Funny rhymes!

Ye Comical Rhymes of Ancient Times, Dug Up Into Jokes For Small Folks (New York: Hurd & Houghton, circa 1864)

Laughing! Out! Loud!!!

Drawn to Enchant

New — An Interview with the Author: Tim Young on Drawn to Enchant (MP3)

Little girls with barbells!
Dogs using quill pens!
Odd looking men fishing for odd looking mermaids!

They are all part of the the world of Drawn to Enchant: Original Children’s Book Art in the Betsy Beinecke Shirley Collection, a celebration of the collection gathered by one of the world’s most astute collector’s of children’s literature.

Artists whose works are represented include many beloved favorites, among them Ludwig Bemelmans, Maurice Sendak, A. B. Frost, Wanda Gag, Peter Newell, N. C. Wyeth, Tony Sarg, Robert Lawson, and Johnny Gruelle.

From variant illustrations for Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are to little-known sketches for nineteenth-century periodicals that delighted generations of children, Drawn to Enchant offers a unique opportunity to study the reading lives of children throughout American history. Just as important, it invites each reader to recollect favorite images from the treasured books of his or her own childhood.

 

The book is officially released on October 15, 2007 and is available via the Yale University Press website: (in US at www.yale.edu/yup/ and in the UK at www.yalebooks.co.uk) and fine bookstores everywhere. Containing over 200 full color illustrations, it makes a wonderful gift for readers of all ages! [DISCLAIMER: Yes, this is a shameless plug for a publication by one of this blog’s curators. But the book is *really* lovely!]

Frederick Burr Opper, illustration (watercolor on board) for The Jolly Gymnasium, undated, apparently never published.

Unidentified artist, illustration (watercolor on board) for Little Stories for Little Folks (McLoughlin Bros., 1890).

Gelett Burgess, “Fishing for Mermaids”, pen and ink with watercolor on paper, for The Burgess Nonsense Book (Frederick R. Stokes Co. 1901).