Dad's Special Day

Father's Day is just around the corner, so I created a few items that you can print and use.
This a great antique image from a book published by the McLoughlin Brothers in 1885 called "Base Ball ABC". I did use a little PhotoShop magic and replaced the ABC with DAD.
McLoughlin Bros., Inc. was a New York publishing firm that pursued techniques in color printing for children's books. Their illustration coloring process spanned more than 50 years, starting with hand stenciling and ultimately leading to chromolithography. The process of chromolithography is a posting in itself and I will explain that one day in the future. Between 1850 and 1920 McLoughlin Brothers brought joy to young children reading their books and booklets. Their product line expanded to include toys, including games and paper dolls. An interesting side note, in 1920 McLoughlin Bros., Inc. was sold to Milton Bradley and game production ceased. The McLoughlin line of children's books was sold to Grosset & Dunlap in June 1954. By the 1970's the name, "McLoughlin" disappeared. I try to find these little gems whenever I can.
You can download the file below. Note this is a 9MB file. Click on the file and it will extract.

http://www.hedgehogstudio.com/BaseballDad.exe

Bessie Pease Gutmann - Alice In Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland is one of my favorite books. I recently re-read it and realized that I had missed so many historical references. I highly encourage you to read it again. Alice In Wonderland fueled the imagination of some many illustrators during the early 20th century. Numerous editions were published after the original with new illustrations. Each illustrator captured Lewis Carroll's work with their own vision and interpretation. Here is a little 2" X 2" half fold gift tag in pdf format to print out. You can cut with scissors inside or outside the black line and fold. Punch a small hole and string a 1/8 inch ribbon through. This illustration is by Bessie Pease Gutmann from the 1907 edition of Alice In Wonderland.

http://www.hedgehogstudio.com/alicefoldtag.pdf

Have a great week!

Little Bo Peep Nursery Rhyme

Nursery rhymes from Mother Goose are filled with tons of historical references. I enjoy the history and the illustrators. I have been reading about the importance of rhymes when learning to read. Apparently parents are not reading the old nursery rhymes to their children like they use to and educators feel this may impact their reading development. I made a card for you to download, print and include with that next book you buy for a young one or just cut and make some bookmarks and bookplates. The front of the card is a bookplate that can be cut-out and glued in the book and the back is a bookmark that can be cut-out and used. The illustration is by Clara Burd from the 1918 edition of "Mother Goose and Her Goslings". Please enjoy these for personal and educational use. If you have a favorite nursery rhyme let me know!

http://www.hedgehogstudio.com/claraburd.pdf

Have a great week!

Arthur Rackham's "Cinderella"

I just purchased a first edition of Arthur Rackham's "Cinderella" and wanted to share some of the images with you. I created three 4.25 x 5.5 note cards in .pdf format for you to download and print. These images also look great framed. I purchased three $3.00 5 x 7 inch black frames with 3 x 4.5 interior mats and placed the note card behind the mat. These look great grouped together! Add some cross grain ribbon to hang from and create a different look. When printing use your highest quality setting to get a strong black image.

http://www.hedgehogstudio.com/2cinderellacard.pdf

http://www.hedgehogstudio.com/2princecard.pdf

http://www.hedgehogstudio.com/godmother.pdf

Note the file will open in a browser window.