A new Lewis and Clark book has come off the press. It's a coffee table book. Hard cover. Glossy. Retails for $42.95. It's an art book. Think Bodmer, Russell, Bateman, Haynes and Clymer. Think rich, compelling color.

"Art of the Lewis & Clark Trail" has the look and feel of a major museum or high-end art gallery book.

Except this art book was published out of Jeff Evenson's north Bismarck home at 328 Lunar Lane.

No trinkets

It began with the approach of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial commemoration.

"I wanted to do trinkets," Evenson said. "My wife (Teri), who whenever she goes on a trip, buys local cookbooks … she said, 'Let's do a cookbook.'"

From that came "The Lewis and Clark Cookbook" in 2000 and "The Sacagawea Cookbook" in 2001. The Evensons, through Whisper'n Waters Inc. press, have developed a network of 200 retailers and have sold 32,000 cookbooks. The bicentennial commemoration runs through 2006, and the Evensons have another 15,000 cookbooks in the garage for that market.

"A new concept for us would be to drive the car into the garage," Evenson said.

People told the Evensons that they liked the art and quotes in the cookbooks. From there, Jeff Evenson put together "Art of the Lewis and Clark Trail," which mixes quotes from the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Lewis and Clark-related art.

And now, Whisper'n Waters has 10,000 copies of "Art of the Lewis and Clark Trail" on 22 pallets in a Bismarck warehouse. They arrived the second week in January from the printing operation in South Korea.

The risk

Jeff and Teri Evenson learned the book business with the publication of the two cookbooks. It gave them contacts and understanding of the market. That reduced some of the risk for "Art of the Lewis and Clark Trail." However, getting reproduction rights from museums, galleries and artists can be time consuming and expensive. And, then there's the printing costs.

"I figure I have more than $110,000 invested," said Jeff Evenson, who says he believes he can sell those books.

That might seem risky, but to be a publisher he says you have to be a bold thinker, he said.

The content

Reproduction rights for the art in the book had to be obtained from museums and individuals who owned the masterpieces.

"My contract book is that thick," he said, showing a 4-inch spread from thumb to first finger. It was, he said, the most time consuming part of preparing the book.

With permission came museum proofs, which determined exactly how the artwork was to appear in the book.

For instance, there's a portrait of an Osage warrior by Charles B J Fever de Saint-Memin done in 1807. "I said that color is washed out. The museum (Winterthur Museum in Delaware) said that was the color of the image today. My argument was that in 1870 it was much brighter."

The museum won.

"According to legal contract, I've got to do it the way that they've said," Evenson said.

The rights for the text from the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition had to be obtained from the University of Nebraska.

One thing that set Evenson's book apart from most Lewis and Clark-related books is the wildlife art.

"I read the journals … and started to see (in his mind) all of the wildlife," Evenson said. "Most of the existing books focus a lot on Lewis and Clark, and the Indians, not the wildlife. That's why I worked with Robert Bateman."

Bateman is a nationally respected wildlife painter.

In talking about how the art was chosen for the book, Evenson recalled a line from a review of one of the cookbooks that appeared in the magazine "We Proceeded On." The review said Evenson's work "evokes the spirit of Lewis and Clark."

"In looking for art, it had to have that spirit," Evenson said.

The printing

Whisper'n Waters printed the first edition of the "The Sacagawea Cookbook" in Canada and the second edition in Korea, a decision based on quality and price, Evenson said.

The printer, Daehan Printing and Publishing Co. in Seoul "did such a nice job with the art and color," Evenson said. And the price? Very reasonable.

The printing plant in Seoul employs about 900 people. During the printing of "Art of the Lewis & Clark Trail," Evenson made 48 press checks. It took a full week to print, and he never left the plant. The printer had a cafeteria and place for him to sleep.

"I arrived at the press at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, … and walked out the next Tuesday," said Evenson, who spent two weeks on the Korean peninsula this fall babysitting his book. The food, by the way, was excellent, he said.

The Internet

Much of the editing and writing of "Art of the Lewis and Clark Trail," as well as the development of Whisper'n Water's distribution system, took place on the Internet.

"I've got five phone lines into my house," Evenson said.

He went so far as to set up an FTP site that would allow him to move art and text by the Internet, using satellite hookups, between Bismarck and Seoul.

Jeff Evenson has a minor in computers, while Teri Evenson works for the state's information systems division.

Selling the book

Although Evenson's book has been printed and a distribution system has been working, he would still like to have it carried in the big chain bookstores. He's working with Ingram Book Group, a mega wholesaler. Ingram provides books to chains like Borders or Barnes and Noble Booksellers.

Pitching "Art of the Lewis and Clark Trail" had to wait until after it came off the press.

"It's hard to sell them a book when you don't have it in your hand," Evenson said.

The big picture

When asked why do a book, Evenson said, "In 100 years, no one will know who I am. But this book will probably be in libraries. A young man will probably pull out the book and say, 'Wow, I wonder what that was like.'"

But Whisper'n Waters isn't finished offering titles.

"We're looking at a cookbook titled "Frontier Captain's Table," Evenson said, keying on the steamboats that came up the Missouri River prior to the railroad era.