A Snowy January Day

{via shhhmydarling}

INSPIRATION 2014 #2: This lovely illustration is a perfect representation of the quiet and beauty of a snowy day. The muted gray tones give me a warm & cozy feeling even though it is a winter scene. You can download a free printable calendar here ~ a great way to start the year off ~ organized & inspired!

Another Milestone

{image from here}

First colonoscopy tomorrow ~ UGH!

Clever Constellation Cards

Stumbled upon these wonderful Astronomy cards from 1830 on ebay ~ aren't these gorgeous? Not only are they beautifully engraved and hand-colored, but they are cleverly designed to instruct as well. The 32 cards came packaged in the box shown above ~ I wonder how much they sold for when they were first produced?

According to the description, these 'hold-to-light' cards were "designed by a “young lady” to make the study of Astronomy “familiar and amusing”. Each card is pricked through with holes of different sizes relative to the apparent magnitude of each star within a given constellation. This rare find can be yours for a mere $2500 obo ~ available for 23 more days here.

I am also curious as to why each illustration has a loose thin outline. Were the illustrations supposed to be cut out and used separately? Or perhaps hung mobile style? Anyone have any ideas or conjectures?

Snail's Pace

How is everyone out there dealing with this heat? As I am in the midwest, I realize it isn't as hot and muggy as it is on the east coast, but even so, it is hot enough to suck most of my energy away ~ I feel like I am moving at a snail's pace! If only there was an ocean nearby! Hot and humid makes me lethargic ~ wouldn't it be nice to just be able to languish in a spiderweb hammock until a cool breeze came along?!

Lovely watercolors shown were painted by Victorian artist, Amelia Jane Murray Lady Oswald (1800-1896) ~ you can read more about her here and see some more of her work here and here.

The Alphabet of Flowers

Spotted this on ebay today and thought it would be nice to add to my collection of old books ~ I love old alphabet books and I have never seen one like this before. The Alphabet of Flowers is from 1860 and is a wrapped paper book for children with beautiful illustrations ~ kind of amazing that it is in such good shape. Alas, too rare and expensive for my pocketbook ~ especially after I've spent the last two days picking up a few things here and there!

{buy it now for $146.25 ~ sale ends soon 6/1 or 2/2010}

Low Cal Valentine Treat

Thought I'd share with you the treat I bought myself for Valentine's Day ~ low cal and luscious ~ I just couldn't resist. Isn't she beautiful?

Hair Dooos (& Don'ts)

Too bad I didn't find these a few weeks ago as I had my appointment with my hairdresser last weekend! So much inspiration in so many ways ~ of course I love the style of the illustrations themselves ~ but then there is the added bonus of both verbal and visual humor! Those pesky French & English of the late 1700's! Hey, maybe the big hair of the 80's wil return........

{Perfect for the upcoming Halloween season}

{Does this style make my ass look big?}

{Miss Juniper Fox is either a really good animal trainer or her husband is pretty handy with a gun}

All images above - and many others have been posted at BibliOdyssey along with their original links and historical information about each illustration - definitely worth a visit!