Takehisa Yumeji

Japanese artist and poet Takehisa Yumeji (1884-1934)

With mandolin, 1911. Image from https://arthistorypi.org/books/yumeji-modern

“He is known foremost for his Nihonga illustrations of bijin, beautiful women and girls, though he also produced a wide variety of works including book covers, serial newspaper illustrations, furoshiki, postcards, and patterned washi paper.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumeji_Takehisa

Illustrated book of poems by artist/author Takehisa Yumeji,1912

Good Morning, 1915 / Shōjogahō (Girls’ illustrated magazine) January 1915

Sheet music for Johannes Brahms’ “Meine Liebe ist Grün”, July 1923

Saint Mary, November 1924 / Woodblock illustration tipped into The Ladies Graphic magazine

Cover for The Ladies Graphic magazine, 1927 / Color woodblock, offset lithography

Cover for Kuro Neko magazine, 1929 / Offset lithography

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The Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints~
https://www.myjapanesehanga.com/home/artists/takehisa-yumeji-1884-1934.html
Taisho Romanticism and the Roots of Kawaii~
https://japanesekawaiiculture.com/takehisa-yumeji-taisho-romanticism-and-the-roots-of-kawaii/

Mary R. Bassett

American illustrator Mary Robertson Bassett (1841-1933)

“Mary Robertson Bassett illustrated magazines such as Ladies’ Home Journal, and children’s books published by Baker & Taylor Company, Grosset & Dunlap, and other publishers.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_R._Bassett

Frontispiece from Fairy Operettas by Laura E. Richards
1916 / 119 pages / Published by Boston:Little, Brown

Illustration from Fairy Operettas by Laura E. Richards
1916 / 119 pages / Published by Boston:Little, Brown

Illustration from Poems My Children Love Best Of All by Clifton Johnson
1917 / 276 pages / Published by New York, Lloyd Adams Noble

Illustration from Poems My Children Love Best Of All by Clifton Johnson
1917 / 276 pages / Published by New York, Lloyd Adams Noble

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Author Laura E. Richards~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_E._Richards
Author Clifton Johnson~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Johnson_(author)
The American Illustrators Gallery~ https://www.americanillustrators.com/artists

Designer Alice Cordelia Morse

Alice Cordelia Morse (June 1, 1863-July 15, 1961) was an American designer of book covers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Cordelia_Morse

Image from https://archive.org/details/womanofcenturyfo00will

In 1885, two years after graduating from Cooper Union, Morse took a position at Tiffany and Company as a designer and painter of stained glass. Around this time, progressive American publishers began to commission artist-designers to design the covers of commercial books, rather than assigning the work to die-makers and engravers, as was customary. Morse grew interested in the emerging field of book-cover design while still at Tiffany’s. Perhaps in part due to her experience there, she developed an impressive ability to interpret nature motifs and historical ornament. On leaving Tiffany’s in 1889, Morse resumed her education at the Woman’s Art School while also working as an independent designer. She soon rose to the forefront of the first generation of artists to design commercially produced books.

Quote from Mindell Dubansky, author of
The Proper Decoration of Book Covers: The Life and Work of Alice C. Morse, 2008
http://alicemorse.blogspot.com/p/overview-2.html

 

Design for Stained Glass, late 19th century / Brush and gouache, watercolor on paper / Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, NYC

Art and Handicraft in the Woman’s Building of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 / Cloth cover with gold-stamped and silver-lined floral motifs / Smithsonian Libraries, DC

Design for Title Page, Occupations of Women and Their Compensation, c.1899 / Brush and gouache on paper / Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, NYC

Poems of Cabin and Field, 1899 / Cloth cover with orange and green stamping / National Museum of African American History and Culture, DC

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Further reading:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mors/hd_mors.htm
https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2020/11/06/Carnegie-Halls-Stained-Glass-Windows
https://bookbindersmuseum.org/women-in-book-cover-design/

Autoportrait Day 296~ Sylvia Salazar Simpson

A random survey of self-portraits created by women through the centuries

Installation artist, book artist, and photographer
Sylvia Salazar Simpson (born 1939)

Antes-Después (Before-After), 1981 / Four color photographs / Private collection

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Born November 27~ Katherine Milhous

Katherine Milhous (November 27, 1894-December 5, 1977) was an American artist, illustrator, and writer. In 1951, her book The Egg Tree (1950) won the Caldecott Medal.
Biography on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Milhous

Pennsylvania Costumes and Handicrafts, the Pennsylvania Germans by Katherine Milhous
c.1936-1941 / Lithographic poster promoting Lancaster County / Library of Congress, DC

Katherine Milhous on Artnet: http://www.artnet.com/artists/katherine-milhous/

Further reading:
https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Milhous__Katherine
http://www.postersforthepeople.com/field-update–blog/celebrating-katherine-milhous
https://blogs.brown.edu/libnews/womens-history-month/

Born September 28~ Warja Lavater

Warja Honegger-Lavater (September 28, 1913-May 3, 2007) was a Swiss artist and illustrator best known for utilizing pictograms as graphic representations of language in her later work.
Biography on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warja_Lavater

Homo sapiens? (Folded Story, no.13) by Warja Lavater
1965 / Lithographs on cream wove paper / 6-7/16″x3-5/8″x7/16″ / Toledo Museum of Art, OH

Warja Lavater’s “Twenty-three hundred years of medical costume”: https://bit.ly/2Y9fWrI

Further reading:
https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/4455/Honegger-Lavater/Warja
http://dallaslibrary2.org/blogs/bookedSolid/2020/02/warja-lavater-writing-pictures-and-drawing-books/
https://exhibits.library.illinois.edu/s/rbml/page/little-red-riding-hood

Born September 24~ Margaret Neilson Armstrong

Margaret Neilson Armstrong (September 24, 1867-July 18, 1944) was a designer of cloth bookbindings who produced over 250 cover designs. She was also an accomplished botanist, editor, and author.
Biography on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Neilson_Armstrong

Margaret Armstrong’s cover design and lettering for Twenty Centuries of Paris
Written by Mabell S.C. Smith / Published 1913 / Image from Project Gutenberg

Margaret Neilson Armstrong covers and illustrations on The Met website: https://bit.ly/3kBYK6G

Further reading:
https://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/exhibits/margaretarmstrong/
https://rarebookschool.org/2005/exhibitions/armstrong.shtml
https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/3351

December is Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month! #25

Durian (Durio Zibethinus L.) Chromolithograph by
P. Depannemaeker after Berthe Hoola van Nooten

c.1880 / From the book Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de L’Ile de Java by Berthe Hoola van Nooten
Published by C. Muquardt, Brussels / Various collections, including Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO

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