katiecrackernuts: Vintage book illustrations

October 07, 2012

ENID BLYTON STORY BOOK HAUL

October 07, 2012

THERE hasn't been any new Famous Five action in my neck of the woods but if you follow me on Instagram , you'll know...

THERE hasn't been any new Famous Five action in my neck of the woods but if you follow me on Instagram, you'll know I stumbled across an Enid Blyton haul last weekend.

Did you read Enid Blyton? What was your favourite series? Why did Enid put two marks under the 'd' when she signed her name? Do you know anyone called Enid? Or Beatrix? I think about those names a lot. They're funny names, aren't they?

#opshopscore: Four Enid Blyton titles, $4, East Gosford Vinnies

March 05, 2009

ROCKIN' OUT A KUM-BY-YAH

March 05, 2009

I WAS pointed to a series of Girl Scout pictures posted byHannah, of Knick Knacks and Ric Rac . Alarna, of Little Jane St , saw them and bou...

I WAS pointed to a series of Girl Scout pictures posted byHannah, of Knick Knacks and Ric Rac. Alarna, of Little Jane St, saw them and bounced over to my blog to share the news. I can tell you, there will be no accordian or ukelele around the campfire on Saturday night. There'll be 105 Girl Guides on the campsite, so it will be noisy ... I feel a headache coming on already. Only four more weeks of Guides and then I'm off for six months. I'll be back for a fourth term - my final term with the unit - and have bookmarked the fabric printed curtains seen in Hannah's post for a hall project.

November 28, 2008

PROMISES, PROMISES, PROMISES

November 28, 2008

IT’S been a wee bit frantic in katiecrackernutsland. Tempers are frayed and not because there’s more than the usual to do; it’s possibly “th...

IT’S been a wee bit frantic in katiecrackernutsland. Tempers are frayed and not because there’s more than the usual to do; it’s possibly “the usual” that’s getting us all down. Like a lot of bloggers I try not to keep my personal life, well, personal. Really, the blog is a welcome escape from the day-to-day drudgery, petty arguments, annoyances and frustrations I know you all live with. Anyhoot, no more grumbling. Here is just some of what I have been promising to show.

The above is from a couple of old Girl Guide publications I have. They’re delightful pictures aren’t they? Imagine doing all that outdoorsy stuff in full uniform? Scarves have been knotted and tied, but I note a couple of the girls in the photo have lost theirs. Some things never change. I always pick up lost scarves at the end of unit meetings.

November 28, 2008

THIS lovely lady is standing near a large weeping bottlebrush. It’s from the book on Australian plants I picked up last week. Check out the...

THIS lovely lady is standing near a large weeping bottlebrush. It’s from the book on Australian plants I picked up last week. Check out the red brick house and fence behind her. Can you spy the number “6” on the gate? I wonder where it was and whether the house, or the bottlebrush, is still there.

November 28, 2008

THESE bonnie babes are dressed for the sun. The Everywoman’s Home Doctor extols the virtues of fresh air, exercise and being outdoors. The ...

THESE bonnie babes are dressed for the sun. The Everywoman’s Home Doctor extols the virtues of fresh air, exercise and being outdoors. The photos are very much from times past. Almost all the young children are topless and a number of infants, some about the age of four or five, are pictured naked. There’s one photo of an entire class of primary school-aged students sitting behind desks, outdoors, in an effort to reduce the spread of tuberculosis. The one above seemed pretty tame by comparison, these “penned” children are sunbathing. I’m guessing there was no SPF30+ back then.

November 14, 2008

GIRLS' OWN ADVENTURES

November 14, 2008

I HAVE a small collection of old Girl Guide books. They’re interesting, and often handy, resources. Girls will be girls, it seems, and much ...

I HAVE a small collection of old Girl Guide books. They’re interesting, and often handy, resources. Girls will be girls, it seems, and much of the adventures haven’t changed since a group of girls joined a Boy Scout rally nearly 100 years ago and said they wanted to muck about and go camping, hiking and adventuring too. I confess, too, that I love the illustrations.

August 14, 2008

NILS, NIX, NADDA, NUTTIN’

August 14, 2008

I PICKED up The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof at the op shop. I don’t know the story, or the author (inside it says she w...

I PICKED up The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof at the op shop. I don’t know the story, or the author (inside it says she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909), but liked the printed cloth cover. It reminds me of Lara Cameron’s Houses and Bicycles print. I also liked how it felt to hold. The pages are soft, but heavy, and there is no smell of stale cigarettes, which would suggest it came from a smoke-free home – pretty rare, I'm guessing, for 1956, which is the year this edition was published.

July 21, 2008

RECIPE INDEX

July 21, 2008

I NEVER did get to see the NSW State Library’s exhibition of old cook books , but noted a similar article in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Goo...

I NEVER did get to see the NSW State Library’s exhibition of old cook books, but noted a similar article in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Living section on Tuesday. This was about collectible cook books. I don’t have a mass of cook books because I tend to give them away, or lose them but there are some op shop purchases I do like, if just for the illustrations and typography. The 1956 edition of the Esquire Cook-Book is illustrated by Bill Charmatz. The layout, content and illustrations make it one of my favourites. Two others are American productions, all organised by a kind of telephone index. The index, in each, is not that practical, but I do turn to these books for old “candy” recipes, puddings, sauces, comfort foods and the best flapjacks. The most recent volume – German Cooking – was bought on the weekend, again for the illustrations and typography. It has a recipe for thick gingerbread and another for thin gingerbread. OK, it’s time to break out the lederhosen.

May 29, 2008

LONLEY VERONICA

May 29, 2008

I KEEP buying up illustrated books in this vein. Lonely Veronica , written and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin, is a bit of an environmental m...

I KEEP buying up illustrated books in this vein. Lonely Veronica, written and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin, is a bit of an environmental message about what happens when we destroy an animal’s habitat. There’s no date of publication in the book. What’s your guess? 1960s? Duvoisin must have been a man before his time.

March 21, 2008

BROWN OWLS VINTAGE ILLUSTRATION

March 21, 2008

THIS is one for the Brown Owls . Brownie Secrets: By a Brown Owl and her Tawny is a Girl Guide publication dating back to 1960. The first p...

THIS is one for the Brown Owls. Brownie Secrets: By a Brown Owl and her Tawny is a Girl Guide publication dating back to 1960. The first printing of the book dates back to 1942. The book is by B.M.Wilson and Y.S. Baume, and every page is written out in hand calligraphy – no typeset fonts here – and is illustrated with the cutest little elf pictures. The handbook is full of stories, poems, badges, puzzles, “things to do” and guidelines on how to be a good Brownie. I loved “How to Get Ready for a Brownie Meeting”. “When you have washed and tidied yourself and look your best, slip a pencil and notebook in our pocket and remember your Brownie penny.” Sage advice for any young, self-sufficient woman.

March 20, 2008

VINTAGE ILLUSTRATIONS

March 20, 2008

THIS is both an op shop find and an addition to the vintage book illustration postings. Sorry, I am coming in very late. The book is The Pr...

THIS is both an op shop find and an addition to the vintage book illustration postings. Sorry, I am coming in very late. The book is The Prize for Girls and Boys. I paid $5 at an op shop along La Trobe Terrace, in Paddington, Brisbane – the one up near the Antique Centre. The inscription reads: “To Beryl, with love from Marjorie and Bluebel (sic)”. The book is dated 1924 and the illustration of the girls with a kite is by Mabel E. Sims. The other two illustrator’s names are unknown. The names on the colour plates are all I have to go and the index of illustrations only gives names for the book’s black and white artworks and not illustrators’ names. The book has advertising for Ovaltine, the Blackbird self-filler nibbed pen, Hovis – some sort of dental health chew – Humber bicycles, Green’s sponge mixture and Pears soap. Isn't it beautiful?

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