A Book a Week 2014: Made, Altered, Repaired. Week 21

Week of 26 May

Drop Spine (Clamshell) Box as Postcard storage

I collect postcards. I wouldn't say I'm a tidy person, but if I have a spot for something, it's more likely to be put away. People used to send and receive postcards more often. And my mother was a tour coordinator for a travel agency and would travel overseas once or twice a year. We'd get postcards from every place she stopped. When I was learning box making and book binding, my teacher suggested making a box to fit my postcards. It was a great idea.

My brother-in-law started traveling to different U.S. colleges because he was a school counselor and then worked in admissions. He started sending postcards to my kids from those places he visited. So my postcard box is almost full.

I have some vintage ones from grandparents as well.

Time for a new box.

Wesley Dennis, illustrator

Wesley Dennis, 1903-1966, was an illustrator known mostly for his life-like images of horses and animals. You probably have seen his illustrations on Marguerite Henry books,

































or John Steinbeck's The Red Pony,

or Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

Here are a couple of stories he wrote and illustrated that are still terrific. The stories are genuine but with a sense of humor, and of course, illustrated beautifully:

 We have the Album of Horses book, which I didn't realize was written by Marguerite Henry and illustrated by Wesley Dennis. No wonder I liked it so well.

There are even Breyer horses created for Marguerite Henry/Wesley Dennis books. Here is King of the Wind.

And look: how sweet are Misty and Stormy?       

One last cool thing about Wesley Dennis. He really enjoyed drawing for kids and loved to personally answer his fan mail. It was difficult to keep up, but he knew that kids loved getting mail, so he came up with an idea  to have kids subscribe to a series of postcards that he would illustrate and write, duplicate and send each week. Take a look at these hidden treasures!