We just wanted to give you a quick, little preview of some of the art and design books that have arrived from publishers in the past couple of weeks. We’ve got a few other blog posts already in the pipeline, but the next Bookmarks review won’t be far off!
Adelle entered an online competition recently. Up for grabs on the Vintage by Hemingway blog were 3 copies of a Bridget Riley catalogue – and she won!! This is the package that arrived this week.
The catalogue has been produced to accompany an exhibition of the artist’s work being held at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge.
And, taking a quick peek inside, here are a few of Bridget Riley’s classic & influential designs.
We’ll enjoy reading our copy – thanks to the guys at Vintage by Hemingway!
P.S. – The exhibition has just been extended until 31st December 2011.
Here’s a quick follow up to our recent blog post about vintage American road maps.
A few days after we bought them, we also picked up this lovely little Ladybird book.
It’s from the Flight series – this one being, “Flight Three – U.S.A – A Ladybird Book of Travel Adventure”.
This is a first edition, published in 1959.
Alison & John take a trip to the U.S.A where Dad sometimes goes on business trips.
They land in New York and spend a week there – then hire a car and take a a road trip.
As with most Ladybirds from this era, the illustrations are fabulous.
Other destinations in the series include Australia, Canada, Africa, India and The Holy Land.
If we ever manage to do an American road trip in a vintage camper van (or lovely, shiny Airstream!), we’ll have lots of vintage travel ephemera to accompany us… we suspect there might have been a few changes!
The Homemade Home was the subject of our most recent Bookmarks book review.
It brought to mind this pile of craft booklets we picked up at Huddersfield Fleamarket recently.
They’re from the Leisure Craft series.
There seems to be about 40 titles in the set…
…covering a vast array of crafts & hobbies.
…from familiar subjects such as fabric printing, enamel work and collage…
…to more obscure topics such as coconut craft & pipe cleaner figures.
There’s been quite a resurgence in the upcycled, recycled, reworked & handmade in recent years…
…but we’re yet to see throngs of people queueing up for the local coconut craft classes!
The booklets are lovely actually…
…all dating from the late 60s & early 70s.
There are lists of materials and clearly illustrated methods & techniques.
The photographs of finished results are also fab…
…with a very distinctive period feel.
Our particular favourites are the Paper, Scissors & Paste and Batik booklets…
…oh, and that gorgeous little fabric booklet with the pram on it has to get a special mention!
So, no excuses now… time to get crafty!
P.S. Compendiums… compendia… we looked them up, both versions are usable however our spellchecker doesn’t like the latter!
Those of you who have seen photos of our home know that we’re avid collectors of all manner of things.
Which brings us neatly to the second title in our Bookmarks review series, The Way We Live – With the Things We Love by Stafford Cliff & Gilles de Chabaneix and published by Thames & Hudson.
The book celebrates the things with which we fill our houses – and how people express their personality through their homes and the objects they collect.
We’re always looking for imaginative ways to display…
…and this book is full of great ideas.
All the wonderful images, from houses all around the world, were taken by a single photographer, Gilles de Chabaneix, who spent over 40 years photographing domestic interiors.
The book doesn’t try to advise on what objects to collect, but offers inspiration for people who love to rummage at markets, bid at auction or have treasured heirlooms they want to put on show.
Objects ranging from fine art to humble beach-combed finds rub shoulders throughout the book.
From familiar groupings of mirrors and paintings, to much more idiosyncratic collections, such as a wall-full of vintage postcards of rock formations!
It’s a great lazy afternoon or bedtime read, with over 200 pages of inspiring, fascinating and intriguing rooms.
We’ve revisited the book a few times this week which is a good sign… and you do notice new things each time.
The book is one in the Way We Live: series and can also be bought from our Amazon bookshops: UK | US
[Many thanks to Thames & Hudson for supplying this review copy]
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