Sayler/Morris “Water Gold Soil” book

Water Gold Soil: The American River tells the story of a single flow of water in present-day California, examining the social and ecological consequences of watershed colonialism. Photographs, narrative texts, an essay by Elizabeth Kolbert, and archival images representing the history of extraction in California are woven together across varied paper stocks. Folios with timestamps, coordinates, and captions run up outer page edges, deepening the didactic qualities of the book without distracting from Saylor/Morris’ stunning photographs. Notable production details include a diecut tip-on cover image reminiscent of unrefined gold and foilstamped endsheets.