Pictures from an Old Book

An interesting calligraphy manual from a long time ago - when people took writing and type seriously... The book offers practical hints and technical information on how to produce fancy lettering while providing lined pages for the user to practise copying it. As you can see on the third image, someone's had a pretty good go at it!

A great little book I picked up from a second-hand bookshop some time ago. Richard D. Taylor(1902-1972) was a Canadian-born artist who came to the US in the mid-1930's and produced work for many American publications including The New Yorker, Esquire, The Saturday Evening Post, Playboy and many others. There are plenty of images to be found on the internet but not any decent biographies - this is the best one I could find: http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2012/04/19/found-in-the-collection-richard-d-taylor-1902-1970/

The fantastic work of British illustrator Richard Beards( http://www.richardbeards.com/engine/foliosite.html ). I was very lucky to have seen some of Richard's work in the flesh - as well as meeting him a few times some twelve years ago - and it's way better than the printed material. His sense of design and colour is so elegant and sophisticated that it's as if it comes from another era - the thirties perhaps or the forties. It's certainly very rare to find such quality in contemporary illustration.

This book was made into a feature length film "Frankie Starlight" starring Matt Dillon and Anne Parillaud in 1995, two years after it's publication. Chet Raymo's biography here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Raymo

Michael Foreman (born in Suffolk, UK in 1938) is a prolific children's author and illustrator working over the past five decades. He received the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for his work and has collaborated with many well known writers. Here's an extended biography on him (on the British Council's website) with a long list of his books: http://literature.britishcouncil.org/michael-foreman

Apart from its stunning illustrations, this book is one of the early literary attempts to generate awareness about the massive industrial pollution and the systematic destruction of our planet's resources. Sadly, forty years on, things are only going from bad to worse for the environment. Children that were brought up with books like this one are now part of the establishment, enabling the pollution to go on indefinitely while no one seems to have any interest in trying to stop it.

This is, by far, the funniest children's book I've ever read. Simple and punchy lines that kids can follow and memorise, yet quite a surreal story: A rabbit, riding a motorcycle in the forest (a perfect match of urban and country style!) bangs any creature that comes his way on the head with a hammer. Victims vary from the tiny earth worms to goblins and tigers(!). They all complain to the Good Fairy who duly warns Rabbit Foo Foo that if he doesn't stop she'll turn him into a goonie. He, of course, remains defiant...

Michael Rosen's prose is just perfect (here's the author's website: http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/ ) and Arthur Robins (b. 1944) is a master in creating all the lovable characters in the book with all their funny expressions, postures and animation. Here is his biographical note on the Walker Books website: http://www.walker.co.uk/contributors/Arthur-Robins-2974.aspx

The endpapers of the book, parading all Rabbit Foo Foo's victims.

The formidable and rather atypical Good Fairy in action. Arthur Robins' own website is: http://www.artrobins.com/

It appears that Josef Lada (1887-1957) is a Czech legend, much loved for generations in his country - and rightly so. I only found out about this artist when I picked up this book and realised these weren't just any ordinary illustrations. Just taking a glimpse at this pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/mmmdancer1/love-josef-lada/ you'll get a flavour of the huge volume of his work that's been published! This book is a German translation of Jaroslav Hašek's famous book, "The Good Soldier Švejk" (originally published in 1923). The story is a series of farcical incidents in the life of a Czech soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War 1. Here is the link on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Soldier_%C5%A0vejk

Three more of Lada's illustrations - such simple lines but so expressive and funny. There is an excellent collection of work in colour he produced for children's publications on the 50Watts blog: http://50watts.com/filter/czech/The-Seasons-Come-The-Seasons-Go

There is also an interesting biography on Jaroslav Hašek(1883-1923) on this link: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hasek.htm

A classic 50's book jacket designed by Stephen Russ (1919-1983). Russ studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1930's under Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious and worked as a freelance designer/illustrator for many publishers in the UK. From the 1950's onwards he taught design at Bath Academy of Art. Here's the only biography I could find on the internet: http://www.baacorsham.co.uk/lightbox/srussintro.htm

Some more Penguin covers designed by Stephen Russ here: http://vintagepenguins.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/covers-by-stephen-russ-part-one.html

Another one of my all time favourite children's books! The lovable characters of Eve Tharlet in beautiful traditional village settings. Every detail of the buildings meticulously drawn: the iron work on the window hinges, the hanging sign and railings, the thatched roof, slates, the tiny windows, wood work, stone work are a delight to look at! I love the colour schemes of soft whites, yellow ochre, browns and greys reminiscent of Rembrandt and Van Dyke. Here's a link to the artist's website with many more amazing illustrations and lists of her other books: http://www.evetharlet.com/en/accueil

There is so much attention paid to the details by the artist that you can imagine being there among the characters and these beautiful houses. The flaking plaster on the walls, the grain in the wood beams, the rustic guttering, the patchwork quilt - you could look at them for hours. Also the viewing angle from above is very interesting as it gives more depth to the pictures unlike other children's illustrations which tend to be more flat. I'd love to see these at a slightly larger scale as the book is quite small (15x15.5cm) but still, this is a true classic!

Sick and tired of listening to politicians (specially the one above) patronising us for three months now: "Wouldn't it be great to take own future in our own hands", "Wouldn't it be great if we could get rid of the English oppression", "Wouldn't it be great to manage our own economy and be one of the wealthiest nations in the world(!!!?), be small but proud and respected in our own right", "Wouldn't it be great if we could be just like Norway, hunky-dory and rich..."

Well, Norway did not manage to defend itself against the mighty Germans during World War II while Great Britain did! The whole world's eyes are fixed on Scotland today, mainly perplexed why anyone would want to leave the security of a powerful country such as the UK and venture into the unknown! Coming from a small country myself I know all too well what it feels like to be at the mercy of powerful neighbours - being controlled, manipulated and bullied in matters of economy, defence and politics...

"Vere Foster's Copy Books: Lettering, Plain And Ornamental" (published by Blackie & Son Limited, London and Glasgow, year unknown)

"The Pan Book Of Limericks" Edited By Louis Untermeyer, Illustrated By R. Taylor of the New Yorker (published in Great Britain in 1963 by Pan Books Ltd; this edition is from 1977) Part 1

"The Pan Book Of Limericks" Edited By Louis Untermeyer, Illustrated By R. Taylor of the New Yorker (published in Great Britain in 1963 by Pan Books Ltd; this edition is from 1977) Part 2

"The Pan Book Of Limericks" Edited By Louis Untermeyer, Illustrated By R. Taylor of the New Yorker (published in Great Britain in 1963 by Pan Books Ltd; this edition is from 1977) Part 3

"The Dork Of Cork" By Chet Raymo, Cover Illustration By Richard Beards (published by Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, London 1993)

"Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish" By Michael Foreman (Puffin Books, Penguin Books Ltd, London 1974)

"Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish" By Michael Foreman (Puffin Books, Penguin Books Ltd, London 1974) - Part 2

"Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish" By Michael Foreman (Puffin Books, Penguin Books Ltd, London 1974) - Part 3

"Little Rabbit Foo Foo" By Michael Rosen Illustrated By Arthur Robins (Published by Walker Books Ltd, London 1990)

"Little Rabbit Foo Foo" By Michael Rosen Illustrated By Arthur Robins (Published by Walker Books Ltd, London 1990) Part 2

"DIE ABENTEUER DES BRAVEN SOLDATEN SCHWEJK" by Jaroslav Hašek, illustrated by Josef Lada (published by KIEPENHEUER & WITSCH KOLN, Berlin 1956) Part 1

"DIE ABENTEUER DES BRAVEN SOLDATEN SCHWEJK" by Jaroslav Hašek, illustrated by Josef Lada (published by KIEPENHEUER & WITSCH KOLN, Berlin 1956) Part 2

"DIE ABENTEUER DES BRAVEN SOLDATEN SCHWEJK" by Jaroslav Hašek, illustrated by Josef Lada (published by KIEPENHEUER & WITSCH KOLN, Berlin 1956) Part 3

"The Penguin Book Of Contemporary Verse" Edited By Kenneth Allott, Book Cover Designed By Stephen Russ (published by Penguin Books Ltd, London 1956 - first published in 1950)

"Jack In Luck" By The Brothers Grimm, Illustrated By Eve Tharlet (published in Greek by AMMOS Publications, Athens 1994 - originally published by Michael Neugebauer Verlag AG, Zurich 1991) Part 1

"Jack In Luck" By The Brothers Grimm, Illustrated By Eve Tharlet (published in Greek by AMMOS Publications, Athens 1994 - originally published by Michael Neugebauer Verlag AG, Zurich 1991) Part 2

"Jack In Luck" By The Brothers Grimm, Illustrated By Eve Tharlet (published in Greek by AMMOS Publications, Athens 1994 - originally published by Michael Neugebauer Verlag AG, Zurich 1991) Part 3

"Pied Piper Salmond selling pipe dreams to Scots..." by Harris

"Pied Piper Salmond selling pipe dreams to Scots..." by Harris (part 2)

"Look What I've Got" By Anthony Browne (published by Walker Books Ltd, London 1996 - Orininally published by Julia MacRae Books 1980) Part 1