Break out your Spectrespecs, because it is that time of year again where horsemen are headless, spooks linger in the corner of your eye, and skeletons are animated.
This image from our copy of Spectropia… is one of many spooky optical illusions illustrated in this book.
See more posts like this on Tumblr
#skeleton warthis is the most powerful image on the internet.. reblog to join the circle
Reblog to destroy all evil energies in your life
Pantone has released their color of the year, Ultra VioletΒ β a great excuse to post some violet collections!
Learn about the importance purple played in changing history in our online exhibition, Color in a New Light, where you can learn about Perkin Mauve (photo courtesy of @nmnhβ).
Meissner TapetenΒ By Hermann Meissner (Firm). Berlin: Hermann Meissner Tapeten-Fabrik, 1930.
This 1930 modern wallpaper sample book, highlighting Bauhaus and Art Deco style patterns has a lovely example of Ultra Violet used in wallpaper. (One of our adopted books, too!)
This design from Bijutsukai, v.2 (1901), a Japanese design periodical from the Meiji era is pretty close, donβt you think?
And this cover of Bairei gafu, v.1, which has awesome bird illustrations is quite a lovely shade of purple, even if it isnβt quite Ultra Violet.
This ad from Street Railway Journal, v.15 (1899) was printed using a shade close to Ultra Violet.
This gorgeous orchid illustration is from Paxtonβs magazine of botany, and register of flowering plants, v.4 (1838). Itβs listed as Zygopetalum maxillare. Explore more of this stunning periodicalΒ at @biodivlibrary
If youβre looking to incorporate the shade in your decor, consider Gazettte du bon ton for inspiration. This boudoir is from tome 1, 1921.
Finally, some winter wear befitting this yearβs color of the year. Itβs from Enrico Sacchettiβs Robes et femmes, a 1913 satirical look at the avant-garde designs of Paul Poiret and Paul Iribe.Β
May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks youβre wonderful, and donβt forget to make some art β write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.
Anna Swan, just shy of 8 feet tall, performed as a human curiosity at P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, often paired with General Tom Thumb.
Houghton Library, Harvard University
CS Lewis was born on this day in 1898. A poet, academic, critic and theologian, Lewis is best known for his novels, particularly the timelessly popular Chronicles of Narnia.
This delightful map of Narnia and its surrounding lands was drawn by Lewis himself and now resides in the Bodleian archives, preserving a privileged insight into Lewisβ world-making processes.
Lewis did not intend for his own illustration to be published in his books, intending instead that a professional artist would create a more polished interpretation. Pauline Baynes was introduced to Lewis by his fellow Inkling JRR Tolkien, and she redrafted the map for publication in Prince Caspian, the second book of the series.
In a letter with further instructions for Baynes, dated 8 January 1951, Lewis described the finished look he was hoping for.
My idea was that the map should be more like a medieval map than an Ordnance Survey β mountains and castles drawn β perhaps winds blowing at the corners β and a few heraldic-looking ships, whales and dolphins in the sea.
For those who do not know Narnia quite so well, here are some of the more interesting places on the map.
Aslanβs How: The mound covering what was once the Stone Table where Aslan was sacrificed.
Beruna: One of the four named towns in Narnia. Strategically built at the confluence of rivers, Beruna became the site of two great battles.
Cair Paravel: The capital of the Kingdom of Narnia, and the location of the Royal Castle whereΒ High King Peter, Queen Susan, Queen Lucy and King Edmund havetheir thrones.
Dancing Lawn: The ritual site for old Narnians, and the meeting place after Prince Caspian flees from Mirazβs castle.
Lantern Waste: The location of The Lantern of Ever Lighted Lamp, the lamppost where Lucy and Mr Tumnus first meet after she passes through the wardrobe. Lantern Waste is also whereΒ Digory, Polly, Jadis and their companions witnessed the creation of Narnia.
Mirazβs Castle: Where Prince Caspian is raised by Miraz, his uncle and un-rightful ruler of Narnia.Β
Trufflehunterβs Cave: The home of Trufflehunter the badger, first talking animal that Prince Caspian meets and later a Knight in the Order of the Lion.
These owls had enough motivation this morning to get their “eye lashes” just right!
The Spotted Screech Owls (Otus trichopsis (whiskered screech owl)) can be found from southeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico down to northern Nicaragua. Oddly, Rex Brasher depicted these owls perched on a Wafer Ash which is not native to the hot, dry climates of Arizona and New Mexico.
Just another hand-colored print by the American naturalist and artist Rex Brasher from his massive 12-volume set Birds and Trees of North America, published by Brasher himself in a signed limited edition of 100 copies between 1929 and 1932.
More Rex Brasher posts.
View more motivated (and some unmotivated) owls.
Coming into a fandom early and watching it become an angry clusterfuck
Being in a dormant fandom that suddenly comes alive again after a new book/movie
Donβt forget about those who come in the midst of a fandom war.Β
Accuracy at its best
Being in a fandom and not even knowing thereβs a war going onβ¦
all of this shit…lol
When Youβre Not In The Fandom But Youβre Nosy AF
When you get into a fandom only to discover itβs dead
This gets better every time I see it.
Being in a dead fandom…
Or being in such a tiny fandom that it feels like youre the only one
The accuracy hurts.
Being in a fandom that had a shit ending.
When you’ve been fangirling long enough, you’ve experienced all of the above.
Being in a fandom meant for kids.
This just gets better..
When you realize that joining the fandom has ruined you
Fandom hell in general
A master post
Many of our friends in Wisconsin will be familiar with what is now the We Energies Cookie Book. Milwaukee’s electric and gas companies started producing yearly books of holiday recipes in the late 1920s and stopped the tradition in the 1970s. We Energies, part of the WEC Energy Group, revived the tradition in 2006, much to the joy of many Milwaukeeans.
This year’s cookie book has already been distributed, but you can see it online as a PDF, along with the covers of Cookie Books from years past, and downloads of other recent cookie books!
Our 1955 edition features classic recipes like Bachelor Buttons, Rocks, Speculatius, Dandy Snaps, Date Kisses, and the ever popular Nut Balls. It is interesting to note that “cookie” in this edition is spelled “cooky” throughout most of the text, which seems a little kooky to us now!
As a matter of course, the company also exhorts us to “Be modern” and “cook electrically.”
Laid into our copy is Vol. 21 no. 2 of Food Talks, published by the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Co. in Manitowoc, WI (a city our spellcheck insists is spelled incorrectly), and a 1958 Betty Crocker Holiday Cooking Almanac that promises to show you how to capture warmth and joy (possibly from your guests? Take all the warmth and joy for yourself! Ho ho ho!).
We hope you enjoy these recipes! We might have to try some ourselves for our Special Collections holiday party. After all, “a gift you bake is a gift from the heart.”
SUVÉE, Joseph-Benoit
Invention of the Art of Drawing
1791
Oil on canvas, 267 x 131,5 cm
Groeninge Museum, Bruges
