Attention to Detail Aptly Describes Doug's Style

J.M. Dent & Sons (Canada) Limited commissioned Doug to illustrate the 438-page textbook CANADA: The Struggle for Empire; he used acetate ink in order to achieve the dry-brush effect. The First Printing was February 1960.

One aspect of Doug's recognizable style - whether he's illustrating a textbook or creating a color cartoon for Playboy - is his attention to detail.

"Benjamin Franklin was trained as a printer and in 1729 had his own printing and publishing house in Pennsylvania, where he published the "Pennsylvania Gazette," writing much of the material for the newspaper himself. The "Pennsylvania Gazette" eventually became the Saturday Evening Post. In the picture, Franklin's assistant is seen operating the printing press, tightening the handle which presses the sheet of paper against the inked type." - pg. 252 caption

"The Eskimo of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands hunted the sea otter from a type of boat called an "umiak," made of walrus or sealskins stretched over a light wooden framework. The umiak could be either rowed or paddled. Sometimes, when the wind was favourable, a square sail was used. The picture shows a Russian trader being rowed to his ship in an umiak loaded with sea otter skins." - pg. 396 caption

"The English fishermen cleaned and dried their catch on shore. The catch was landed on the wharf, and from there it was taken to the shed for dressing. The livers then went to the press (left centre) where cod-liver oil was extracted. The fish were washed in the tank on the beach before being laid out on the "flakes" in the foreground to dry. This method of preserving the catch was known as "dry" fishery." - pg. 38 caption

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)