Gerry, Vance

Gerry was born in Pasadena, CA in 1929; apprenticed while a teenager at Grant Dahlstrom's Castle Press; trained as a commercial artist, Woodbury College; attended Art Center for Design and Chouinard Art Institute; began working at Walt Disney Animation Studio as a layout and story sketch artist, 1955; began operating Weather Bird Press (briefly called the Peach Pit Press), 1967; illustrated most of his books with line drawings, linoleum cuts, and pochoir; wrote and printed several books under the pseudonym of Bunston Quayles.

From the description of Archives of the Weather Bird Press, 1966-1992. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 39529886

Biography

Born and raised in Pasadena, California, Vance Gerry was an apprentice at the Castle Press of Grant Dahlstrom as a teenager. He learned the basic principles of book design and how to set type by hand. First trained as a commercial artist at Woodbury College, Gerry later attended the Art Center for Design and the Chouinard Art Institute, where he used his G.I. Bill to pay for school. At Chouinard, he studied under Donald W. Graham, the renowned animation artist.

In 1955, he worked at the Walt Disney Animation Studio as a layout and story sketch artist. He has contributed his ideas and drawings to films like Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree, and The Sword in the Stone, and Beauty and the Beast . The last film he worked on at Disney was The Lion King.

From 1967, Gerry operated the Weather Bird Press at various locations around Los Angeles. The press moved from Laguna Beach, where it was temporarily called the Peach Pit Press, to Fallbrook, and finally to Pasadena. He has used different presses and machines throughout the years: a Linotype machine, a Miehle vertical, a Vandercook press, and others. He also uses several different font types, some rarely seen in commercial printing presses.

With his talent as an imaginative artist, he has illustrated most of his books with line drawings, linoleum cuts, and pochoir. He has also written and printed several books under the pseudonym of Bunston Quayles.

Gerry died March 5, 2005 in Pasadena, California.

From the guide to the Vance Gerry and the Weather Bird Press Archive, 1966-1992, (William Andrews Clark Memorial Library)