the engravings, Rives B.F.K. gray for the portfolio and decorative boarders and arches terc wove for the overlay.
The text was hand written on handmade Japanese paper.
The portfolios were published in a limited edition of five copes for the public. This is one of two additional copies which are N.F.S.
Dale DeArmond
c September 16, 1992
Sitka, Alaska

C: One piece paper with unfinished left and right edges and folded in half horizontally. Top corners are adhered together. The story is written on both sides of the paper. All text is handwritten in black ink.
Text on front:
Raven's Revenge
In the Willow grouse village there was a very beautiful young Willow grouse woman. All the men wanted to marry her but her parents wanted her to marry a rich man and she was so proud that she would have nothing to do with the men who came courting her.
Raven heard about Willow Grouse woman and said to his grandmother, "I'm going to marry her."
HIs grandmother laughed, "No girl is going to marry a dirty, smelly old raven," she told him.
"Just you wait and see," said Raven and went off in his canoe and found some pitch and grass and with the help of a little magic he made himself some fine clothes. Using dog dirt and magic he made a magnificent dentalium necklace and a dagger with an embroidered sheath. Then he paddled off to the willow grouse village.
When the Willow grouse people saw this resplendent personage approaching the village they began to shout, "Here comes the great chief!" And the mother of young Will grouse woman ran to the river's edge and invited him ashore.
"I never set foot on the ground," said Raven haughtily. So the mother brought out the family sleeping skins and spread them our for Raven to walk on and Raven stepped ashore and seated himself beside young Willow grouse woman. They sat there fore two days and Willow grouse woman fell in love with Raven. And so they were married and set off in Raven's canoe for the journey to Raven's village.

Text on back:
The sun was hot and paddling the canoe was warm work and Raven's fine clothes began to melt and the magnificent dentalium necklace and the dagger with the embroidered sheath turned back into dog dirt. Will grouse looked at her rich, handsome husband and saw that he was just a dirty, smelly old Raven and she was heartbroken. However she was a resourceful young woman so she took out her little sewing box and sewed Raven's wing feathers to the thwart of the canoe. Then she said sweetly, "My dear husband I want to go ashore for a few minutes." So Raven fastened a line around her waist and put her ashore. Willow grouse fastened the line to a small spruce tree and hid. Raven called to her to come back and then he pulled on the line but all he got was the spruce tree. He tore to most of his wing feathers getting out of the canoe to search for her and as soon as he was well ashore Willow grouse woman ran to the canoe and set out for her father's village.
Raven had a terrible time getting back to his village on food and almost starved to death. When e reached his grandmother's house she laughed at him and said "I told you so!" But she fed him and treated his wounds until he was well again.
When fall came Raven's village gave a potlatch and the Will grouse people came. Raven's wife was among the young women and when they went to the spring for water Raven followed and drove his spear into Willow grouse woman's heart. As she died a Willow grouse flew out of her body.
The end.
Dale DeArmond c.1991

D: Illustration is black and white with a silver boarder. The boarder's motif matches that of the front cover. Illustration of a large black raven dressed in fine clothes standing on the proper right. A smaller female willow grouse in clothing stands with her head bowed and wings/arms out on the proper left. Hand written text in pencil beneath the illustration (between illustration and boarder) reads: "Raven goes courting 24/25 D.DeArmond — imp c 92". Verso blank.

E: Illustration is black and white with a silver boarder. The boarder's motif matches that of the front cover. Illustration of a large black raven and a woman with a bird flying from her hair in a canoe. The woman is sewing the raven's feathers to the boat. The raven is paddling. There are two wish in the water below them. Hand written text in pencil beneath the illustration (between illustration and boarder) reads: "Raven's Honeymoon 24/25 D.DeArmond — imp c 92". Verso blank.

F: Illustration is black and white with a silver boarder. The boarder's motif matches that of the front cover. Illustration of a large black raven stabbing a woman in the heart with a spear. A bird is flying from the woman's hair. Hand written text in pencil beneath the illustration (between illustration and boarder) reads: "Raven's Revinge 24/25 D.DeArmond — imp c 92". Verso blank.
Dates of Creation:
September 16, 1992
People:
DeArmond, Dale
DeArmond, Bill
Search Terms:
Book
Raven
Native
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