My first taste of Golden Age Illustrators of children’s books, which is the period of the late 1800’s until a bit after World War I, was on a trip to England. My theatre class took the May term and traveled to London. I had, and have a habit of buying art postcards from museums, tourist … Read more
Another ABE e-mail came my way and I was surprised to see it was about the illustrator of children’s books, Kate Greenaway. Her work is everywhere-that’s what public domain can do for a long dead artist. I knew nothing about her life, the article at ABE sheds some light on it, and the fact … Read more
It happened again. I found a title with divine illustrations that I could afford, and ordered it from ABE or another seller on the bookfinder website. I eagerly mutilated the box tearing tape and cardboard in my haste to see the promised art. A Mother Goose naturally, this one illustrated by Edna Cooke, a new … Read more
I’ve never gone through the doors of Riverton’s butter hued public library. I don’t consider visiting neighboring towns’ libraries, I assume they serve the immediate population, not the town two doors down. And considering how teeny the quaint Victorian building is, I doubt that more than a few people can fit among the bookshelves. One … Read more
I collect images. Physical ones, and virtual ones. I have stacks of illustrated children’s books, crime fiction dust jacketed books, Deco magazines and books, whatever grabs my eye and is pleasing, I want, no need, to keep. On flickr I have uploaded over 16,000 images. I used to be able to claim most came from … Read more
I was searching for info about an Alice in Wonderland in french, illustrated by an artist Morin, when another link popped up about a novel called Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin published in 2010. I was surprised not to have known of it, and very excited to find it–I’d read slews of things about … Read more
Once again, I tripped over an episode of mock conservative Stephen Cobert’s show, and low and behold, he’s interviewing the famous children’s writer and illustrator–Maurice Sendak. If you’ve not seen Colbert–think of a fake sincere smart aleck whose comebacks are fast and furious, and usually hilarious. I find it hard to believe in this day … Read more
Sometimes the urge comes on me, and I desperately need to be among old volumes. The scent of fine aged paper, unopened boxes of new acquisitions, rows of superior bindings and dust jackets, ordinary reading copies that will be passed along to some other biblio, is essential to my mental health. The spot I rush … Read more
