“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label illustrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illustrations. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Auld Lang Syne





Remember this old gem of a song? This tune is familiar to most of us and I'm sure you faked your way through the lyrics quite a few times. There are several versions of the song and I found a bit more about it on the somewhat accurate Wikipedia site. Read on.....

Robert Burns sent a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, "The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man."  Some of the lyrics were indeed "collected" rather than composed by the poet; the ballad "Old Long Syne" printed in 1711 by James Watson shows considerable similarity in the first verse and the chorus to Burns' later poem, and is almost certainly derived from the same "old song".
Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On Old long syne.
CHORUS:
On Old long syne my Jo,
On Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
On Old long syne.


        This is the version we generally sing here.


         

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
for days of auld lang syne?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo (friend),
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for days of auld lang syne.

source 



I've included a few favorite versions of the song on my SoundCloud playlist on the top right, scroll down if you'd like to hear other versions.



from Music Through the Year
Ring out the old, Ring in the New!






from Music Through the Year

Old Father Annum

Old Father Annum on New Year's Day
Picked up his bag of months and years,
Thrust in his hand in a careless way,
And pulled a wee fellow out by the ears.

"There you are," said he to the waiting crowd,
"He's as good as any I have in my pack,
I never can tell, but I hope to be proud
Of the little rascal when I come back."

~ Leroy F. Jackson









Happy New Year to All!

However you celebrate, I hope it is Merry and Safe!
See you all soon!
~~Diane~~




Sunday, December 21, 2014

Christmas is Coming

*♫ *♫ **✫¸.•*♫ *♫ *°*”˜˜”*°•✫ ღ˛° 。* °♥ ˚ • ★  *♫ *♫ * 。
* °♥ ˚ • ★       ..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ღ˚ •。* ♥ ˚ ˚✰˚ ˛★ 
*✫*♫ *♫ *¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫*ღ˛*♫ *♫ *° 。* °♥ ˚ • ★
*♫ *♫ **✫¸.•°*”˜♥★


 

 Christmas will be here in just a few days! I hope you have had time for some fun outdoor activities.  Maybe you've shared making snowmen, sledding, skating or just a quick walk in the snow with 
someone close to you!





   
Or perhaps you've been busy in the kitchen making cookies and other goodies for the upcoming Christmas dinner.


Hopefully you've had time to donate to your favorite charity too. As familiar as the song above is to most of us of a certain age, I hate to think that in my senior years I will have to resort to what the old man above is doing! 

 
Maybe you've been decorating the house, hanging the garland, dressing the tree with pretty keepsakes .... whatever you've been doing I hope you are enjoying the season. It seems to come and go so quickly, it's sometimes hard to take it all in. 

I've closed my etsy shop until after Christmas so I can enjoy the holiday! All of my orders have arrived at the customers homes so no more worries! I can finally relax and enjoy that eggnog!











We can all enjoy the beauty and festivity of the season, whatever our customs. 
It is truly a remarkable and lovely time of the year.





Santa is almost ready and has all those toys wrapped and ready to go. 
The reindeer have been doubling up on their feed for extra energy 
and Santa is now checking his list! 
I hope you are on the nice one!






 Image source: Music Through the Year, Illustrated by Robert J Lee










Sunday, November 30, 2014

Christmas Fairies

Well here we are! It's December and the holiday rush accelerates! Oh I do wish I had a few extra Christmas Fairies running about that would help me with the decorating and preparations for the Christmas festivities! Instead I have an inquisitive helper who would rather play with the garland than help hang it (Guy)!

I love the vintage image of the fairy below, whipping up some beautiful holly out of her magic Christmas kettle.  I do not know who the illustrator is but I find it quite adorable!  The equally lovely poem below is by author Lewis Carroll.





Christmas Greetings from a Fairy to a Child

Lady, dear, if Fairies may
For a moment lay aside
Cunning tricks and elfish play,
'Tis at happy Christmas-tide.

We have heard the children say -
Gentle children, whom we love -
Long ago on Christmas Day,
Came a message from above,

Still, as Christmas-tide comes round,
They remember it again -
Echo still the joyful sound
"Peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Yet the hearts must childlike be
Where such heavenly guests abide;
Unto children, in their glee,
All the year is Christmas-tide!

Thus, forgetting tricks and play
For a moment, Lady dear,
We would wish you, if we may,
Merry Christmas, Glad New Year!

Christmas 1887 ~ Lewis Carroll


Thank you all for visiting! 
I'm looking forward to checking in on all of your lovely 
blogs to see what you've been up to! 

Happy Holidays ~~ Diane 


 

Monday, July 14, 2014

FAPCO Pottery and a Fuzzy Bear

My house-guests are on a plane back home, so it's back to business as usual!
I would like to revisit a couple of items that made a brief appearance on my blog a few weeks ago. The first is an adorable little vintage Aqua Deer Planter by Fredericksburg Art Pottery Company, or FAPCO for short.

I learned some interesting information about this company from the Collectors Weekly site and a FAPCO Facebook page. The FAPCO factory burned down in the early 1960's, much of the history has been lost. One interesting bit of information for you fellow collectors, is that much of the Disney marked pottery was distributed by the Leeds company but in fact was made at the FAPCO plant. I don't believe that any of the FAPCO items were marked, instead they used paper labels which of course usually fall off over time. This only makes identification more complicated and confusing!


Here is a little fantasy picture of the Deer Planter.....


and below a practical use for this little cutie!



This little Deer Planter has a heavy base and wide opening, making it perfect for holding pencils, paintbrushes etc.



 Cute as can be, just sitting on a shelf!




My second and last subject is a sweet little vintage book called "Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear". This book was printed in 1949 and is still in remarkable shape for being over 50 years old!  There were several Fuzzy Wuzzy books printed during the 1940's and 1950's and featured a variety of cute animals. The fuzziness came from adding flocking to the main character's image. 

The book is a cautionary tale about what happens to Fuzzy little bears who refuse to hibernate for the winter and instead eat all the honey and acorns they have stored up in their Fuzzy Bear Store House!





















Poor Fuzzy Wuzzy, his buttons are ready to pop off and he can't even get through his front door!!







Fuzzy Wuzzy thinks that if he turns sideways, he will surely be able to slide through the door. No such luck and in fact a pesky bee decides to sting him on his nose as he is stuck in the doorway!



Fuzzy has had enough and goes back to bed as his nose heals.

As Fuzzy Wuzzy sleeps, he gets thinner every day and when he wakes is able to fit through the front door. He decides that hibernating in the winter is actually and excellent idea!




I know how you feel Fuzzy Wuzzy, some winters I think it would be best to hibernate!! And who hasn't put on a pair of summer pants, that just don't quite fit after a long winter!! Ugh!

Both of these cute items will be in my shop soon! 

Let's have a very happy and fun-filled week! 
~~ Diane ~~



Friday, April 26, 2013

Guy's Giveaway Number Four

This is the last giveaway in April, but don't fret, I plan on doing a giveaway 
every month or so.

First I want to congratulate the winner of the May embroidered towel, it is nun-other than our feline friend Sulky Kitten. I guess the Egyptian God of Cats, Bastet looked down on poor Sulky and granted her some good fortune, because I heard that this wasn't the only prize she has won lately. She is one lucky cat!

Today I have something rare and lovely.  It is the book Pim, by Eva Skerry-Olsen and illustrated by Marvin Anderson.  Lithographed in the USA by Duenewald Printing Company. Coslett, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1948. This is a first edition book. Don't get too excited, it is not in what I feel is salable condition. However it is still too valuable a book to be torn apart. I decided to see if any of you are interested in it. If this book were in good to mint condition it would be worth $75 -$200 but as you will see by the photos, it has had a hard life. Water damage, a torn page and a stray mark or two has destroyed much of its value. The good news is the gorgeous lithographs are almost all intact and if someone really wanted to, they would make beautiful framed art pieces. That is entirely up to the winner.

This is the charming story of Patty whose playmate was the lovable wee Pim, straight from the Land of Make-Believe. 



Over the "Hills of Day," and just this
side of the "Valley of Sleep," lies the "Land  of Make-Believe."
Here come many lonely little girls and boys to find a playmate
among the happy Little People who dwell in this bright land.
Here it is that Pim was born.

And although the Land of Make-Believe is a Land of Golden Dreams,
Pim and his friends are as real as can be.
PATTY thinks so.
And so does SUSAN SNOOPERDORF SPEZZERFRITZ.
And so do I, who wrote this story.
And so will YOU, who read it.
  --- The Author
From Pim by Eva Skerry-Olsen 1948







Page was torn and the tape let go, but page is still there.



Please leave your comments below expressing your wish to win this book if you would like to enter the Land of Golden Dreams that are found within its pages.  Just remember you need to follow my blog to enter.

We are supposed to have our first glorious spring weather this weekend, so I probably won't catch up with your blogs until next week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!         
                                                                                                                    ~~~ Diane



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Rainbow Colored Eggs . . .

This time of year here in the north, we are craving color! This darling book called "Happy Easter", by Kurt Wiese will fill your craving and then some.  I found this book at an estate sale last year.  It is in sorry shape, but the illustrations within are still bright and beautiful.  Most of us have colored eggs before and the results were much as in the image below, pretty, but nothing too extraordinary.




The magic of a good children's book, is that anything can happen. The writer/illustrator may come up with anything they desire.  I feel that the end of the story was probably dreamed up first, and then the author went back and filled in his story to fit his illustrations.

Kurt Wiese (1887-1974), wrote/illustrated over twenty children's books and illustrated another three hundred some for other authors. He was born in Germany and eventually ended up in the USA.





This book cover  was really dirty and as I scrubbed on it, most of the color came off, it is now a dull yellow. This is a library book and had been treated poorly and bore all of the marks, and stamps of the library.  Eventually 'Discard' had been stamped all over it and it was taken out of circulation. This book was published in 1952, this book was the fourth printing. The book is not good enough for resale, but I am very happy to have it in my collection.

For other bloggers out there, you may have noticed that Picasa now links directly to GooglePlus, supposedly there is no limit on photo storage (if you use GooglePlus). I had been downsizing my images, but now Google actually wants the photos to be larger. If you click on the pictures, you will see them in a much larger size.





The delightful story is of Mrs. Rabbit sending out her youngsters to find some eggs to color.  Apparently it is the job of rabbits to color and hide eggs in local people's gardens for Easter.


  Off her children went in search of eggs.






They came upon Mrs. Hen, who finally parted with her eggs.
Mrs. Hen was disappointed that her eggs would not hatch despite her sitting on them for weeks.
















The rabbit children hauled all the eggs back to Mrs. Rabbit who started the preparations for dying the eggs.  They all where painting and coloring the eggs when they started hearing these crackling noises.









Then look what happened!! The eggs popped open and these rainbow colored chicks hopped out!















 It had a happy ending for Mrs. Hen, her chicks all returned in brightly colored feathers. Sadly no Easter eggs that year.







Just these darling little chicks!



Have an Egg-ceptional day!



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Finding Fairies by Marjorie Barrows

Just a little preview of what is to come in the next few days! 
Enjoy this little poem by Marjorie Barrows from the Poems for Boys and Girls book.



Illustrated by Lois Maloy
click to see a larger version



Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Golden Almanac . . .

This is one of the cutest books ever! This wonderful book was written by Dorothy Bennett and illustrated by Masha. It was published in  1944 this is the second printing of the book (March 1946). It is in remarkable shape for it's age (66 years).  I listed it in my shop a while back and retook some of the pictures recently. I had to go back and verify the age of the book because I thought the art work looked so modern. In doing so, I decided this book was worthy of a post.

Dorothy Bennett lived and traveled throughout the United States her entire life. At one time she was the Assistant Curator at the American Museum of Natural History. This explains the expert detailing in her explanations and stories within the book. I found it interesting that she had a Minnesota connection, in the bio below I see that she received her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of MN in 1930.

Dorothy Agnes Bennett (1909 -1999), anthropologist, archeologist, astronomer, editor, teacher. Interviewed in 1994by Fauno Cordes. One audiotape and transcript (copyright Society of Women Geographers). BA, University of Minnesota, 1930. Diploma from the Institute of Archaeology in London. Bennett was the senior anthropologist with the Museum of Anthropology, University of California. Director of Epoch at Berkeley. Organized a Junior Astronomy Club at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York. Published the first Star Explorer, a revolving chart displaying more than 500 visible stars. Edited the Golden Books series for children, including the Golden Almanac (1944) and the Golden Nature Guide Books (1950). Astronomy took her to Peru and various locations in the Pacific. Member of the American Astronomy Association, American Archaeological Association, American Mentor Association, honorary member of the Geological Society of Peru, and a Fellow of the American Geological Society. Joined SWG in 1945.*



Masha illustrates the nativity scene for Christmas.
Masha was a mystery illustrator of children's books back in the ’40s.  There is little information about her other than her real name, (Maria Simchow Stern) and that she illustrated the very first Little Golden Book, Three Little Kittens in 1942.  The book jacket gives a little more information about her. Masha's Russian name came from Russian parents, but she was born in the U.S.A. She also illustrated the book Merry Christmas under the name of Natasha Simkhovitch.

The book was obviously cared for very well because it is in very good to excellent condition. It even has it's dust jacket. The author Dorothy Bennett uses the book to guide children through the months and seasons. It contains all sorts of interesting facts and tidbits along the way. The book also includes songs, games and stories.



"From snowflakes to maypoles, from rainbows to baby bears.. The Golden Almanac describes and explains what happens in the world of nature throughout the seasons. It is full of squirrels and scarecrows,maypoles and tadpoles, holidays and famous birthdays."
                       


In the picture above you see an illustration of President Abraham Lincoln on the left and rhymes that accompany the illustrated months on the right. The verse for November and December are apt.

"Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are whirling fast."

"Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire and Christmas treat."


Colorful and fun illustrations.

Meteors, comets, and shooting stars are explained....



As well as the fantasy life of a hedgehog named Spiky.


Halloween by Masha

The holidays are all delightfully illustrated as in the Halloween scene above  and the Christmas skating scene below.


The simple and colorful way she illustrated these books definitely stands the test of time. The action in the illustration above has such life and depth to it. The images draw me in to take a closer look and once there, I get the pleasure of traveling off to a magical place, if only for a moment. 


If you would like the magic to continue, this book is available for sale in my Etsy shop CraveCute. 

              Did I mention I'm shipping to Canada now too?

Have a great weekend!


*notes - taken from the dust jacket of The Golden Almanac
              biography of Dorothy Bennett from  SWG.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Every Leaf....

Welcome November! This morning the new month began by softly gliding in like a falling leaf.  Long before dawn November came gently drifting down from the tall maple trees and came to rest on the still green grass. After the boisterous celebration of Hallows Eve, let us start November on a calmer note. I have some lovely images I would like to share with you all today.  Enjoy!















We keep our friends and fellow bloggers on the east coast in our thoughts and prayers as they start the long process of recovery from the awful storm.  Thank you all for visiting. ~ Diane ~

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Someone Came Knocking . . . Oh it's October!

From Poems for Boys and Girls (1945) compiled by Marjorie Barrows and illustrated by Lois Maloy.




Front porch on a fall afternoon





Late fall corn field

October you are a very fun month! The ultimate master of the costume change, you start out with glorious fall colors draping the landscape from the top of the trees to the pumpkin laden front porches! The brightly colored leaves are scattered across the lawns like confetti. Then suddenly when the leaves are gone, you have changed to a minimalistic palette of more subdued grays and brown. October you then cap it all off with a fantastic party called Halloween! Oh yes, you came knocking and we answered!