“You in the hammock; and I, near by,
Was trying to read, and to swing you, too;
And the green of the sward was so kind to the eye,
And the shade of the maples so cool and blue
That I often looked from the book to you”
— From “In the Afternoon” by James Whitcomb Riley, illustration by Will Vawter
The cover and an illustration from the 1900 Henry Altemus Co. edition of Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle (1818).
“He was naturally a thirsty soul, and was soon tempted to repeat the draught. One taste provoked another; and he reiterated his visits to the flagon so often, that at length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam in his head, his head gradually declined, and he fell into a deep sleep.”
With the runaway couple on the cover, 1911.
Bookplate from a copy of Cyril Ashley: A Tale (1889) by A.L.O.E. (A Lady Of England) a.k.a. Charlotte Maria Tucker (1821-1893)
Title page from No. 234 of the Everyman’s Library editions
From a 1960s advertising campaign for the British post office.
From Frontier Days (1928), illustrated “by Frank Schoonover, Charles Hargens and others”
“Mister Twister” (1959) was a children’s book by Samuel Marshak, illustrated by Vladimir Lebedev. The main character is an American capitalist who travels to the Soviet Union to amuse his bored, spoiled daughter. Arriving at the hotel where they had planned to stay, Mister Twister sees a black man and announces that he will not stay at a hotel that accepts people of color. The book follows his fruitless search to find a hotel he considers proper. Said to be a classic of Soviet children’s literature.
From The New If I Were Going (1948) by Mabel O’Donnell, illustrated by Florence and Margaret Hoopes
From The New If I Were Going (1948) by Mabel O’Donnell, illustrated by Florence and Margaret Hoopes, who did the art for sixteen books in the “Alice and Jerry” series.
Read, Seen, Heard 