Big and bright

I just returned from Texas; a two-day holiday spent with K. who moved there a few years ago.  I've driven through Texas, but this was my first real visit.

Wikipedia notes that Texas is the second largest U.S. state and that there is no official language.

I heard a woman holler, "Yoo-hoo!" with great conviction. 

Forget Belgium, my waffle was in the shape of the Lone Star State!

Peace

It's hard to imagine that fashion magazine covers were once exclusively illustrated. I get tired of the glossy, digitally enhanced photos that tend to blend into a chic but boring soup. An occasional issue with an illustrated cover would be for me, a real treat.

The stark yet beautiful 1945 cover for UK Vogue illustrated by James de Holden-Stone. The war had ended. What better way to celebrate peace than a clear blue sky?

Something Cool

Something cool

I'd like to order something cool

It's so warm here in town

And this heat gets me down

And I'd like something cool

—lyrics by Bill Barnes, 1954

Published in 1955, The First Book of Jazz by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Cliff Roberts.

First name Mister

Larger than life for 30 years.

I love the Mr. T(ea) towels from To Dry For.

Picturesque

A peek, a sliver, a mere glimpse of Jean Patchett is pure glamor.

Société Anonyme

Between 1920 and 1940, the Société Anonyme held 80 exhibitions of avant-garde and abstract art.

Despite the organization's subversive rejection of popular standards of art and design, their graphics, posters and collage are especially beautiful.

(images from the Yale library)

Just you, just me

Inspired by the Missed Connections of Craigslist, illustrator Sophie Blackall recreates those shared moments of hope and attraction between strangers.

Distortion

Images by Czech photographer Václav Chochola (1923-2005)

Name, profession, location

One image posted on the office bulletin board of Charles and Ray Eames.

Fan mail

M.M  (Marilyn Monroe)

Errol Flynn

M.M (Mickey Mouse)

Art of letters

Oh, to receive a letter from Edward Gorey!

Taking good notes

There are many good reasons for buying secondhand books and supporting used bookstores; perusing dog-eared discards for random drawings and notes is my personal favorite.

Sum of its parts

I love the vibrant paintings and collage of Cecil Touchon.

Kite

Charles Eames kite design

Once upon a time

From Taschen, a collection of twenty-seven treasured fairy tales, illustrated by the top of the toppermost illustrators including Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen and Walter Crane.

Private no more

A seven-part interview of Jacqueline Kennedy by historian and Kennedy aide Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. will be published as a book and audio recording. The interview, from 1964, takes place only months after the assassination of the president. Jacqueline Kennedy was just 34 years old.

Illustration of Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy by Jacqueline Duheme from the book 

Mrs. Kennedy Goes Abroad

Morning, noon and night

Following the light with Rockwell Kent.

Alaska, 1919

March, Greenland (1933)

Donegal, Ireland (1927)

Moonlight in the Adirondacks (1960)