In 1956 artist James Houston came to Cape Dorset as the northern service officer with the Canadian government's Department of Northern Affairs. One of his duties was to foster the production of carvings and other handicrafts by the Inuit residents. By 1959 the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative had been formed, laying the groundwork for a legendary printmaking tradition. Today the annual release of Cape Dorset prints, produced by the Co-operative's Kinngait Studios, is eagerly anticipated by collectors around the world. Cape Dorset Prints: A Retrospective is the first book to tell the full story of this historic printmaking community. - Publisher.