No comments about Survey of Chester County, Pennsylvania Architecture.

No comments about The Barossa Folk: Germanic Furniture and Craft Traditions in Australia.

No comments about Ken Done: Paintings and Drawings 1975-1987.

No comments about Candace Bahouth's Romantic Needlepoint.

No comments about The Louvre: Objets D'Art.

No comments about Late Antique and Medieval Art of the Mediterranean World (Blackwell Anthologies in Art History).

2 comments about The Designs of William de Morgan.

1. Comprehensive view of Wm. de Morgan for the interested person. It covers a huge period in English ceramic art. This book has hundreds of his pieces or designs and tells his chronology as an artist. I will not lend it out; this is the ultimate compliment.



2. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of de Morgan's work at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1989, this book contains the complete collection of William de Morgan's original pottery and tile designs and drawings that was given to the museum after his death in 1917. With just about 20 pages of text of the total 256 pages, it is nearly all photographs with over 50 pages in color. De Morgan began working with William Morris in 1862, but after ten years he set up his own studio making tiles, vases, bowls and other domestic ceramics. His designs, inspired by brightly colored Middle-Eastern, Hispanic and Italian Renaissance pottery are beautiful. The forms of his vessels seem, for the most part, somewhat stilted but ocasionally they become organic enough to be satisfying to the modern eye. However his use of decoration is without equal except, perhaps, in some Hopi work. This book will be of interest to ceramic artists in particular, but any artist, art historian, or collector will enjoy it.

No comments about Art and Suburbia: A World Art Book (World Art).

No comments about Russian Icons at Hillwood.

1 comments about Postcards From the Nursery: The Illustrators of Children's Books and Postcards (Scrapbook).

1. Many people think that postcards are either views of some hotel or museum reproduction of an old master, or an ad for the local politician or car dealership. As a result, most of them are literally astounded when they see the wealth of photography and art which has adorned the picture postcard since the late 19th century and which is still going strong into the 21st.
   
   There have, in fact, been hundreds of books about postcards, including studies of one artist, studies of one subject such as cats and teddy bears, to name but two, historical events, most notably wars, views of urban or rural areas, and of course books on the art of postcards themselves. Most of these can be purchased from the chain bookstores and from Amazon.com.
   
   However, in my opinion, of all of the available (and no longer available) books, there are only three major works (i.e. a full length 250+ page book) which reflect the full splendor of the postcard and which, if placed on a coffee table or central in-home setting, will continue to delight both occupants and guests. Two of them I have reviewed in their listings on Amazon.com. They are "Art Nouveau Postcards" by Fanelli and Godoli and "Postcards of Nursing: A Worldwide Tribute" by Zwerdling. Both of these books have superb graphics, a surprising range of topic and subject (although if one of them purports to be about nursing, it encompasses much, much more), and the production values are as good as any art book.
   
   The book being reviewed here, "Postcards from the Nursery," is no exception. This book is special. The layout combines the works of the artists with their biographies, and the biographies themselves include photographs which show the artist in his or her heyday as well as later pictures.
   
   The book is more than a book of illustrated fairy tales. It is a book of wonder. Children, will, of course, be delighted in it. Adults will be transported into realms of their own childhood or perhaps an ideal childhood. What may be surprising is that the artists themselves ranged in their own childhoods from privileged happy ones to sad, almost tragic ones....but they all transcended their personal experiences to create images which are universally appealing.
   
   Do yourself, your family and friends a favor. Buy this book and put it in a place where it can be seen.