F. Edward Hulme. That Rock Garaden of Ours. Illustrations by the author. Philadelphia, George W. Jacob and Co., 1909.
via: The Internet Archive
The Art of Book Design: That Rock Garden Of Ours
Affinity
Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
F. Edward Hulme. That Rock Garaden of Ours. Illustrations by the author. Philadelphia, George W. Jacob and Co., 1909.
via: The Internet Archive
Enos B. Comstock. When Mother Lets Us Tell Stories. New York, Moffat, Yard and Co., 1917.
It probably still is Thursday somewhere.
For the last few years we have been celebrating Halloween with our friends and yesterday we went to my BFFs city where the local shop owners and the city and the different clubs and associations organised a Halloween event where the shops would give out candy. The town centre was packed and it was a lovely evening, followed by lots of spooky food.
©Giliell, all rights reserved A haunted “Haus”. Probably to scare English teachers.
©Giliell, all rights reserved The little one, dressed up as Wonder Woman
©Giliell, all rights reserved #1, dressed up as Harley Quinn.
While I could simply buy a generic Wonder Woman costume for the Little One, #1’s was more complicated. She#s too tall for the kids versions and the adult versions rely more on the DC movies than the animated Super Hero Girls show she likes to watch. While we found a nice pair of red and blue leggings, we agreed that a jacket with “property of Joker” on the back was highly inappropriate. “I’m no fucking property of anyone!” Mum to the rescue, I ordered two hoodies with a ziper, cut them in half and sewed them together again. Well, I still have to do the second one…
Same money, 1 hour of time, two jackets she can actually wear outside of costume events as well. And I’m damn proud of her. You know she’s on the spectrum and one of her great difficulties is interacting with strangers. She often preferred no ice cream to telling a stranger what she wants, but yesterday she went around all evening and asked for candy. It’s those things that make you proud.
Now for the food:
©Giliell, all rights reserved
From left to right we have:
©Giliell, all rights reserved Pumpkin bread skulls
©Giliell, all rights reserved A cemetery: Pizza dip with bread tombstones
©Giliell, all rights reserved Mozzarella and olive eyes. Or as we say in German: Zahnstocher im Au’ brennt wie’n Sau (a toothpick in the eye hurts as fuck, just with a rhyme)
©Giliell, all rights reserved Bloody pumpkin and tomato soup
©Giliell, all rights reserved Spider meatballs
I made the dessert, because I’ve been baking non stop anyway…
©Giliell, all rights reserved Pumpkin almond cake with blood orange buttercream and dark chocolate ganache.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
©Giliell, all rights reserved Halloween petit fours with strawberry jam and pumpkin spice lemon curd.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
So, I hope you all had a reasonably happy Halloween (thinking of you, voyager). Now I’m baking for the little one’s birthday party tomorrow.
Mary F. Martin. Amid the Shadows. New York, The National Temperance Society and Publication house, 1880.
Late yesterday afternoon, my mother died peacefully in the company of her best friend and myself. Mom’s been inching toward death since mid-August, and while I’m sad that her life has ended, I’m relieved to have her dying ended.
We’ll be having a short service followed by burial on Friday afternoon, so Jack and I will be taking the rest of this week off. We both hope that you have a Merry Hallowe’en, and we’ll see you again on Monday, November 4th.
Evelyn Raymond. The Little Lady of the Horse. Boston Roberts Brothers, 1894.
Norval Richardson. The Heart of Hope. Illustrated by Walter H. Everett. New York, Dodd Mead, & Co., 1905.
©voyager, all rights reserved
It was a wet and windy weekend, and by this morning, almost all the pretty leaves had blown away. There are a few bright patches here and there, but the riot of colour is finished for another year. Jack and I set out feeling a bit blue about the bare trees, but the sun was shining, the day was warm and pleasant, and it wasn’t long before we were both feeling better. The colour may be gone looking up, but there’s still plenty of pretty here on the ground. We passed burning bushes burning scarlet and porches with pumpkins and mums in pots. We found lavender of the palest blue, golden hostas and even a red-breasted robin picking at purple berries. The fallen leaves from the weekend are still full of colour, too, and they brightly litter the ground in every direction. Jack says he can see the leaves better this way, and he thinks that’s why they fall – so the small creatures who don’t look up much can appreciate them too. I didn’t tell him otherwise.
Maria Hildreth Parker. Aunty’s Elfin Land, or, The Astonishing Doings of Mildred, Tom and Harry. Illustrated by Hermann Dudley Murphy. Boston, J.G. Cupples and Co., 1890.
Howard R. Garis. Snarlie the Tiger. New York, R. F. Fenno & company, 1916.
Mark Twain. Eve’s Diary. Illustrated by Lester Ralph. London and New York, Harper and Bros., 1906.
Today’s Mark Twain is one of my favourite books, Eve’s Diary. It’s nothing like Adam’s Diary, which I posted yesterday. Everything about it is unique. The artwork is softer and evocative and involves you in the story on an emotional level. The book is brilliantly illustrated by Lester Ralph in the Art Nouveau style, and every page has a charming illustration. I chose a few of my favourites to share with you below, but it was hard to limit myself.
It isn’t just the artwork that sets Eve’s Diary apart. The story is also told in a different style. Eve speaks with a sense of wonder and curiosity that is captivating and utterly charming. The book also has one of the most poignant and beautiful endings I’ve encountered. I encourage you to read this book. It’s wonderful.
That’s my copy of Eve’s Diary in the picture. (Sorry it’s a bit fuzzy – I’m hopeless using my phone camera) It was a gift from Marcus, and I treasure it. Marcus shared with me that Twain had just lost his wife and his daughter around the time of writing Eve’s Diary. It gave the book more depth for me, so I’m sharing it with you.
The illustrations are from The Internet Archive, where you can read the book. Enjoy.
Eve’s Diary, page 2.
Eve’s Diary, page 10.
Eve’s Diary, page 14.
Eve’s Diary, page 30.
Eve’s Diary, page 36.
Eve’s Diary, page 38.
Eve’s Diary, page 42.
Eve’s Diary, page 48.
Eve’s Diary, page 60.
Eve’s Diary, page 72.
Eve’s Diary, page 82.
Eve’s Diary, page 86.
Eve’s Diary, page 94.
Quick, how many cows? ©voyager, all rights reserved
When I was a kid, my dad often took us for family drives on Sundays. Whenever we passed a farm with cows in the field, my dad would say, “Quick, voyager, how many cows are there,” then, he’d hit the gas and go fast, too fast for me to count them all before they were out of sight. I’d throw out a good guesstimate like 26 or 34 or 101, but no matter what my answer was, Dad always said, “Nope, there were 28 or 35 or 105.” Then he’d wait for me to say, “how did you do that so quick.’
“Easy, he’d say. I counted the legs and divided by 4.”
Mark Twain. Extracts from Adam’s Diary. Illustrated by F. Strothmann. New York, Harper & Bros., 1904.
Today’s first edition Twain is another submission from Marcus. Adam’s Diary is a satirical and lighthearted look at Adam’s early days in the Garden of Eden. I’m including a few of the drawings from the book, mostly for comparison with the drawings from tomorrow’s book. You won’t want to miss that!
Extracts from Adam’s Diary, Frontispiece by F. Strothmann.
Extracts from Adam’s Diary, page 2.
Extracts from Adam’s Diary, Page 6.
Extracts from Adam’s Diary, Page 14.
Extracts from Adam’s Diary, Page 68.
Cover photo via Marcus Ranum (Stderr)
The book is available to read at The Internet Archive