i spy: striped flappers, dapper artists and an anxious puppy

Striped flappers, deco dancers, geometric book covers, dapper artists, an anxious puppy, and an English library in which I would like to live.  These are some of the images that caught my eye last month.  To see more, check out my Tumblr and Pinterest.

(clockwise, starting at upper left:)

*cover of Paul Klee's Handzeichnungen, published by Insel-Bücherei / Front Free Endpaper

*illustration by Eduardo García Benito from La dernière lettre Persane (ca. 1920) / Doctor Ojiplático

*maquette of Alvin Lustig’s rejected cover art for Dylan Thomas’ Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog (ca. 1953) / Cooper-Hewitt

*dance performance in the Himmelssaal (Sky Hall) of Haus Atlantis, an art deco house in the historic Böttcherstraße of Bremen, Germany (photo ca. 1932) / Böttcherstraße

*poster by the Stenberg Brothers for the German Film Six Girls Seeking Shelter (ca. 1927) / Mubi

*Max Ernst at the home of Peggy Guggenheim, New York, 1942, photo by Hermann Landshoff / Münchner Stadtmuseum

*dapper Scottish designer and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (ca. 1900).  Sadly, his Glasgow School of Art building was recently badly damaged by fire; funds are being raised to repair the damage. / Wikipedia

*The library at Lyme Park in Disley, Cheshire, England, as illustrated in The Ladies' Field, 1901. / National Trust

*anxious puppy / The Libby Hall Collection

*a wonderful photo from the Spitzer family papers at Brandeis University (photo ca. 1920s?). / Brandeis Special Collections

xo

K

february inspiration

Insect love, turn of the century skyscrapers, Julian Fellowes appreciation, black-and-white photography, Tilda...February may be a short month, but it was chock full of inspiring stuff.

1. The Life and Love of the Insect by J.H. Fabre / awonderfultreat

2. period drama crushes Brendan Coyle and Richard Armitage in a scene from North and South. / The Artist in Me

3. Atlantic City photobooth portrait.  She reminds me of Kirsten Dunst. / AtypicalArt

4. Demilly vu par lui-même, Théodore Blanc et Antoine Demilly, ca. 1920 / RegardIntemporel

5. Life magazine's 1909 "Real Estate Number" cover / ArchiTakes

6. Tilda Swinton.  The hair, the glasses, the sweater.  Love. / KafkaDreams

1. 3 pretty cushions on 3 cool chairs. / unthrifted

2. 1960 Bouquet Garni linen towel by Lucienne Day / V&A

3. plaid eye for the straight guy? / zoomar

4. street scene during a heavy snowstorm in Astoria, NY, 1940, by Frank Navara / wonderfulambiguity

5. Emily Watson in Gosford Park, which was written by Julian Fellowes.  I'll be re-watching this and reading Fellowes' novel Snobs to help me make it through until the next season of Downton Abbey--Fellowes' most recent creation. / intellectualpromiscuity

xo

K

august inspirations

Here's a sampling of some of my favorite images from the internets over the last month.  Some of the things that caught my eye were obvious: plaid, Richard Armitage, dogs smoking pipes.  But I found myself getting stuck on a couple new-to-me themes, namely: old books and things medieval.  Who knows where this will lead (I can see the old books becoming a problem).  You can click the collages below to make them bigger.

(Oh, and for more of this type of thing, you can follow me on my Tumblr: always the sea.) 

1. Journeys Through Booklands endpapers, published 1922.  (phoebe photo Flickr stream)

2. 1920s postcard of Norma Shearer in a cute knit cap and tie. (Chuckman's Collection Chicago Postcards)

3. A-frame bookshelves. (Kaerbear on Tumblr)

4. King Creosote (Kenny Anderson) and Jon Hopkins, whose Diamond Mine album is still rocking my world. (King Creosote & Jon Hopkins Facebook page)

5. Lovely Parisian street style! (Street Style Aesthetic blog)

6. I could totally live in this gorgeous room, which is in the home of ceramicist Henry Chapman Mercer.  (PDN Photo of the Day)

7. How to Know the Ferns by Frances Theodora Parsons, 1899.  (Calsidyrose's Flickr stream)

1. Vintage photo of dog dressed as a British soldier, 1905. (Shorpy)

2. It's not my Tumblr without a photo of Richard Armitage.  Lovely photo of the lovely man himself, walking the rainy pavement. (recycledvinyl on Tumbler)

3. Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.  I just need an iron bedframe, and my bedroom could easily look like this.  (Poppytalk)

4. Lauren Bacall in a great plaid dress. (Monsieur Verdoux on Tumblr)

5. San Gennaro Festival, New York City, 1948, by Sid Grossman.  I can smell the sausages and peppers. (earwigbiscuits on Tumblr)

6. A Northern Night, painting by Franz Johnston, 1917. (National Gallery of Canada)

xo

K