Photographic Memory: William Henry Jackson and the American West

Don’t miss this timely read, an NPR “Books We Love”: “Deeply researched biography told in sharply attentive black-and-white comics.”

Legendary cartoonist Bill Griffith brings a personal touch to this illustrated history of his great-grandfather, William Henry Jackson—a pioneering photographer of the American West whose work led to Yellowstone becoming the first National Park and was a major influence on Ansel Adams.

In his new graphic biography, legendary cartoonist Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead, tells the story of his namesake and great-grandfather, William Henry Jackson, who was one of the first photographers of the American West.

Jackson’s photography spurred Americans to move westward, inspiring photographers such as Ansel Adams, and playing a role in the creation of our national parks, including Yellowstone.

Using his unique approach to graphic novel biography, which Kirkus hails as setting a “standard” for the medium, Griffith explores every aspect of his great-grandfather’s life and legacy, which he pulls from family letters, diaries, and anecdotes, primary sources, and the archives of the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress, as well as from the more than 25 books written about Jackson and his work.

Like all of Griffith’s biographies, Photographic Memory is a thoroughly researched, sharply observant character study written from a place of love, which explores photography in an illustrated medium. Not an easy trick to pull off—unless you are Bill Griffith.