Mar
28
After selling one of my chained libraries to the Charlotte Smith collection of miniature books at the U. of Iowa, I felt drunk with power. I started really looking for chained libraries, and found The Chained Library, by Burnett Hillman Streeter. and decided to try something more ambitious. I started with this illustration:
Late 15th century library stall
and ended up with this:
Chained Library Stall
Chained Library Stall
Chained Library Stall
Tomorrow I’ll make some olde books to chain to the lectern, but I think for a day’s work, it’s not bad (although difficult to photograph in its full glory.) It’s ebony-stained basswood, and when I pose it with its books, I hope to get better glamor shots. At the moment it look rather like an old upright piano.
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Remember the Shakespeare Sonnets book I made for Jane Austen’s birthday? The gentleman who commissioned it sent me a request for another book for Jane’s library, Byron or Goethe perhaps. He also kindly sent me another shot of Jane with her book. Fabulous dress!
Jane Austen and her Sonnets
Mar
25
I started out intending to make a chained library, but somehow it turned into a box:
The Cherry Wood Traveler's Box
The Cherry Wood Traveler's Box
The Interior
The Contents
. . . and then it started to look something like the detachable trunks that came with antique cars. In any case, it has the slanted shelf inside like the chained libraries do, and the six tiny blank books inside are untitled, so you can imagine them to be anything you wish. It’s up on the website now, priced at $140.
Mar
10
I made two sets of six blank books, and bound them as classics of travel and exploration:
Travels by Ibn Batuta
Castaways by de Baca
Principall Navigations by Haklyut
First Footsteps in East Africa by Burton
Incidents of Travel in Yucatan by Stephens
Travels by Lewis and Clark
I had intended to make two of the same little bookcase, but then I thought to make one bookcase for the club’s rooms (at home), and another for expeditions (in the field).
Here’s the fancy version:
The Explorer's Club, at home
The Explorer's Club, at home
The Explorer's Club, at home
. . .and the traveling version:
The Explorer's Club, in the field
The Explorer's Club, in the field
The Explorer's Club, in the field
Mar
05
. . .is out! It’s on the Bo Press website now.
Dry Bones
Dry Bones
Title Page
Rib Bones
Jaw Bone
Dry Bones
2 1/2″ x 1 1/2″
96 pages
A little book about bones: all 206 (give or take) in the human body. A 19th century illustration of a skeleton illustrates the position of the bone in question, with a close-up view provided for clarity.
Bound in paper printed with old anatomical charts, and with paper titles on the front and spine.
This has been such a fun and educational book to make. For about an hour after doing the final print layout, I could have named all 206.
Mar
04
I got a brief for a custom order a few weeks ago: three books for a 28″ ball-jointed doll dressed as a young Severus Snape. Linda wanted potion-like books with content, which sounded like a lot of work until we agreed that some of my existing books would work. So here’s what I came up with:
Unusual Specimens
Advanced Potions
The Unseen World
The Unseen World contains Small Wonders, Unusual Specimens contains Specimens, and Advanced Potions contains my little book of cocktail recipes, The Classics.
Linda very kindly sent me a couple of photos of young Mr. Snape with his new books:
Young Severus
Young Severus
Mar
03
I’ve started a new book! In the style of A Knight In Armor, I’m doing a book on the bones of the human body, illustrated one by one on a complete skeleton:
Dry Bones Title
A Sample Page
It’s early days yet, and the details may change, but I think it might look rather elegant.
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Another chained bookcase, and probably the last for a while, will have its photo shoot tomorrow and go up for sale. Stay tuned!
Mar
02
I made a couple more of these. The first one is sold, and I just put the second one up on the website:
Chained Library Number One
Chained Library Number One
Chained Library Number One
That one’s in cherry, and the next is mahogany:
Chained Library Number Two
Chained Library Number Two
Chained Library Number Two
Chained Library Number Two
Other than that, I’m awaiting ideas for the next book. My mind’s a blank. I’ll go bake cookies.
Feb
27
Prue Batten’s new historical romance is published and it’s climbing the Kindle charts like a rocket. Wait for the UK release in a week or two if you have a Kindle Fire – it includes my maps and castle plans. Print publication’s in May.
Gisborne Journey Map
I’m about one third of the way through and very impressed. Beautiful writing!
Feb
25
And got up early this morning to finish it, too.
Coral Display
Coral Display
