10.30.2008

enchanted isles







i want to travel to an enchanted isle...this child's treasury of literature holds many classics like "the elephant's child" by rudyard kipling. it's colorfully illustrated, has fantastic endpapers and is an all around wonderful resource for kids or grown-ups. it's book 3 in a series of 4 'readtext series' published by merrill books. also, all lithos...my favorite. this edition is perhaps the nicest former library edition ever, sadly it was never checked out, which explains it all. a hidden gem.

enchanted isles selected and edited by eleanor m. johnson and leland b. jacobs
readtext series treasury of literature, 1954, charles e. merrill books, new york
illustrated by mel crawford, grace dalles clarke, gertrude elliott, hugh lofting, kurt wiese, robert magnusen, decie merwin, and wiliam de j. rutherfoord

10.29.2008

updates

i've been having some issues trying to upload photos to blogger...i'll be trying for later today or tomorrow for a couple of posts...see you then!

in the meantime:

i love typography and i heart it too.

have you seen jay walker's library? who is jay walker? via things magazine.

vintage paperbacks and digests

10.20.2008

little mouse on the prairie





when i was a kid one of my favorite books was pippa mouse, and i've been on the hunt for a copy for a long time. when i saw this book, not only was i enamored with the cute title, but it reminded me of pippa. the story is nice enough but it's the illustrations that really stand out. the illustrations are by robin james who illustrated a series of books called serendipity books, which seem to have all been published in the late '70s early '80s. i think the big-eyed cute quality of her illustrations were a nice mix of nostalgic inspirations and early eighties sentiments (popular again after all this time)...definitely an illustrator worth checking out.

little mouse on the prairie by stephen cosgrove
a serendipity book, 1978, grolier enterprises, connecticut
illustrated by robin james

10.14.2008

my first golden encyclopedia







this is so not the encyclopedia that i had as a kid...i had the brittannica boring version...i clearly remember copying word for word everything about magellan for a school project, this was before i knew anything about plagiarism or proper research :)
if i had this encyclopedia, i may not have had the same depth of information but a whole lot more fun researching anything. the subtitle of this book is, "everything the beginner wants to know, from aircraft to zebra." and the pictures are just so pretty. and it's illustrated by william dugan. and everything is written to look like a poem. it's perfect!



my first golden encyclopedia: everything the beginner wants to know, from aircraft to zebra by jane werner watson
a golden book, 1965, golden press, new york
illustrated by william dugan
consultant bertha morris parker

10.09.2008

simplified mechanical drawing: a textbook for beginners






i normally steer clear of old textbooks, although there are a lot out there which are not only informative, but also designed really well. the textbook today is not the calibre of yesteryear's textbooks, that's for sure. anyways...this one on mechanical drawing techniques is really wonderful. i find the illustrations totally captivating. i also imagine that if you were into learning this type of drawing style, this book could be very helpful. with most instructional illustrations today being primarily digitally driven, i find these hand-drawn illustrations refreshing. on a personal note, although i do finish my illustrations digitally...they all start hand-drawn, and i always prefer to hand write any text included, so i guess i'm partial. i'm also reminded of draplin design co.'s ideas on american design, and i do agree. by the way, this book was written and illustrated by an "instructor in mechanical drawing, south bend central junior high school, and vocational school, south bend, indiana..." not some high falutin' engineering professor from carnegie mellon. as i said, refreshing.


simplified mechanical drawing: a textbook for beginners by thurman c. crook, b.s.
revised edition, 1935, mcgraw-hill book company, inc.
printed by the maple press company, york, pa.

10.07.2008

america's wonderlands: the national parks






i'm not an out-doorsy, camping, lake swimming lover (although i do love a good bonfire)...but i do really enjoy these kinds of tourist, encyclopedic, souvenir books. this one is published by national geographic society and is all about america's national parks. this book is full of great information and tons of wonderful kodachrome photos. it's interesting to see the difference between the "modern" day environmental troubles and the pristine quality of 1959's (when this book was published) environment. i'm not an expert, but i'm sure that deforestation and erosion (not to mention marijuana farming) have made a difference in the american landscape since then. on a sunnier note, if you're into the outdoors lifestyle or plan to visit any of the national parks, this is a great starting point for some unconventional and captivating information. this edition also has a wonderful map tucked in the back!


america's wonderlands: the scenic national parks and monuments of the united states
prepared by the national geographic book service
a volume in the national geographic world in color library
third printing, 1959, the national geographic society, washington d.c.