A Not-so-Brief History of the Trapper’s Daughter

Posted May 7, 2014 by Marian

This is the very first Trapper’s Daughter. The Trapper’s Daughter & A Christmas Surprise.

We think she’s from 2002, although neither one of us is entirely sure. I love this one, with her tiny little feet and her lumber jacket. She’s more cartoony than she is in later years but somehow most adorably herself.

Next up is The Trapper’s Daughter Sings to the Pickerel, in 2004. The story begins to unfold. She’s still wearing her red-and-black checked lumber jacket but now she obviously has a deep and secret life having to do with mysteries of the great wintry north.

At this point we see someone who may or may not be The Trapper’s Daughter, but in a cameo role, just passing by. This one is called Winter Light, 2005.

You can tell who she is by her lantern and mukluks. The next winter this print inspired The Trapper’s Daughter & the Sleepless Bear, but before that we had the landmark and quite heroic The Trapper’s Daughter Crosses the Lake in 2006.

Now she begins to develop a following. In The Trapper’s Daughter & The Sleepless Bear, 2007, we see more evidence of her fairy-tale life and powerful friends.

At this point, Mr. Allen makes a rare misstep*, forever after to be known as the “Googley-Eyes Incident.” I present The Trapper’s Daughter & the Emperor Beaver.

It’s a fabulous print, full of depth, detail and story until you get to this:

Chalk it up to experience. The next year, 2009, he pulled out all the stops: The Trapper’s Daughter Takes the Otter Slide.

In 2010 came the more quiet and meditative The Trapper’s Daughter & Who She Met in the Middle. Rick did two versions of this one: sunny and cloudy.

In 2010, Rick decided to try something different. He was tired of hand-coloring prints and wanted to try printing on rice paper, with multiple blocks. He and Janelle labored intensely over this one. Each print demanded 26 passes through the press and 26 separate blocks. The Trapper’s Daughter & The Long View.

Here we are introduced to her new familiars, the raccoon and the owl. We’ve already met raven and bear. Because it occurred to them and because they could, they also printed an edition called The Trapper’s Daughter & The Long View (moon). This one had two extra blocks for the moon. Just realized it’s not up on the website. I’ll add it soon, but here it is.

In 2012, having received such a fantastic response to Long View, The Trapper’s Daughter suddenly became shy and retreated. She nearly didn’t make it over the border for her annual Earth Day appearance, but eventually did… a bit late. The somewhat wistful, The Trapper’s Daughter & A Sudden Fall.

We’re almost coming to the end, but before I show you the last two prints, here are two more cameo appearances. The first one from 2007, in Ever-Hopeful Spring.

And the second one in Dangerously Bright Eyes, 2010—here she is snowboarding in a skirt.

Next came The Trapper’s Daughter & The Spring Moose, 2013. Rick returned to fewer blocks and more hand coloring as he was busy working on Winter Bees.

And this year, the brilliant and already beloved The Trapper’s Daughter & The Close Reach. This one is another multi-block print… this time 13 blocks, each one with multiple colors.

So thats it! We’re developing a new website that will have filtering capabilities and you’ll be able to click on “The Trapper’s Daughter” and have them all come up on one page instead of the current needle-in-a-haystack method. Until then, I hope this post helps!

*Loyal to the end, Mr. Allen stands by his googley-eyed portrayal of a young woman desperately trying to feign a look of wide-eyed interest when being presented with an interminable recitation of the winter count by the Emperor Beaver. Okay then.

Posted May 7, 2014 by Marian

16 Responses

David Horn says:

May 7, 2014 at 3:07 pm

Wonderful. Hers is an illustrious history that needed telling. And I’m relieved to know that it’s not The Trapper’s Daughter who looks so in peril on ‘Up is just one of many possibilities’ (I think that’s what it was called).
marian says:

May 7, 2014 at 3:48 pm

Ha! Yes fortunately not her, although the whole googley-eyed thing does pop up there again. Thanks, Dave.
Katy W. says:

May 7, 2014 at 8:32 pm

Love the Emporer Beaver print! It’s one of my favorites. No apologies, please! It’s perfect… The Trapper’s Daughter is lovely and special to my husband and me. Thank you for bringing her to life!
marian says:

May 8, 2014 at 4:20 am

Thank you, Katy. Rick will be very happy to hear that!
Michael Reed says:

June 21, 2014 at 4:01 pm

I have Emperor Beaver (and 4 others), and it is my favorite! Why is the “googley eyes” considered a “misstep”?
marian says:

June 22, 2014 at 4:58 am

Ahh, Michael, thank you for this. It will do Rick’s heart some good. Maybe it’s the connotations of the sanpaku eyes… who knows, but for whatever reason, the googley eyes seem to discourage people from buying what is truly one of the charming prints. Thank you for taking one home!
Renee Newland says:

December 9, 2014 at 10:17 am

I am enchanted. With all of your work, but especially the Trapper’s Daughter! I came across your site because of a book we own in which you have done the artwork (The Dark Emperor). My kids and I love the poems and the way your artwork brings them to life. I must say that I am longing to know the story behind each of the Trapper’s Daughter prints! Have you ever considered doing a book series with these? I may just have to write them for our own enjoyment, because the prints are that inspiring. Absolutely beautiful!
marian says:

December 9, 2014 at 3:34 pm

Thank you, Renee! We are actually waiting for some kind soul to write the story and pull it all together. Feel free to give it a go!
Virginia DaSilva says:

January 14, 2015 at 6:51 pm

I grew up on the Iron Range, moved away at 20,to MI,NH, WI and ended in northern NV. Discovered your artwork on a return trip to Grand Marais MN last October and bought several Trappers Daughter cards. So pleased to know her history now. Have shared your site on my FB page as a Winter Treat ( readable not edible, though “delicious”) to all my hiking/snowshoeing/canoeing/ camping friends and family. Would love to tour your studio on some trip to Duluth ( lived there 1973-75 to finish degree at UMD.
Lindsey says:

August 26, 2015 at 6:16 pm

Love this series! We got the Trapper’s Daughter and the Long View for our older daughter last summer. She loves bears and climbing trees and we love the beautiful and yet powerful and brave portrayal of the Trapper’s Daughter. Now we are awaiting the personality of our 8mth old daughter to come out strongly before choosing a Trapper’s Daughter print for her as well!
nic says:

January 16, 2016 at 3:50 pm

We love them all. Just got a larger version of “The Close Reach” shipped to us in Portland to join “Takes the Otter Slide at a Leap” and “The Sleepless Bear” on our walls. Hoping to add the Spring Moose and Who She met in the middle soon. Someone needs to write her stories for an illustrated coffee table book!
- Nic says:
  
  August 31, 2019 at 5:07 am
  
  A year after I posted this, my daughter was born. Nearly every night since then I have told her a bed time story that begins : “Once upon a time, in the North Woods, there lived a young girl who always wore a pink skirt and a white shirt, and never left home without her trusty axe…”
  
  The first time I realized she understood what we were saying came when she started grabbing my shirt collar when I said “shirt”.
  
  Thank you for the story inspiration.
Amy says:

May 26, 2016 at 7:33 am

Just curious…is there some kind of folk tale or something behind the Trapper’s Daughter?
marian says:

May 26, 2016 at 8:34 am

Hi Amy… No there’s no story. It all just seems to be flowing out of Rick’s imagination. We’re hoping that some day, someone will write the story. So far a few people have tried, but haven’t really captured the essence. Or maybe we’ll break down and write it ourselves some day. Who knows!
Jo says:

June 7, 2016 at 9:04 am

I first met the trappers daughter when she was singing to the pickerel, but the day I saw her crossing the lake, I knew how special she was.

I too have always hoped someone would write down her adventures, but for the time being I am content to catch glimpses of her through the seasons just out of the corner of my eye.
Trapper’s daughter | Green Librarian says:

June 29, 2018 at 4:05 am

[…] story, or article, is entitled “A Not-so-Brief History of the Trapper’s Daughter” by Marian over at Ken Speckle Letter Press. If you ever get up to Duluth, I highly recommend […]

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