Children’s books from the late nineteenth century have the best illustrations. Here’s why:
They are charming.
From Round the Hearth [and other verses], 1889.
They are nonsensical.
From Lilliput Lyrics. Illustrated by Chas. Robinson, 1899.
I do not celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I wanted to give a shout out to all of my dear readers! You consistently show this blog (and its humble creator) so much love that I could not possibly let the 14th of February evaporate without some kind of acknowledgment. This is for you:
Valentine’s Day Image, circa 1910.
Everyone was a child once, even serious wordsmiths. Let’s get started:
A poised Gertrude Stein:
Gertrude Stein at three
An uncomfortable looking Franz Kafka:
Franz Kafka
Winter always looks nicer in paintings. Majestic. Charming. Unblemished. Like this:
Winter Morning by Andrei Ryabushkin, 1903.
I’m done trying to fancy up the season with quotes by intelligent, creative dead people. If they were here, they’d probably be annoyed, too.
Captain Jinks, Hero by Ernest Crosby. 1902. Illustrated by Daniel Carter Beard.
Sir John Suckling, poet and inventor of cribbage, was born on 10 February 1609.
Sir John Suckling by Anthony van Dyck, 17th century.
“I prithee send me back my heart,/Since I cannot have thine;/For if from yours you will not part,/Why, then, shouldst thou have mine?”
Louise Tiffany, Reading by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1888).
Louise Tiffany, Reading by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1888).
You’ll want to read this.
Biographical Notes on the Pseudonymous Bells by Charlotte Brontë [courtesy Project Gutenberg]
It is a quick and interesting read.
The Brontë Sisters by Branwell Brontë.
Austrian artist Gustav Klimt died on 6 February 1918. He was fifty-five.
A few of his paintings:
Der Park by Gustav Klimt, 1909-1910.
Marie Hennenberg by Gustav Klimt.
Nixen (Silberfische) by Gustav Klimt, circa 1899.
The artist:
Gustav Klimt.
“True relaxation, which would do me the world of good, does not exist for me.”-Gustav Klimt
Gertrude Stein was born on 3 February 1874.
Gertrude Stein by Félix Vallotton, 1907.
“It will come if it is there and if you will let it come.”
“Let me listen to me and not to them.”
“Nothing is really so very frightening when everything is so very dangerous.”
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 