1940's Funghi Book covers

I came across this cheeky duo at the market I run recently and was so charmed by the bold, pop graphics and supreme colour scheme I had to manhandle a customer who'd already bought them and ask if I could grab a few pictures (albeit dreary iPhone ones that don't do them justice) 

They were both printed in 1945, one of my favourite eras for lively and exciting surface design, but due to the psychedelic subject matter they somehow wouldn't look out of place amongst the tripped out fabrics of the late 60's / early 70's.

 The colours on the cover above made me think of a palette that swelled in popularity across graphics, textiles and ceramics just a few years on in the 1950's.  This handsome mid century ceramics set by German company Schlossberg used an almost identical colour scheme. 

Source: Obsessionistas

I would love an entire kaftan printed with these marvellous mushrooms, even if this would put me at risk of purchasing a bongo drum at a later date.

Vintage French Illustration

I found this illustrated paper folder at a rural antique shop in Normandy a while back - I think Le Cygne Noir was a grooming product and am guessing this is from the 1940's perhaps

I loved the print quality up close, although the swan does start to look a bit sly at this proximity...

Bountiful hay bales, slumberous hamlets, handsome thatches, ancient antique shops and brocantes, Normandy bewitched me with it's idyllic chocolate box charm.

Happily, there was also a reassuring selection of guesthouses adhering to aggressive floral policies

I was also a bit enchanted by this incredibly quaint fairytale style house overlooking the sea in St Valery En Caux, the lettering on the sign, flowers and overall style are all typically Art Nouveau so date it to the early 1900's.  I think I'd like to retire here to watch the ocean from that top window whilst surrounded by a supreme selection of cheeses.

All of these pictures were taken on film on my favourite £2.50 1990's camera.  I've noticed it has a curious trick of cloaking nearly every image with a nostalgic wistful haze that somehow tempts you to remember that at that moment in time life was actually a gilded, glittering sea of existential euphoria, when in actual fact you had been suffering from severe heartburn after eating a misguided gigantic chocolate croissant half an hour before lunch.

I think I am actually totally at ease with this method of sugar coating existence though and believe some form of it is fairly compulsory - so grab one of these lo-fi wonders on eBay and live in your own 70's Terence Malick film forever.

1950's winter wrapping paper

Dazzling wrapping paper from the 1950's with a fantastic palette of acid brights and superb graphics. It also has an enjoyably cheap and crunchy feel to it.  Found at North London Vintage Market which I also organise.

I much prefer this technicolour version of winter.  I'm thinking of moving here shortly to spend my days skating around neon trees with a mysterious man in black until Spring.

Hungarian Book Covers

Just got back from adventuring in Transylvania and Hungary.  Found all of these titles by chance in a backstreet bookshop in Budapest - my favourites are the first few surreal and sci fi beauties.

Some fairly unhinged imagery similar to the covers I featured last year from Lviv in the Ukraine.

The whole hoard has some interesting graphic and illustrative styles, with the titles seemed to date from around the 1950's to 1970's.  I think the best one is the naked alien people with the block of colour over their eyes, yes! I managed to smuggle it home so they now greet me daily as I wake up;  the jury's still out on what the long term effects of this are.

 

Some nice 1950's covers too

 

And some great very minimal reduced shapes and graphics

Bold greens and reds made these simple covers stand out too

Anyway, Transylvania was a winner! Icy tundras, hearty stodge, alcoholic blueberry tea and rambling taxi rides to rural villages where they still use horses and carts and farming has remained pretty much the same as 100 years ago. 

We were also lucky enough to be invited into a local woman Susanna's home, and got to marvel at her extensive collection of enamelware, vintage units, tea sets and alarming amounts of kitsch.

We stayed in a welcoming town called Cluj Napoca - home of the Cheeky Girls, who we incidentally SAW which made us chortle for around a week.  Romanians are super affable types and the language is actually, thankfully, more like Spanish or Italian as opposed to some of the Eastern countries who think nothing of putting five consonants in a row like this is normal sane practice.

Well worth a visit and apparently neighbouring Moldova is also excellent in summer.  Just don't order this utter beast if you can help it (there was a massive slab of pork underneath all that too).

Belly Kids Poster

Recently came in contact with the friendly folk at Belly Kids who create small publications and put on adventurous nights around London with music and zines.

They asked me to illustrate aposter for their recent event at the new East London bookshop and gallery space Beach London. This guy came out to play as a result - a few posters might be available soon through TOKKO too.

Nathaniel Russell

 

Loving the characters of American artist and illustrator Nathaniel Russell 
His five dollar pet looks like a bargain

Mark Farhall

 

Had some fun here recently discovering the manic felt tip trippery of Mark Farhall.  More of his drawings and things are here.

1950's illustrated children's book

Ohhh Jumping Gnome, where have you been all my life? Stunning illustrations in some dazzling acid pinks and greens here in this tome by June E. Forde and illustrated by Paul Deassau.

I'm amazed at how vivid and bright the colours are - it looks like screen-print quality.  I couldn't find a date for this either in the book or online, but the colours and these sorts of whimsical illustrations suggest the 1950's.

I was unable to find any definitive information about the author or illustrator but it's quite likely that Paul Dessau is the same one described here, an illustrator of religious texts for children and interestingly, a 'Fireman Artist' in the Second World War, working as a firefighter but also recording what he saw through sketches or paintings

Published by Partridge Publication, London.  Found in East London.

Oops, quite huge hiatus on my part here recently.  This is my first post for an age due to foraging in various foreign climes at the Pictoplasma character design festival in Berlin and being involved with, amongst other things, setting up a small publishing house and events collective celebrating small publishers called TOKKO.

We had our first event last weekend but will post details of any future happenings here...more posts to come soon