jim henson

In addition to all of her other works during her long career, Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck wrote several 'juvenile fiction' Christmas-related stories.

This 'storybook insert' originally ran in the December, 1956 issue of Family Circle magazine (the same issue that provided last week's
Peter Lind Hayes & Mary Healy 'Night(mare) before Christmas'
photo-spread post).

The story was published in hardback form the following year, with different (non-Disney) artwork.

Other than "Visualized by
Walt Disney and Staff", I'm not finding any credit for individual artists on this piece.

If you have any insights or clues, I'd love to hear about it - - leave a comment or drop a line.

In 1956, Disney was running full-steam with their brand-new Anaheim theme park and two popular TV shows.

More and more of their visual output on TV and in theaters was live-action. Disney animation was still producing theatrical shorts, had released the feature-length 'Lady and The Tramp' the previous year, and began production in '56 for the 1959 release of 'Sleeping Beauty'.

So far, I see no evidence to suggest that there had been any plans by the Disney studios to produce an animated version of Pearl Buck's 'A Christmas Miniature'. Again, any info you might have on the topic is appreciated.

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Please follow this link to my flickr set:
'Excerpts from Elson-Gray's Primer & Book One Readers, 1930 editions'
(54 images)

I've posted some images from the first set of beginning reader textbooks that introduced the characters 'Dick and Jane', who - - for better or worse
- - would influence a generation.

Basal readers like the Elson-Gray series were considered 'state-of-the-art' educational tools once upon a time, and they received wide use in American schools for several decades.

Eventually their typical neglect of phonics, coupled with an unnatural narrative structure would turn popular opinion, and they were deemed to be an inferior method for teaching reading skills.



Flawed? Perhaps...
...Clichéd over time?
Most definitely - - but nevertheless, the scenario and structure propagated by
William H. Elson and
William S. Gray became an archetype.

There's a dearth of info available about the various illustrators for these 1930 editions.
Anything you can share on that subject is much appreciated. Please leave a comment or drop an e-mail.

Please follow this link to my flickr set:
'Excerpts from Elson-Gray's Primer & Book One Readers, 1930 editions' (54 images)

Pictured here is an old and slightly shabby kid's 'Teevee Tray' folding tray table, looking like it may have been manufactured circa 1955 - 1963 or thereabouts.

The short legs suggest that perhaps it was planned for use as an in-bed meal tray, to be placed over a semi-reclining little kid's legs, but my own suspicion is that it's intended for a tyke sitting on the floor and snacking in front of the television.
Could have been both, I suppose...

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Regardless, the 'cheerful' illustration on it comes off a tad creepy.
I know I'm not the only one to hold this opinion.

This artifact was passed onto My Friend Topic from a friend of hers, who's husband had grown up with it in his family. (Thanks for sharing, Topic!)
To hear Topic tell it, as adults all could appreciate the tray's kitschy qualities, but agreed it was at least a little bit 'off'.

Certainly the TV clown doesn't help matters, nor does the notion that the Dalmatian puppy might be frightened or angered by it.

The leers of the bear and the rabbit confronting the viewer send it over the edge, in my opinion.

The possible sick-bed use for this old tray makes me recall some early nightmarish days home from elementary school with the flu, running a fever, doped up on cough medicine, and losing touch with reality while parked in front of the television.

Had I been forced to sit alone with this tray in that condition, there would have been trouble...

Also adding to the mystique is it's 'knockoff' quotient.

Setting aside some of its very specific qualities, the illustration is sort of generic for the era.

Looks like they were going for a Little Golden Book feel, though slightly tarnished here.

When I first saw it I wondered if it might actually be artwork by children's book author ⬅ Richard Scarry, or even Gustaf Tenggren ⬇ illustrating in his 'Poky Little Puppy' style of the era.




I have since decided that neither artist created this image, but that whoever did knew what they were doing.

So: Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

If you have any information or thoughts to share regarding the origins of this item, please comment or drop an e-mail.
- - Or how about memories? Maybe you lived with a tray just like this once upon a time?

See also two previous posts on this blog:
- 'Excerpts from Richard Scarry's Golden Book Of Manners, 1962'

- 'Gustaf Tenggren's Tell-It-Again Fairy-Tale Illustrations, 1942'

In the first part of the 20th century, Charles Madison Curry and Martha Adelaide Holton wrote and edited a large number of readers, primers, and other books intended to foster reading skills in young school children.

Illustrator Frederick Richardson (1862-1937) began his career in newspapers.
He had a regularly featured spot in Saturday editions of the Chicago Daily News for his political cartoons and social commentary.

Richardson left newspapers behind in the early 1900's, and spent the next thirty years providing illustrations for magazines and children's books.

- Please follow this link to my flickr set of 26 images from a 1914 edition of the Holton-Curry Third Reader!





















- You can read can read from a 1916 edition of this book online, available at Google Books, as well as others in the Holton-Curry series of Readers.

- Likewise, several books containing Frederick Richardson's illustrations can be read online, available at both Google Books and at The Online Books Page.

- More specifically, the book 'East o'the Sun and West o'the Moon
with other Norwegian folk tales' may be previewed at
Childrens Library.Org

- Two Richardson illustrations from native American 'fairy stories' may be viewed at the Violet Books - Golden Era of Book Illustration website.

- A couple of standard 'fable' images show up in a blog post at Graphic Tales from Ulcer City.

These are some images from an old copy of 'Songs From Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass' that had belonged to my mother when she was a girl.
(Alas, a few of the book plates have gone missing)

Lewis Carroll's verse was set to music by English folk-song historian Lucy Etheldred Broadwood.











Some notes on British illustrator Charles James Folkard (1878 – 1963):

"He worked for some time as a conjuror after attending a show at the
‘Egyptian Hall’ in London. He was a prolific illustrator of children’s books as he started in his teenage years and continued through to his late 70’s.

"He was responsible for a cartoon character, Teddy Tail, which ran in the Daily Mail newspapers for many decades and was loved by its readers.

"He is well known for his work on the ‘Arabian Nights’ Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Jackdaw of Rheims, Aesop’s Fables and Pinocchio."

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For more Charles Folkard, see also:
- SurLaLune Fairy Tales Illustration Gallery

- Books Illustrated Ltd

- For a wide array of artists interpretations of Lewis Carroll's world, follow link to:
'Alice Illustrations other than Tenniel' at Hugo Strikes Back!

Nathaniel Hawthorne's book 'Tanglewood Tales' presented versions of classic Greek myths re-written for children.

First published in 1853 (three years after 'The Scarlet Letter'), it was a follow-up to his 'Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys'.

These illustrations are from a 1930 edition printed by Saalfield Publishing.









There are several online sites that feature the full text from 'Tanglewood Tales'.

- Follow this link to text from an 1889 version available at The Baldwin Project, that features illustrations by George Wharton Edwards

There's not too much information readily available regarding illustrator Fern Bisel Peat.

Her work appeared in books and magazines, as well as on puzzles and children's toys.

It would appear that her most prolific years were in the 1930's and '40's.

For more examples of Fern Bisel Peat's work, follow links to:
- A brief mention in reference to some 1942 illustrations for 'Children's Playmate' magazine, at a Smithsonian online exhibit.

- 'Susie Cat'; a Peat kitty-cat cut-out from 'Children's Playmate'

- Excerpts from 1930's nature books by Frank North Shankland, with Fern Bisel Peat illustrations, from Seven Pillars Book Nook.