Month: September 2025

An envisioning. January 2011, amidst mounds of snow, at the timeshare on Lake Tahoe.

Oh to be here.

A jeep to be waited on to get to the A & P. That being either a bore or a treat, depending on what is left in the storeroom underneath the store. Saltines and corn beef hash until it comes out of your ears one time. A failed Christmas delivery of tins of imported plum pudding, along with jars of hard sauce that fairly reeked of Irish whiskey, the next.

my new short fiction piece just published to Substack at the link if you’d like to read the rest of it

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/an-envisioning-january-2011-amidst

Pochoir prints from the 1924 portfolio “Nouvelles Variations. Soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches.” It is a collection of decorative motifs by the artist Edouard Benedictus and was published in Paris by Albert Lévy.

Front cover. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f1.planchecontact
Title page. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f12.item#
Lower image, View 14, Page 1. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f14.item
View 18, Page 3. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f18.item#
View 22, Page 5. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f22.item#
View 30, Page 9. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f30.item
View 32, Page 10. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f32.item
View 34, Page 11 (lower left detail) Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f34.item#
View 38, Page 13. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f38.item
View 38, Page 17. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f46.item#
View 52, Page 20. Benedictus: Nouvelles Variations: soixante-quinze motifs décoratifs en vingt planches. Editions Albert Lévy – Paris – Librairie Central des Beaux-Arts. Published in 1924. Edouard Benedictus, artist. Albert Lévy, publisher. Pochoir prints. Collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gallica.bnf.fr. In the public domain due to age. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15077177/f52.item#

This portfolio can be found in numerous other collections, including the Rhode Island School of Design, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Skidmore College just to name a few. The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) site has a link that lets you download a PDF of the entire portfolio.

https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/specialcollections_books_pochoir/8

Pastels in gorgeous blue tones of the City of New York. My late mother’s hometown, too. Leon Dolice, artist. Living from 1892 to 1960, he was born in Vienna but moved to New York City in 1912 where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.

Sunset, New York Harbor. ca. 1930. Austrian/American. Pastel on paper. Leon Dolice, artist (1892-1960). Signed on the lower right. © Estate of the artist. Image © 2025 Swann Galleries. Fair use license. https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-lot/leon-dolice-sunset-new-york-harbor-pastel-on-pape_26740c586c

Chrysler Building, New York City. 1940s. Austrian/American. Color pastels on stiff gray wove paper. Leon Dolice, artist (1892-1960). Signed on the lower right. © Estate of the artist. Image © Peterborough Auctions. Fair use license. https://bid.peterboroughauctions.us/online-auctions/peterborough-auctions-llc/leon-dolice-1892—1960-chrysler-building-new-york-city-1940s-7171452

Brooklyn Bridge. ca. 1930-1940. Austrian/American. Pastel on paper. Leon Dolice, artist (1892-1960). Signed on the lower right. © Estate of the artist. Image © 2025 Artsy. Fair use license. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/leon-dolice-brooklyn-bridge
New York Harbor Skyline at Twilight (Harmony). ca. 1930-1940. Austrian/American. Pastel on paper. Leon Dolice, artist (1892-1960). Signed on the lower right. © Estate of the artist. Image © Lincoln Glenn. Fair use license. https://www.lincolnglenn.com/artists/64-leon-dolice/works/83-leon-dolice-new-york-harbor-skyline-at-twilight-harmony-circa-1930-40/
New York Harbor Nocturne. Undated, by 1960. Austrian/American. Pastel on paper. Leon Dolice, artist (1892-1960). Signed on the lower right. © Estate of the artist. Image © Lincoln Glenn. Fair use license. https://www.lincolnglenn.com/artists/64-leon-dolice/works/3320-leon-dolice-new-york-harbor-nocturne/

An envisioning. March 1970, and it getting close to dinner time at the bungalow in Penguin Shores.

Oh to be here.

A little spit of an island, but part of the Bahamas. Sitting pretty, what with a mother-in-law who owns the only ferry to Nassau and back, so no red roses just bougainvillea and poinsettia hedges growing like mad, making the whole place look like a demented Highlands tartan in red squares with green grass middles, along with the occasional shiny tin roof.

my new short fiction piece at the link if you’d like to read the rest

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/an-envisioning-march-1970-and-it

Very Eerie Pre Halloween Art for September 17th in the 2025 fall show . . .

hissing on air as in the inner depths of an archeological dig far from anywhere the golden serpents in their nest amongst the dead king’s burial goods wiggle their way out, flashing their emerald eyes and gnashing their diamonded up fangs . . . the assistant with his trowel and then the head man with his charts and maps . . . no . . . the archeologist’s girlfriend surrounded and entwined and gone in a golden mist . . . the volcano at the other end of the island next . . . an eruption to cause .. . that’ll enliven up the afternoon . . .

my fall series post for today published on my Substack at the link. Around 42 images, more or less, including this fun one from the Dennison archives.

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/very-eerie-pre-halloween-art-for-9a2

Out for the day visiting “Jumbo the Walnut Elephant.” Jumbo was an exhibit from the 1893 World’s Fair that was later displayed in Los Angeles, California, in the 1920s. Created by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Jumbo was made of 850 pounds of walnuts on a wire frame. 

Mabel Normand and walnut elephant: Silent star, Mabel Normand stands in front of a life-size “walnut elephant”. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce exhibit of California agricultural products featured this life-sized figure, which was prominent in displays throughout the country. Los Angeles, California. Image ca. 1925. American. Security Pacific National Bank Collection. Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, publisher. TESSA, digital collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Fair use license. via https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/112376
Jumbo the walnut elephant: The Exhibit Hall at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce building at Broadway near First Street in the early 1920s. Here, “Jumbo” the walnut elephant illustrated the walnut production of Los Angeles County, which was then second in importance to citrus. Also visible, a mini-structure in the likeness of the White House also made out of walnuts, and behind that, a “tree” made out of jars full of citrus or other fruit. Los Angeles, California. Image ca. 1925. American. Security Pacific National Bank Collection. Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, publisher. TESSA, digital collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Fair use license. via https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/112656
Walnut Elephant from Los Angeles County. California Midwinter International Exposition, San Francisco, California held in 1894. American. Photograph/postcard #8052. Jumbo as he was seen earlier. I. W. (Isaiah West) Taber, photographer (1830-1912). California State Library Collections with a link here https://csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990014732790205115&context=L&vid=01CSL_INST:CSL though I found it on Calisphere.
California products exhibit: the caption reading, Elephant Made of Walnut Shells, Life-sized figure was prominent in displays of California products throughout the country. With a later 1961 caption but from the same California Midwinter International Exposition held in San Francisco in 1894. Undated image ca. 1894-1904. American. Photographer not given. Herald Examiner Collection, TESSA, digital collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Fair use license. via https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/17676

Frank Wiggins, the superintendent of events for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, conceived of the idea to create a larger than life sized “walnut elephant” that was to be displayed at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. 850 pounds of unusually large California walnuts were needed to cover the wire framework used to create this famous pachyderm. Needless to say, it achieved lasting fame for the city and the Chamber.

Getting lost heading for the Krammets Berg. Bavaria back in 1853 with some lovely illustrations of the Alps and the chamois the man who wrote this memoir went to Bavaria to hunt. It resides in the stacks of the Boston Public Library where it is no doubt covered with dust.

Frontispiece – Chamois. Page 6 of Charles Boner’s 1853 work Chamois Hunting in the Mountains of Bavaria. Theodor Horschelt, Munich, illustrator. Published in London by Chapman and Hall. Collections of the Boston Public Library. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/chamoishuntingin00bone/page/n5/mode/1up
A ‘Graben.’ Page 205 of Charles Boner’s 1853 work Chamois Hunting in the Mountains of Bavaria. Theodor Horschelt, Munich, illustrator. J. B. Kuhn and F Hohe, Munich, lithographers. Published in London by Chapman and Hall. Collections of the Boston Public Library. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/chamoishuntingin00bone/page/n205/mode/1up
Chamois – Vignette. Page 366 of Charles Boner’s 1853 work Chamois Hunting in the Mountains of Bavaria. Theodor Horschelt, Munich, illustrator. J. B. Kuhn and F Hohe, Munich, lithographers. Published in London by Chapman and Hall. Collections of the Boston Public Library. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/chamoishuntingin00bone/page/366/mode/1up
Cottage in the Bavarian Highlands – Vignette. Page 210 of Charles Boner’s 1853 work Chamois Hunting in the Mountains of Bavaria. Theodor Horschelt, Munich, illustrator. J. B. Kuhn and F Hohe, Munich, lithographers. Published in London by Chapman and Hall. Collections of the Boston Public Library. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/chamoishuntingin00bone/page/210/mode/1up

Very Eerie Pre Halloween Art for September 15th in the MMXXV show . . .

sparking on air as in the depths of a mansion abandoned to the waves a mutant raptor grows and grows . . . out when the next storm comes and takes away the roof . . . hopefully out to sea but maybe not . . . time to hope . . . time to fear . . .

my series post for today published on my Substack at the link if you’d like to see. Thanks!

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/very-eerie-pre-halloween-art-for-cd5

Victorian fairy minded bug and flower art. Possibly the best kind, at least I think so. Very pretty drawings taken from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book “Among the Meadow People” which was illustrated by F. C. Gordon and published in New York by E. P. Dutton.

Title page (detail) I think they are grasshoppers. Image 3 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/n2/mode/1up
The Butterfly who went Calling. Page 7 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/7/mode/1up
The Lazy Snail. Page 16 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/16/mode/1up
The Little Spider’s First Web. Page 26 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/25/mode/1up
The Cricket’s School. Page 38 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/38/mode/1up
A Puzzled Cicada. Page 55 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/55/mode/1up?view=theater
The Grasshopper and the Measuring Worm Run a Race. Page 69 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/69/mode/1up?view=theater
Mr. Green Frog and his Visitors. Page 75 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/75/mode/1up?view=theater
The Earthworm Half-Brothers. Page 95 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/95/mode/1up?view=theater
The Frog who Thought herself Sick. Page 111 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/111/mode/1up?view=theater
The Last Party of the Season. Page 121 from Clara Dillingham Pierson’s 1897 book Among the Meadow People. F. C. Gordon, illustrator. E. P. Dutton, New York publishers. Collections of the  Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/amongmeadowpeopl00pi/page/121/mode/1up?view=theater