Thrift Store Negatives

I bought a small metal drawer set earlier today at a Goodwill store. I ended up finding some loose negatives behind the drawers. I immediately put them into to my slide scanner and found the following images of a kid ollieing off of steps and walls. I'm not sure how old the images are but they are probably from over 10 years ago. I love the intensity of the reds and yellows.

This is the most interesting one, click to enlarge

Daily Book Graphics #57 / Modern Ordbok

More Swedish/English (and English/Swedish) ordbok covers (see DBG #49 for another one). They were originally published in 1964 but these are from the seventh printing in 1971. The illustrations look very 1964.

Daily Book Graphics #56 / Rendezvous in Dortmund

I recently found this booklet about Dortmund, Germany at my parent's house. It was published in the early 1980's to promote the city's potential as a business center. Dortmund is Buffalo's German sister city, which has something to do with my memory of a large mustachioed German man sitting at our dinner table at some point in the mid 80's. I assume he brought this booklet with him. "Dortmund has got what's required" is the most brilliantly efficient civic slogan I have ever heard.

Daily Book Graphics #55 / Meet the Beetles

These illustrations are from Open Air Guides: Guide to Beetles, by Jan Bechayne, published in 1956. It is for "those interested in naming the common British and European Beetles, and also for those seeking an introduction to the more detailed study of these insects."

Daily Book Graphics #54 / The Mod Squad

the end papers

Sometimes I don't know how to draw the line between design that I think is interesting because it is well conceived and executed (good), and that which is interesting because is kitschy, weird or perfectly emblematic of a certain era. In other words, sometimes I'm not sure if I'm appreciating something ironically or not. I'm also not sure that there is a meaningful difference between those two modes of appreciation. In any case, I think that as far as the book covers of novelizations of television shows go, this is probably among the best. Illustration: D. Csanady, published in 1969, Mod Squad background here.

Daily Book Graphics #53 / Tropical Aquaria

These graphics/illustrations are from Tropical Freshwater Aquaria, a book in the Bantam Knowledge Through Color series (published: 1971). As far as I can tell the Knowledge Through Color books are the paperback versions of the Grosset All-Color Guide series which I have posted from here and here.

Slow Spring

Red Velvet Mite

The ever present Black-capped Chickadee

Spring has been frustratingly slow in coming this year, the temperatures have been steadily below average for weeks. It got up to 50 degrees on Friday so I rode my bicycle down to Tifft Nature Preserve to see if any invertebrate life was stirring. I have been actively shooting insects and arachnids since I got a macro lens a year and a half ago (examples here). I generally think of it as research for my art projects and kind of a fascinating challenge. In any case, there was only little bit of action at the nature preserve, the Red Velvet Mite was the only invertebrate picture worth showing.

Daily Book Graphics #52 / Japanese Family Crests

These are designs based on Japanese family crests from the somewhat insufficiently titled, Handbook of Designs and Motifs (published: 1950). The book is presented as "an invaluable idea and reference handbook for artists, designers, craftsmen and hobbyists in all fields." There are close to 7000 crests in the book and almost all of them are brilliant in one way or another. According to the book, many of the designs started as family crests in the Heian Period (794-1185), but over time they lost their function as family symbols and became decorative motifs.

Daily Book Graphics #51 / The Little Cuckoo

I don't own too many children's books (mostly because I don't own any children), so there will only be a few featured in this project. My wife bought this one at a thrift store because she liked the illustrations. I like the simplicity and overall design of the characters (if that's the right term), but I don't think I would have been drawn to them as a kid, they are a little cold. Illustrations: Attilio Cassinelli / published: 1968