In the summer of 1938, young Max Wheelwright had just graduated from college with a degree in mathematics and French. Though he was offered a teaching job in the little town of Richfield, Utah, his real interest was in printing. Through a series of fortuitous circumstances, he was able to enroll in a Fundamentals of Lithography class sponsored by the Lithographic Technical Foundation (forerunner of the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation). After three months in New York City, Max obtained a job with Schwabacher-Frey, a printing company in San Francisco. Following service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Max and his young family established their home in Salt Lake City, Utah, where, in 1947, with the financial help of their father, he and his two brothers established Wheelwright Lithographing Company.
LTF Class 1938 Max Wheelwright at the press
For the next twenty-eight years, Wheelwright Lithographing Company (along with sister companies Wheelwright Press and Pioneer Music Press) developed a reputation for some of the finest color press work in the Intermountain West. Sometime in the 1950s, Max teamed up with Dr. Richard Shaw to produce Wildflowers of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. This launched a series of outdoor guides to various areas in the western United States, including California, Arizona and Glacier National Park, as well as Grand Teton and Yellowstone.
When Max sold the printing arm of his business in 1975, he and his wife Ann retained the publication of some of the nature guides, and, in 1999, when they finally thought it was time to retire, they passed the publishing end of the business on to their daughter Catherine, who was then living in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. By this time, the books still in print all focused on Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It didn’t take long for Catherine and her husband Randl to realize that their customers would be better served if the business was located nearer to the parks. So they packed up their inventory, along with their household, and relocated to Helena, Montana.
As it has turned out, Helena was a wise choice. Just three hours drive from the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park and only a few hours more to the other Yellowstone gateways and Grand Teton, Helena is the capital city of Montana, affording all the services needed by a growing family business. Situated in the heart of the northern Rockies, it is also a beautiful place to live and work, albeit a little chilly in the winter months. From this location we are able to hand deliver the books we publish to customers in the area. In addition, with the magic of the Internet we are able to offer sales and services to anyone in the world.
