The Pike (Past its Peak) by Stephen Brown - Making of the Book
The book The Pike (Past its Peak) was begun while I was a student under Dr. Bill Wittich, in the photography department at Long Beach State. After graduation in 1978, photography continued as the Pike was deteriorating, ending shortly before the park ceased operation. Hundreds of photographs were made with 35mm and medium format cameras, in color and B&W. Interviews were recorded with half a dozen Pike operators, many of whom had worked there since the 1930’s.

Composing the book began in 1980. Money for production costs was borrowed from banks, relatives and anyone who would sit still for a pitch. As desktop publishing did not yet exist, production methods were standard for the times. Page layouts were done manually, photographs were separated on film and text had to be typeset by professionals. Revising text was costly, as all changes had to be reset by outside contractors. To save money, I even enlisted my father, Don Brown, to do some typesetting at the newspaper where he was managing editor.

The book was self-published in October of 1981. It was 8 X 10 inches, 64 pages long with 47 photographs, saddle stitched and perfect bound. University and public libraries bought a significant percentage of the press run. Sales through bookstores and direct to individuals consumed most of the remaining inventory. The book sold out in two years. I was surprised by the very large number of amusement park enthusiasts who were eager to acquire a piece of history from a vanishing form of entertainment – private, organic and non-corporate amusement parks.

The Long Beach Pike had a long and rich history, spanning back to the very early years of the 1900’s. With appropriate research, time and money, a detailed history of the institution could (and should) be written. I’ve been collecting Pike memorabilia and anecdotes for years in preparation for such an effort. Using today’s more efficient technologies, a book with higher production values and greater historical content could be created, in half the time required for the original.

Remarkably, The Pike (Past it Peak) is now selling used on the Internet, and in collectible bookstores, at prices ranging from $200 to well over $400. I recently found a very small cache of original books in storage. They are first edition books in perfect, unused condition. These last few books are now available through Proteus Workshop.