A Texas Standard Documentary, Out Of The Blue - towerhistory

In 1964, Dave applied for and was chosen for the position of editor of Riata, the student literary magazine at the University of Texas at Austin. This engraving plate was designed by Jim Jacobs, an art student who was recommended to Dave by Jim's painting professor, Ralph White. Dave had gone to the Art Department in search of someone to produce a design that he had in mind for the cover of his first issue of Riata. Jim came up with the cover art for the magazine and also produced the engraving plate, based on Dave's image of a snake curled in an R, which would help advertise their first number of Riata.

Dave's first issue of Riata had as its theme a meeting of East and West, with the cover illustrating the idea through a southwestern image and an oriental type of sun. It was Jim's idea to include an orange sheet under the cover that would show through the hole punched in the center of the sun. Professor Ambrose Gordon wrote a review of the issue for The Daily Texan,  the student newspaper, and called it "a collector's item," which sold out the printing in two days. The issue would win honorable mention in the annual Saturday Review contest for college magazines.

The cover of Dave's second issue of the magazine was of Jim's own design. Before the wonders of the computer, Jim arranged his four Rs in a block and Xeroxed them over and over until he had enough to fill the cover. The line of Rs in green was covered up by a grosgrain ribbon with a red seal that held the two ends together, and when removed by the reader revealed the colorful greens with their white dots. The ribbon and the seal were attached by hand for each copy--precursors of Jim's special handcrafted touches that he would give to Prickly Pear books when the two worked together as a team on Dave's small press.