Bookshelf Travelling in Insane Times

Judith at Reading in the Wilderness hosts – Bookshelf Travelling in Insane Times

This week I’m looking at some of my arty books which are situated in bookshelves in the sun room. Art books are often the sort of books that people dip into now and again but rarely read from cover to cover all at once – or is that just me?

Hand, Heart and Soulcover

Hand, Heart and Soul by Elizabeth Cumming is about the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland. Unlike many arty books this one has a lot of information in it, but it also has plenty of photos of stained glass, embroideries, furniture, paintings, interiors and more. I’ve read bits of it and probably forgotten those bits so I really should get down to it again.


A Treasury of the Great Children's Book Illustrators cover

A Treasury of the Great Children’s Book Illustrators by Susan Meyer. It features Edward Lear, John Tenniel, Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, Beatrix Potter, Ernest H. Shepard, Arthur Rackham, Edmund du Lac, Kay Nielsen, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth and W.W. Denslow. It’s pure eye candy but is also an interesting read.

Edmund Dulac's Picture Book

The last book is Edmund Dulac’s Picture Book which was published on behalf of the Croix Rouge Francais under the patronage of H.M. Queen Alexandra. I think it was published in 1915 by The Daily Telegraph and obviously the money went to the French Red Cross. It’s a collection of songs, poems and stories all beautifully illustrated. They are semi loose, sort of tipped in so that if you wish you can frame them, luckily none have been removed from my copy. This is something of a collector’s book, I think I got it as a Christmas present from Jack some years ago, but I haven’t read it – yet!

10 thoughts on “Bookshelf Travelling in Insane Times

  1. The children’s book illustrators book looks great. I love many of the illustrators mentioned.

  2. Katrina,
    I have numerous “coffee table books” as well, and lots of them fascinating and ones I turn to time and again. But they aren’t books where you start on page one and read through to the end. I suppose they’re more browsing books, as if one were taking a trip or visiting a museum exhibition.
    The children’s illustrators book cries out to me, for sure. And the Arts and Crafts Movement book as well, especially the embroideries.

    • Judith,
      Yes they’re mainly for browsing and dipping into when you want a bit of eye candy, or even inspiration. I’m really enjoying this meme BTW.

  3. Both the books about children’s books illustrators and the Edmund Dulac book look fantastic. We have way too many art books and especially photography books and some are in stacks. Our place is too small for so many books.

    I have finished The Master and Margarita and that was quite a read, not exactly what I was expecting. For the most part I enjoyed it, although there were some bumpy parts, but I still not sure I understand it.

    • tracybham,
      I’ve finished it too. Do you want to email about it or just blog about it and leave a comment on the blogpost? It was definitely a strange read but it did all come together at the end I suppose. I don’t think that we are getting half of the allusions in books that have been translated, no matter how good the translation is. I’m sure there are some things you just have to experience by living there to know what is going on.

      • Katrina, We can do whichever you prefer, but I am fine with just blogging about the book and commenting on the blogpost. It will probably be Thursday or Friday before I get a review done.

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