L.L.Bean Opens Its Archive for 100th Anniversary Book

FREEPORT, Maine, Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of its 100th Anniversary, outdoor retailer L.L.Bean has opened its archives for the writing of a new book, Guaranteed to Last: L.L.Bean's Century of Outfitting America. The book offers the first comprehensive historical look at L.L.Bean, and explores the company's place in our culture and how it has helped America learn to love the outdoors.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120215/NE53682 )

Author Jim Gorman, an award-winning writer, avid outdoor enthusiast and contributing editor to Backpacker and Popular Mechanics, offers a brisk narrative based on fresh interviews and research tracing L.L.Bean's most important incidents and innovations, as well as its defining products and most memorable people. Gorman describes how the ideas that drove the company are related to what was happening in the wider world, from soldiers' experiences in both World Wars, to the "back to the land" movement of the 1960s and 1970s that brought millions of people to the wilderness for the first time, to the Official Preppy Handbook craze of the 1980s, when the styles of New England enthralled the nation.

"As L.L.Bean approached its 100th anniversary, we realized that there was a unique opportunity to tell the L.L.Bean story from a historical perspective, sharing our vast and largely unseen archive," said Jenna Klein Jonsson, Creative Director and Managing Editor at L.L.Bean. "In writing this book, we focused on the interesting parallels between L.L.Bean's story and American culture."

Guaranteed to Last highlights key features of the company's background and history including:

• Scores of photographs, illustrations, and artifacts, including images of L.L. Bean hunting in Maine in the 1910s, personal correspondence to L.L. Bean from notables ranging from President Franklin D. Roosevelt  to Ted Williams, and artfully photographed vintage products event
• Timelines that tell L.L.Bean's story in the context of American history
• Styles of the Times: a look at the most popular L.L.Bean styles of each decade
• "24 Hours at L.L.Bean": Jim Gorman's account of a typical day at L.L.Bean, including an overnight visit to the 24-hour flagship store in Freeport, ME, and a behind-the-scenes look at all aspects of the operation, from a Product Research and Testing Laboratory to a Call Center

L.L.Bean also recently republished Hunting, Fishing and Camping, a guide to the outdoors written by the company's founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, in 1942.

Guaranteed to Last (Melcher Media, January 2012) is now available for purchase from the L.L.Bean catalog, L.L.Bean retail locations and llbean.com for a special price of $19.12. The book is also available at major booksellers. For more information on Guaranteed to Last; Hunting, Fishing and Camping; and L.L.Bean's other 100th Anniversary initiatives, visit www.llbean.com. 

About L.L.Bean, Inc.

L.L.Bean, Inc. is a leading multichannel merchant of quality outdoor gear and apparel. Founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, the company began as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe. While its business has grown over the years, L.L.Bean still upholds the values of its founder, including his dedication to quality, customer service and a love of the outdoors. L.L.Bean products are rigorously tested, guaranteed to last and always shipped free. In the past five years, L.L.Bean has donated over $6 million toward conservation and land stewardship. The 200,000 sq. ft. L.L.Bean retail store campus in Freeport, ME, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and welcomes more than 3 million visitors every year. L.L.Bean can be found worldwide at www.llbean.com, L.L.Bean Facebook,  L.L.Bean Twitter and L.L.Bean YouTube.

SOURCE L.L.Bean, Inc.