This week we have another fine fungal photo from Opus, who makes magic happen with his detailed macro portraits. He’s also sent us a photo to give some perspective and scale to the close-up work.
Opus plans to nurse the garden along for a bit and then return it to the wild.
Moss Garden ©Opus, all rights reserved
Moss Garden – overview ©Opus, all rights reserved
Edgar Allen Poe. Tales of Mystery and Imagination. London : G. G. Harrup ; New York : Brentano’s, 1919.
Here’s Marcus again and he’s holding his first edition copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination, illustrated by Harry Clark. Clarke was another of Caine’s favourite artists and many of the drawings that follow have previously been seen on this blog. Clarke’s illustrations in Poe’s Tales of Mystery are considered the best of any edition produced. According to the Public Domain Review:
…perhaps it is the Irishman Harry Clarke who has come closest to evoking the delirious claustrophobia and frightening inventiveness of “Poe-land”. For the 1919 edition of Tales Clarke created the twenty-four monochrome images featured below. Their nightmarish, hallucinatory quality makes you wonder if he was on something, until you remember the stories.
I couldn’t agree more. All 24 full-sized illustrations are included below the fold.
Illustrations via: The Public Domain Review
The 1923 edition of the book can be viewed at The Internet Archive. This edition includes 4 colour plates that were not part of the original 1919 edition. I haven’t included them here. They’re worth taking a look at and so are the smaller page illustrations.
R.D.Blackmore. Fringilla or Tales in Verse. Illustrated by Will Bradley. Cleveland. The Burrows Brothers Company, 1895.
Fringilla, Illustrated by Will Bradley. Back Cover.
Will Bradley was considered the “Dean of American Designers” during the Art Nouveau and Art Deco Periods and he was the best paid American artist of the early 20th Century. Much of Bradley’s work was for magazine covers, advertising and posters, but his illustrations for this book, Fringilla, were considered to be among his masterworks. All the full-sized illustrations are below the fold.
Charles Beaudelaire. Flowers of Evil. Translated by C. Bower Alcock. Illustrated by Beresford Egan. New York, Sylvan Press, 1947.
Flowers of Evil, illustrated by Beresford Egan, Title Page
Flowers of Evil, Illustrations by Beresford Egan, Page 35
Flowers of Evil, Illustrations by Beresford Egan, Page 45
The Flowers of Evil (Les Fleurs de Mal) by Beaudelaire was one of Caine’s favourite books and a special edition of it was gifted to her by Marcus. (stderr) The edition that she received was printed in limited quantities in 1947 with artwork by Beresford Egan and that’s Marcus in the first picture holding a copy of the same book he sent to Caine. The next 2 photos are Marcus displaying 2 of the interior plates to the book. Caine published several illustrations from the book on the blog and always noted how much she enjoyed the exaggerated forms and dark, macabre style of Egan. I’ve included the rest of the illustrations in the book below the fold.
Illustrations via: Retro Sixty, Modern British Art
There are several other editions of this book available to read at The Internet Archive. If you desire to read this edition by Beresford Egan you will need to open an (free) account at The Internet Archive and formally borrow the book.
A year ago today our community was devastated by the death of our beloved Caine. The team here at Affinity struggled with how to honor Caine on this day and we finally decided to carry forward her message to love and honor the planet. Caine stood with the tribe at Standing Rock in their struggle against the DAPL and today we’re passing on a few stories about the continuing struggle of Indigenous communities to protect the land and water. We are in no way qualified to speak about Indigenous culture or history, but we do so today with great respect.
First, a few reminders of the meaning of Mni Wiconi – Water is Life.
Mni Wiconi – The Stand at Standing Rock
Hear the message of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Honor tribal sovereignty and the Earth we inhabit by telling President Obama to deny the easement by calling 202-456-1111. We need every person to call Obama this week before Dec. 5th. Please share. For more information visit standwithstandingrock.net#NoDAPL#StandwithStandingRock#standingrock#bankexit
Posted by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Also:
In an article on Indian Country Today, Woonspe—Education Gives Meaning to Mni Wiconi—Water Is Life they tell of the origin story behind the meaning of Mni Wiconi.
An origin story of the Oceti Sakowin, the Seven Council Fires, which make up the Lakota, Nakoda, and Dakota people, tells us that the blood of First Creation, Inyan, covers Unci Maka, our grandmother earth, and this blood, which is blue is mni, water, and mahpiya, the sky. Mni Wiconi, water is life.
The entire article is worth reading and the above link will take you right there.
♦♦♦
Many Standing Rocks: Three Years and Still Fighting, by Tracy L. Barnett – The Esperanza Project)
LaDonna Allard, center, and Cheryl Angel at a march led by the women of Sacred Stone to the backwater bridge one week after a brutal attack there by law enforcement. (Photo from social media) – The Esperanza Project
So water is in danger, globally. Right now Indigenous communities are still at risk, and they are standing up, because they have to stand up. When you finally realize — WATER IS LIFE — you understand why you can’t sit back down.
People keep saying “after” Standing Rock – but I’m still of the same state of mind, I still have the same passion for the water, it has to be protected. It was when I was at Sicangu Wicoti Iyuksa that I learned about the aquifers that were in danger and when I was at Standing Rock I learned about the rivers that were in danger.
We encourage you to read the article. Cheryl Angel passes on wisdom from a lifetime spent in activism for the planet. Her reflections on the movement at Standing Rock are insightful, as is her take on the ongoing struggle to protect water and land resources.
♦♦♦
Next, we’re providing links to 2 reports on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s website.
SRST – No DAPL Remand Report Final, from February 5, 2019.
This first story is a damning and infuriating report on the deficient Corps of Engineers Analysis of the environmental impacts of the DAPL. The courts finally sided with the Standing Rock Tribe, but then decided that since the pipeline is already built they will let the oil flow.
IEN is an alliance of Indigenous peoples whose mission it is to protect the sacredness of Earth Mother from contamination and exploitation by strengthening, maintaining and respecting Indigenous teachings and natural laws. Adopted in 1994 by the IEN National Council, Denver, Colorado
The #StandingRock Sioux Tribe proves once again why they're one of the most resilient, powerful, and innovative communities. They didn’t let the Dakota Access Pipeline defeat them. Instead, they turned their anger into action 🔆♻️ pic.twitter.com/8rjYFLTKfS
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 5, 2019
Oscar Wilde. Salome. Illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley. London : John Lane, the Bodley Head ; New York : John Lane Co., 1907.
Aubrey Beardsley was one of Caine’s favourite artists from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods. Beardsley was commissioned directly by Oscar Wilde for this edition of Salome. Wilde felt that Beardsley’s modern, dark and macabre style captured the true spirit of the book.
I’ve included all the interior plates below the fold and they are deliciously grim and gruesome. The entire book can be viewed at The Internet Archive.
We’ve gotten some wonderful pictures of baby ravens from Anne, Cranky Cat Lady. Her daughter Emily Davis took the photos and Anne has been kind enough to share them with us.
…they run from the first time she spotted the nest through their fledging. They were still being fed by the parents at that point, even though they were almost adult-sized.
These are your basic Common Raven (Corvus corax), also known as the Northern Raven. The nest was in La Jolla, on the UC San Diego campus in Southern California
May 16/19, ©Emily Davis, all rights reserved
This week I’ll be featuring books with art that Caine would enjoy. This first book is in homage to Caine’s mastery and love of needlework.
The Miroir or Glasse of the Synneful Soul, copied in her own hand by Princess Elizabeth when just 11 years old (1544) and Presented to her stepmother Katherine Parr. Featured in English Embroidered Book-bindings (1899) – source
Nightjar has sent us her monthly look at the light conditions in her world and, as always, the photos are fabulous. Enjoy.
©Nightjar,all rights reserved
Clarence M. Weed. Insects and Insecticides. A practical Manual concerning noxious insects and the methods of preventing their injuries. Published by the author Hanover, New Jersey, 1891.
via: The Biodiversity Heritage Library, where you can view the entire book.
William Elliot Griffis. Korean Fairy Tales. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1922.
It’s Fairy Tale Saturday and this week our book tells tales from the country of Korea. The author, William Griffis, lived and taught in Japan for many years and wrote many serious books on Japan and Japanese Culture. Mr. Griffis was brought to Japan in 1870 to assist in the modernization of Japanese Schools. He became a respected educator and author within Japan and was twice honored with the Order of the Rising Sun – in 1907 with the Gold Rays with Rosette and in 1926 with the higher honor of Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.
Hon. Mrs. Greene (Louisa Lelias Plunket). Bound by a Spell; or, The Hunted Witch of the Forest. London, Paris, New York & Melbourne: Cassell & Company, Limited, 1885. Illustrations by Gordon Browne. First edition.
I chose today’s book cover mostly because of the snow. I thought it would be nice on a hot day. Brrr…
Photo via: L.W. Currey, Inc.
The book is available to read at The Internet Archive
Harrison Wade Ferguson. A Child’s Book of the Teeth. Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York; World Book Co., 1918.
Cover photo via: The Black Apple
The book is available to read at The Internet Archive
