Lame Johnny Press and
Sunday Clothes: A Magazine of the Fine Arts
What's Here?
Linda is the owner/publisher of Lame Johnny Press, founded in 1971. Between 1971 and 1984, she edited and published 22 books. In 1984, with two books of her own published and a fellowship in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, Linda temporarily suspended operation of the press to devote her time to her own writing, submitting her work to other publishers, rather than investing the time in publishing them herself.
In 2020 Linda revived Lame Johnny Press, and has published three books and has a fourth one planned.
Note: Lame Johnny Press is not accepting submissions at this time. Thank you.
Linda published Sunday Clothes: A Magazine of the Fine Arts, quarterly, from 1972 through 1976.
Note: Sunday Clothes ceased operation in 1976. Please do not send any work to the magazine. Thank you.
Lame Johnny Press Book List
A list of books edited by Linda and published by LJP.
Lame Johnny and Sunday Clothes: How Did They Get Their Names?
A bit about the Press, the Arts Magazine, and the historical figure, Lame Johnny -- by Linda M. Hasselstrom
Sunday Clothes: A Magazine of the Fine Arts
Includes photos of cover art with notes on a sampling of issues.
Read about what happened to the very first issue during the 1972 Rapid City flood on June 9th.
"The Death of an Independent Press"
In April, 1985, The Bloomsbury Review published an essay by Linda about shutting down Lame Johnny Press.
Read it here soon . . .
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Lame Johnny Press Book List
Books written or edited by Linda M. Hasselstrom and published by Lame Johnny Press.
Walking: the Changes. Poetry by Linda M. Hasselstrom; photographs by James W. Parker. 2023. Paper. (ISBN 978-0-917624-0807) Poetry and photographs.
When Hot Springs Was a Pup. 4th edition Charles Badger Clark. Edited by Linda M. Hasselstrom and Peggy Sanders. 2021. Paper. (ISBN 978-0-917624-04-09) History, humor, and historical photographs.
Write Now, Here's How: Insights from Six Decades of Writing. Linda M. Hasselstrom. 2020. Paper. (ISBN 978-0-917624-01-08). Nonfiction, writing suggestions.
The following Lame Johnny Press books are currently out of print. The best way to find copies is through an internet book search.
Annie Tallent: The Mystery of the First White Woman in the Black Hills. Nancy N. Kovats. l983. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-26-2). History.
The Book Book: A Publishing Handbook. Linda M. Hasselstrom. LC 78- 78385. l979. Cloth. (ISBN 0-9l7624-l3-0) Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-ll-4). How to publish.
Buffalo Gap: A French Ranch in Dakota. Edmond De Mandat-Grancey. Ed. by Keith Cochran & Dave Strain. Tr. by Phyllis Gorum from Fr. (Illus). l98l. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-23-8). History.
A Country for Old Men & Other Stories. E.R. Zietlow. LC 76-58238. l977. Cloth. (ISBN 0-9l7624-05-X) Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-02-5) Short fiction, South Dakota.
Delivery. Carolyn Bell. (Outlaws Series: Vol. 3). l980. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-l9-X) Poetry.
Heart of the Country (See Indian Maiden's Captivity)
The Hills Aren't Black: Poetry of the Black Hills. Larry C. Nelson (Illus.). 48 p. l980. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-20-3) Poetry.
The Indian Maiden's Captivity. E.R. Zietlow. Bound with Heart of the Country. LC 78-6l093. l979. (ISBN 0-9l7624-l0-6) Fiction.
Mato, Come Heal Me. Craig Volk. (Outlaws Series: Vol. 4). l980. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-l5-7) Poetry.
Next-Year Country: One Woman's View. edited by Linda M. Hasselstrom. LC 77-91463. l978. Cloth (ISBN 0-9l7624-09-2) Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-07-6). Photos, commentary, history of Nebraska.
Soft Voices: Poetry of the Black Hills. Larry C. Nelson. (Illus.). 49 p. l980. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-2l-l) Poetry.
Teaching the Door to Close. Phillip McCaffrey. (Grasslands Series: Vol. l). 24 p. l983. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-24-6) Poetry.
Topographics. Margaret Condon. (Outlaws Series: Vol. l). l977. Some signed, numbered; paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-06-8) Poetry.
When Hot Springs Was a Pup. 3rd edition. Badger Clark. (Illus.) 96 p. l983. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-25-4) History, humor.
Where is Dancer's Hill? Robert Schuler. (Outlaws Series; Vol. 2). l979. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-l8-l)
White River Pete Sez. Byron Bradfield. l978. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624- 08-4)
A Bird Begins to Sing: Northwest Poetry & Prose. edited by Linda M. Hasselstrom. l979. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-l2-2)
Homemade Poems. Daniel Lusk. (Illus.) l974. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-00-9)
Horizons: The South Dakota Writers' Anthology. Edited by Linda M. Hasselstrom and Nancy Iversen. 1983. Paper. (ISBN 0-917624-27- 0) Also study guide for Horizons.
Sculpture by Tuma. Michael R. Tuma. Vol. I. (ISBN 0-9l7624-04-l)
Sculpture by Tuma. Michael R. Tuma. Vol. II. (ISBN 0-9l7624-03-3)
When Hot Springs Was a Pup. Charles Badger Clark. (Illus.) l976. Paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-0l-7). First Lame Johnny Press edition.
Titles distributed:
Caught By One Wing. Linda M. Hasselstrom. Letterpress, paper. (ISBN 0-9l7624-29-7) published by Julie D. Holcomb., dist. by Lame Johnny Press. Poetry.
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During the 1970s and '80s, Linda combined ranch work-- here she is fixing a barb wire fence-- with her publishing and writing life.
Lame Johnny Press and Sunday Clothes: How Did They Get Their Names?
by Linda M. Hasselstrom, 2011
When I returned to South Dakota [after graduate school and work in Missouri] with my first husband, I wanted to create a publishing house for South Dakota. Searching for a name, I realized that since tourism is a major industry, the terms “Black Hills” or “South Dakota” were part of many names. I wanted a name that would be distinctively different, regional, and clearly reminiscent of the area. I live not far north of Lame Johnny Creek, so I hit on the idea of calling it Lame Johnny Press.
Lame Johnny, I thought, might epitomize independent business at its best. All the history I’d read at that time indicated that he had been illegally hanged by vigilantes when he was on his way to stand trial for robbing stagecoaches and stealing horses. Artists and writers are often misunderstood, the outlaws of society, so the name seemed to fit.
We called the magazine Sunday Clothes: A Magazine of the Arts, to indicate that we would publish the very best, the “Sunday clothes” of writing and art in the state.
We published the first issue of the magazine in Spring/Summer, 1972. I went to Rapid City to read proof on it at the printer’s. On my way home, I had to pull over to wait out a ferocious rainstorm. That was the 1972 flood, and since our printer was situated alongside Rapid Creek, our magazine washed away. Later, we pieced together enough remnants of the magazine from material rescued from the print shop’s flood debris to reprint the issue.
That should have been a suggestion about the wisdom of the enterprise, but I kept publishing the magazine until 1976.
All along, however, I wanted to publish books by South Dakotans and about South Dakota, and Lame Johnny Press published 22 books.
We defined our region loosely, primarily South Dakota, but including adjoining states. We tried to avoid writers and artists who were already famous in favor of encouraging those who had not yet made their mark.
I once wrote, “We have the chance to have the best of both here, Arts and Air, Culture and Clean Streams, Paintings without Pollution. . . . we must look to our own resources, our own artists, educators, administrators, and develop the arts for our own children.”
As soon as I’d named the press, I started doing research on Lame Johnny, believing that I should know as much as possible about him since I was using his name.
For more complete information on my pursuit of Lame Johnny, look for my article “On the Trail of Lame Johnny,” published January/February 1998 by South Dakota Magazine, pp. 63-67.
# # #
Note: Lame Johnny Press was revived in 2020 to publish some of Linda's books, but is not accepting submissions at this time.
Sunday Clothes ceased publication in 1976. Please do not submit work for this magazine. Thank you.
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Sunday Clothes: A Magazine of the Fine Arts
Sunday Clothes was published quarterly by Lame Johnny Press, Associates, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, from 1972 through 1976.
Sunday Clothes put out an open call for submissions of paintings, poetry, sculpture, plays, photographs, fiction, sketches, book and movie reviews.
There were no limitations in subject matter or length, nor did the writer or artist have to be a professional to enter the pages. In fact, the publishers prefered to recognize talent that had not appeared widely.
Work accepted for Sunday Clothes was "paid for" by three copies of the magazine and a year’s subscription.
The cover price started at $1.25 for the first issue but rose by the second issue once printing costs were figured. Meeting the printing bill was an ongoing concern since subscriptions never matched the number of issues printed. Unsold copies of Sunday Clothes were made available to schools at a reduced rate for use in creative writing, art, or art appreciation classes.
The magazine was published in two formats:
Magazine format
8.5 x 11 inches with a heavy card-stock cover.
Newspaper format
11 x 17 inches on newsprint.
Each newspaper was folded in half for distribution so the front covers shown below are 8.5 x 11 inches.
Below are a sampling of issues, with some brief information about the cover art and artists.
The excerpted notes from the publisher from each issue give you an idea of the travails faced during the years this arts magazine was in publication-- a massive flood, problems with the Postal Service, ongoing money-troubles, and discussions with artists as to the nature of art and what the readers of the magazine wanted to see.
Sunday Clothes
Spring/Summer 1972 --- Volume 1, Number 1
Published in magazine format, 48 pages.
Cover price $1.25, subscription $5
Cover: Lithograph by R. C. Gorman, “Walking Women,” black on buff Arches paper, 30x22.
Pages 7 through 11 showed other lithographs by R.C. Gorman, who was born on the Navaho reservation at Chinle, Arizona. A short article about the artist included a few photos of him at work.
Excerpt of a note from the publisher:
This issue of SUNDAY CLOTHES was intended to reach newsstands by June 15 [1972]. Those plans were drastically altered when we were informed that all original copy, and all negatives for printing, had been lost in the June 9 flood which devastated Rapid City. It was even more frustrating to learn that the magazine had already been printed, and that 1,000 copies floated away down Rapid Creek. If you find a copy of that first issue, you have a treasure; only one copy survived at Nauman Printing.
On the other hand, while cleaning up the wreckage, Nauman employees were able to salvage most of the flats necessary for reconstructing this issue -- some damaged photos were eliminated or replaced, so it is unavoidably not quite what we had originally done.
The flood rather sharply demonstrated the reasons we advise artists not to send us [the] only copies of any material; disaster doesn’t take long.
Sunday Clothes
Autumn 1972 --- Volume 1, Number 2
Published in magazine format, 48 pages.
Cover price $2, subscription $5
Cover: photograph by Caroline McAllister, a freelance photographer, Costa Mesa, California.
The photo appeared in a California show with the work of Southern California potter Bob Daniells.
Excerpt of a note from the publisher:
This project originally received a grant from the South Dakota Arts Council; however, the bulk of contributions for the first issue and this, the second, comes from individuals interested in supporting the cultural life of their community and the midwest.
The magazine’s staff consists of two persons, who do everything except the actual printing.
Printing cost per copy of Volume 1, Number 1, was $1.24-2/3, or 1/3-cent less than the retail price of the magazine. . . . These costs were exclusive of postage, telephone bills, gasoline, and other operating expenses.
Sunday Clothes
Winter 1972 --- Volume 1, Number 3
Published in magazine format, 48 pages.
Cover price $2, subscription $5
Cover: detail, Fringed Jacket, etching, by Frank Stack, Columbia, Missouri.
The entire Fringed Jacket etching and two others by the same artist (House with Trellis and Two Story House) appear in the issue.
Excerpt of a note from the publisher:
Though our subscription list increased by nearly 100 per cent after the publication of our initial issue, and though those checks coming nearly every day pay the cost of supplies (paper, envelopes, stamps, copying, telephone, etc.), our major expenses for printing costs and distribution threaten to overwhelm us.
As if that weren’t enough, the Postal Service, after denying our initial application for a third-class bulk mailing permit, has taken six months on our appeal and still has not acted. So we pay 28-cents postage for each 7-ounce copy of Sunday Clothes mailed (third class bulk rate would be 11 cents a pound).
Sunday Clothes
Summer 1973 --- Volume 2, Number 2
Bicentennial Issue
Published in magazine format, 48 pages plus inside back cover.
Cover price $2, subscription $5
Cover: Special Bicentennial cover designed by Judy Gill, Rapid City.
Excerpt of a note from the publisher:
This Summer, 1973, issue marks the first full year of production of Sunday Clothes: A Magazine of the Fine Arts, by Lame Johnny Press, Associates.
To mark our first year, we wished to make a particular effort to display the artistic talent of South Dakotans, and residents of this midwestern region.
This is a special issue, too, in that it is part of a celebration of the nation’s past, present and future which will culminate in the summer of 1976, the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We feel it is fitting that the Bicentennial Committee has chosen to help us in financing this special issue, emphasizing the cultural present and future South Dakotans may expect -- for our state’s horizons in the arts are as wide as her prairies.
Sunday Clothes
Autumn 1973 --- Volume 2, Number 3
The Pied Piper Issue: Artists in South Dakota Schools
Published in magazine format, 48 pages plus inside front and back covers.
No cover price or subscription price listed.
Cover: Lion by Julie Langenfeld, Spearfish, South Dakota.
Artwork in color in this issue is all from the 1972 HAPPY program. (Hometown Art Project Planned for Youth)
Excerpt of a note from the publisher:
The Pied Piper, autumn issue, of Sunday Clothes, contains a selection of poetry written by children in South Dakota’s elementary and secondary schools through the Poetry-in-the-School program, sponsored by the South Dakota Arts Council through the National Endowment for the Arts and the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
It is hoped the Pied Piper will extend the effect of the poetry-in-the-schools projects beyond the visits of poets to the classrooms of South Dakota, and help teachers continue or begin such teaching to broaden the scope of the arts for our children.
Because this is an anthology of children’s work, spelling, punctuation and grammar have been carefully preserved as written by the children.
Sunday Clothes
Winter 1973 --- Volume 2, Number 4
Published in magazine format, 48 pages plus inside front and back covers.
Cover price $2, subscription $5
Cover: by Kathy Merrick, Montana.
Excerpt of a note from the publisher:
It would be a cliche to say the arts face a crisis; the arts are always facing a crisis. To be more specific, Sunday Clothes is -- well, broke. The continuing flow of subscriptions and contributions, which has been most gratifying, pays daily expenses -- postage, bookkeeping fees, purchase of paper, telephone bills, rent -- but is not enough to keep up with our single greatest expense, printing the magazine.
Approximately ten staff members, all unpaid, donated over 6,060 hours of their time to the production of the magazine last year. . . . But the arts are so important to them that they donated their time -- all they had to give -- so that others might have an opportunity to benefit by having an arts magazine in their area.
Often we hear the comment, “Well, it’s a nice magazine, but I don’t (understand) (like) your art.”
If you don’t like our art, send us yours. Never have we felt there was too much to choose from. We know there are many fine artists in the state and area we haven’t heard from -- not professionals, necessarily, but people who care about their work, who take it seriously and do it well. You should be seen in these pages; it’s your magazine.
Sunday Clothes
Summer 1975 --- Volume 4, Number 1
Published in newspaper format, 36 pages.
Cover price $1, subscription $5
Cover: ink drawing by Dave Huebner, Brookings, South Dakota.
This issue includes a short fiction piece by Dan O’Brien entitled Eminent Domain: A Love Story.
Sunday Clothes
Autumn 1976 --- Volume 5, Number 3
Published in newspaper format, 36 pages.
No cover price listed, subscription $5.25
Cover: lithograph "Girl on the Hill," by RaVae Marsh, Piedmont, South Dakota.
Pages 12 through 16 showed other lithographs by RaVae Marsh. A lengthy article about the artist, with a few photos of her, included her discussion of various pieces and an explanation of what makes an "original print."
The Death of an Independent Press
The Decision to Kill My Independent Press Was My New Year's Present to Myself
by Linda M. Hasselstrom
originally published in Bloomsbury Review
April, 1985
essay coming soon . . . when I have time to retype it, as I have no digital copy.
Note: Lame Johnny Press was revived in 2020 to publish some of Linda's books, but is not accepting submissions at this time.
Sunday Clothes ceased publication in 1976. Please do not submit work for this magazine. Thank you.