Alex Taylor is an artist, a writer, and the great - grandson of the founder of the Mentholatum Company, A. A. Hyde.  Alex pieced together the history of Mentholatum from documents in the family collection and from more than 1,000 items he collected on eBay over a five year period.  His background as an artist and collaboration with Susan Hartman, a professional book designer, has produced a beautifully illustrated masterpiece.

When not writing books, he works on paintings and drawings in the studio behind his house. Taylor has been an Imagineer at the Walt Disney Company, the head of the Exhibits Department at the Minnesota State Zoo, and the owner of an architectural sign company manufacturing and marketing a sign-framing system he patented.  He has done extensive research for his next book on the life and times of his ancestor Col. Samuel McDowell, a Virginia frontier patriot and the first Supreme Court judge in Kentucky.  He and his wife Vickie live in La Canada, California.

Susan H. Hartman is a graphic designer who specializes in books. During her career she has produced both large and small designs for individuals and corporations. She and Ed, her photographer / husband, live and work in Altadena, California.