February Nature Notes . . .

Image by Edith Holden from The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady

The cold depths of our winter all too often bring depressingly low cloud cover like we have today. The sunlight struggles to break through and make up for all the energy lost during the long, dark nights. Today the sun is nowhere to be seen, the sky is a flat white, no clouds, no blue skies. The Roman mythology goddess of Spring, Flora herself appears to be locked in ice!

It's nice to know that she will eventually make her spring time appearance in April, even though that seems so far away. While I wait for her, my thoughts will be wandering and for the next week or so will be occupied with red hearts and chocolate candies. Thank goodness for Valentine's Day!

Marcella - A Raggedy Ann Story

This is a charming book titled Marcella - A Raggedy Ann Story by Johnny Gruelle. It was published by the P.F. Volland Company in 1929. This book is a First Edition hardcover. Illustrated by Johnny Gruelle. The book is in very good condition despite its age. The Volland Co. is the original publisher of this book, later books were printed by the Donohue Company.

Eleven stories are included: "The Train Ride," "The Picnic," "Moving Day," "Squeakie," "Hairy Puppydog," Shipwrecked," "Fishing," "Through The Door," "Little Rags, " "The Lovely New Doll," and "The Cheepy Birds".

 Someone felt the book needed an index and wrote the story titles in ink.

 

This is a first edition book and printed by the original publisher P.F. Volland. Later printings were done by the Donohue Company.

Johnny Gruelle was born December 24, 1880 in Arcola, Illinois. He won a cartooning contest sponsored by the New York Herald in 1911.  His cartoon Mr. Twee Deedle  ran in print from 1911 to 1914. He moved on from cartoons to children's books and is the known creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. He often created his final works in ink without first preparing a sketch in pencil! He lived most of his life in Connecticut where the Raggedy Ann dolls were mass produced.  He died in 1938. Raggedy Ann dolls are still in production today.

Johnny had a daughter named Marcella.  While visiting her Grandma she found a faceless rag doll in the attic, Johnny drew a simple face on the doll and called her Raggedy Ann.  Marcella played with the doll so much that  Gruelle thought other children would also enjoy the doll.  So confident was he, that he took out a patent on the doll in 1915.  The PF Volland Company published his first Raggedy Ann book in 1918. He went on to produce a series of books and dolls.

This book was created several years after a tragic event occurred that would forever change Johnny's life. After a smallpox vaccination at her school, his daughter Marcella became ill and to keep her entertained he made up stories about the rag doll to lift her spirits. Sadly she died at the age of 13 in 1915. Friends said that the only reminder of Marcella that he could bear to have around was her Raggedy Ann doll.

Perhaps to mend his broken heart, Johnny began immersing himself in his work and started putting in written form the many stories he had told Marcella. Thus began the process of bringing Raggedy Ann to life in the marketplace. Years after her death, Gruelle wrote this book to honor his beloved daughter.

Before I found this book, I had never seen any original Raggedy Ann material. When I saw the book, I knew that it was special. Gruelle's romantic, dreamlike artistic style drew me in to his fantasy world that includes fairies, dolls, dwarfs and mortals. His ability to communicate with children is obvious and it is no wonder that his stories and art have fascinated millions for over 85 years.

For more information on Marcella, visit my shop CraveCute at Etsy.
Update: Marcella has been sold and was carefully packed and sent to her new home.

Learning About Cute Animals....

Remember when you were a little kid and they would have story time at the school or library.  Do you remember that the books sometimes were huge and they had large illustrations to get your attention? As you progressed in school, the illustrations got smaller and there were less of them.  One day you picked up a book and there were no illustrations at all.  What a shame!

This fantastic book proves that by combining nature, science and art you can provide an exciting teaching opportunity for everyone, even adults!  The book I am featuring today is by the author and artist Margaret Waring Buck. The book is titled Animals Through the Year, published by Rand McNally, 1941.

Margaret Waring Buck was born in New York in 1905, she lived most of her life in Mystic, Connecticut, until her death in 1997.  She was an illustrator and naturalist who produced several self-illustrated books about animals life in the wild. Her books included both black and white drawings and stunning colored images depicting animals amongst their native settings.

 

Animals Through The Year

Her art shows a somewhat "humanized" version of animals interacting with each other.  I happen to adore this type of art and love how she portrays the fox mother above.  Do I see a bit of a smile on her face? The baby fox (kits) are patiently and cutely waiting for their dinner. Buck was careful about the details in her art and depicted the plants, insects and animals in their appropriate settings. 

She supplied informative but uncomplicated text just right for a young naturalist beginning to learn about the subject.  The background information for this particular book was gleaned from the Chicago Academy of Sciences and from exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

"Animals know about the Seasons---

The seasons of the year are just as important to animals as they are to us.  Animals know that winter will be  followed by spring.  They know that in summer there is plenty of food.  When autumn comes, they know that winter is on the way and they know what they must do to get ready for it.  Animals Through The Year will tell you how twenty of the most common animals of North America live during the four seasons......" 

                                               Margaret Waring Buck

This wonderful book is available at CraveCute on Etsy.

Gone to the Enchanted Land

Maurice Sendak, 1928-2012

Author and artist of Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are, 

Kenny's Window and The Sign on Rosie's Door.

Maurice Sendak and his German shepherd Herman, named after Melville,
photographed at Sendak's house in Connecticut.               


The photo above is the best by far of this remarkable man. Taken by the famed photographer, Annie Leibovitz and published in Vanity Fair. He was know for the fanciful characters in 'Where the Wild Things Are', but I was struck by the gentleness of touch in the art pictured below.

Outside Over There. Pencil, pen and ink, watercolor. 1979 by Maurice Sendak.

Here are some wonderful links about this great artist and author.
Rosenbach Museum & Library
Vanity Fair