As I prepared to start a new year in lockdown, I thought I would share from my collection books. I had lot of things on my list, but I wanted to make sure I spent a bit of time each day looking through the pages, enjoying the art of others. I have acquired a nice collection of modern and vintage illustrations. I'm the kind of person who values having books on shelf and in hand. I love the feel of paper, and the look, texture and smell of a quality book just can't be replicated on Pinterest. I decided to post 21 videos of 21 of my favorite books. There's no editing, just me opening, flipping through and talking about the illustrator(s). A few videos are about a series, or a collection. There's children's' books, fashion books, illustration albums from out of print artists, books from Canada, Germany and Japan. The oldest book I have is from the 1900s, a German zoology textbook (see the image below). A lot of the illustrators like Hermann Vogel and Sulamith Wuelfing, are deserving of more attention. Many come form the small used books stores that survive in Freiburg despite rising rent costs. Some of these books were purchased last year in the first spring lockdown in Germany, when one bookseller was allowed to stay open at the cathedral market in Freiburg. I visited a lot and found some real treasures.
If you'd like to take a look, here's the link to the playlist.
2020/2021 Lockdown Book Flip Throughs
In the continuous lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, books have been a great comfort and consolation. In September I moved to a small city, deep in the Black Forest, so I have spent a great many weekends alone at home, leafing through beautiful books and letting pictures take my mind off the isolation. I came up with a lot of ideas and I planning my art studies through some of these books. The book on fashion illustration from my mother is one of these, as is the book on Kimonos from the V and A.
It can be exhausting to always keep up on social media in the lockdowns. Now more than ever, I value the daily time I've made to sit in my armchair and look through my books, away from screens and notifications. My book collection will probably grow again this year, and I htink I might do another little series next winter. But until then, I'll cherish what I have.