Bob never saw final renditions of his songs and sketches here, but he did live long enough to guide us through early press proofs and to put the plate makers on paths he chose. He wanted a crayon effect with gay and impish color, and if we could do it in the keys of C, D or G, all the better.

The sketches here actually are the originals in final form. They came from Bob’s hand in a variety of stages - some in pencil, some crayon, some watercolor and often on odd scraps of paper - whatever was handy when the inspiration came upon him. His instruction notes were jotted here and there as were dabs and swatches of color with arrows pointing hither and yon. And when it all came together we often could see the tongue-in-cheek humor he had in mind. It was fun to put it all together for him.

It may be of interest to note that all of the color was screened in mezzotint rather than in conventional dot pattern, something one can see with sharp eyes or an engraver’s glass. The technique helped keep the crayon effect Bob wanted. In all, well over 1,200 negatives and color masks were made in order to produce the final printing negatives.

It was basically a hand-hewn project from beginning to end-even each individual note was hand drawn-and again, something Bob wanted in the way of variation one expects in folk music. “Don’t make it too perfect,” he said. He needn’t have worried, of course, for try as we might, we didn’t.

We of the Buzzards’ Knob gang felt a deep sense of honor in being chosen to handle Bob’s work, and we would also like to add our thanks here to the fellows at Printing Plate Craftsmen who often went the extra mile to see the project through. It was a pleasure to work with them.

Richard Myers - March 1976