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A Child's
Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Many of us heard these poems in our childhood.
Who cannot remember a parent or grandparent reading "A birdie with
a yellow bill hopped upon my windowsill," or "I have a little shadow that goes
in and out with me," or "How do you like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so
blue?" These memorable and idyllic views of childhood are as
appropriate today as they were when first penned a hundred twenty-five years
ago.
Tudor illustrated the book twice, in a small quarto (1947)
and in a larger thinner full-color picture book (1988). The first
was published by Oxford University Press where Tudor worked with Eunice Blake
and Henry Z. Walck. In 1947 Tudor illustrated these poems with a
combination of black and white and 24 watercolor illustrations.
The drawings have the distinctive studied grace and beauty that Tudor's work
exhibited in the 1940s.
There's an interesting case with the drawing of the boy
(Christopher Ashe) on page 33. Tudor's drawing is a near duplicate
of one of Nell Dorr's photographs in Mother and Child. See page
[64] in the Harper's editions. All that Tudor
changed was the chair upon which Dorr's grandson sits.
The later edition was one of Dorothy Haas's efforts at Rand
McNally. By now Tudor was filling pages with color and action,
and also enclosing many pages in her twig border. Look at page 25
for one treatment of the twig border, and a very different display of the same
poem from the Chris Ashe photograph. Now the page is divided into
two panels, and little corner vignettes have flying squirrels in action and in
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Art from Wings from the Wind
 We found this piece in our stock; you should know about it. Item no.
20470.
The pencil illustration frames the poem "Chimes" on page 70
from Wings from the Wind. This is an original Tudor and
although it doesn't have lots of detail, it is still a nice item to own.
The frame features a large tree in the left border, and other bushes and
grass and clouds.
The drawing is approximately 8" x
6 ½ ". It has been unnoticed and can be yours for $250.00.
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Provisions from the will of Tasha Tudor
SIXTH: Specific
Devise
A. I give
and bequeath the remaining contents of my residence in Marlboro, Vermont
to my son, SETH TUDOR. It is my
hope that such contents as may be of significance to the family or to
posterity shall be kept together and made available for view and use by my
family and/or the public. In the
event such articles are to be sold by the Executor or Seth Tudor, they
shall first be offered for sale to other members of my family at fair
market value.
B. I give and bequeath my interest in the
corporation known as "Tasha Tudor & Family, Inc." to my son, SETH
TUDOR.
C. I give
and devise any interest I may have in and to my residence and land in
Marlboro, Vermont, comprised of approximately thirty (30) acres to my son,
SETH TUDOR, my daughter-in-law, MARJORIE TUDOR, and my grandson, WINSLOW
S. TUDOR as tenants in common.
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"Where Go the Boats?"
from A Child's Garden of Verses (1947)
Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.
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What is Cellar Door
Books ?
A Short Answer and Brief History
Cellar Door Books is the largest source for material
illustrated by Tasha Tudor.
A long, long time ago in a state west of the
Mississippi River -
Iowa - a young man (John Hare) began to buy
and sell used books. He called his enterprise Cellar Door Books
in veneration of an English teacher. The teacher had once related
that Edgar Allan Poe said "cellar door" forms the most beautiful phrase in the
English language. Place the words on your tongue and swirl them
around like a fine wine. Taste the flavor of them and then let
them float onto the surrounding air - cellar door, cellar door, cellar door . .
.
At first, Cellar Door Books offered books on many
subjects. One early interest was aerostation - the art and
enjoyment of hot air ballooning. The business continued when John
and Jill Hare moved to New
Hampshire in 1975. The specter of a barn
full of musty dusty tomes began to loom on the horizon; Jill suggested a change
in business plan.
About 25 years ago we disposed of all our general books and
settled on the one topic - Tasha Tudor. This specialty was narrow
enough to come to know well. It was also small enough that we
could maintain a respectable inventory without needing a barn and two silos in
which to store the books.
For a while Cellar Door Books purchased nearly every book
dealing with Tasha Tudor it could find. This alone helped buoy
the secondary market in Tasha Tudor's works.
We were simultaneously working on three goals. We were
becoming the pre-eminent dealer in the subject, a position we retain to this
day. We were compiling the comprehensive bibliography of Tudor's
written oeuvre which was published in 1998: Tasha Tudor, The
Direction of Her Dreams. And we were gathering the largest
collection of distinctive book printings of Tasha Tudor's work, a collection
that will one day be available in a university's research collection.
The distinctive accumulation includes art prints, greeting cards, china
dolls, tin containers and other forms of Tasha Tudor's art.
We augmented our already large holdings of Tasha Tudor books
when we purchased the remaining inventory of the then-closed Jenny Wren
Press. This acquisition added a great number of new cards and art
prints to our offerings. Another acquisition was the stock that
had once been The Corgi Shop, Lanesboro,
Massachusetts.
Look for these products at our website cellardoorbooks.com. Not the least of
our services is our consultation. We're happy to advise you on
titles to add to your collection, and to help you identify pieces you've already
obtained. Call for assistance.
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A LITTLE CHRISTMAS IN JULY
"The Crachits' Christmas Dinner."
This watercolor is a grand example of detailing of house interiors in
Tudor's paintings. In one respect she
was illustrating a story. In another,
she had the opportunity to design other people's houses. This is
the frame to page 30 of Take Joy! and
gives us a glimpse of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." The vignette is of a small fire at a
fireplace, Bob Crachit and Tiny Tim sitting close by. There are a few select antiques drawn in, and
a shelf outside the main image showing a still life of a goose on a platter, a
Yorkshire pudding, and a group of apples.
All this is in a twig frame.
We've had this piece listed at $4500.
For the month of July, we are lowering the price to $3500. Here's your opportunity to add a lovely piece
of art to your collection.
Call Becky or John
right away. Item 18164 on the web.
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Rufus Porter Museum Exhibit
Don't forget that there is an exhibition of Tasha
Tudor's art this summer and fall at the
Rufus
Porter
Museum, Bridgeton,
ME. The exhibit is
the property of Julie Lindberg, the
curator of the Rufus
Porter
Museum; she was a friend of Tudor in her later
life. It includes a number of original watercolors from Pumpkin Moonshine. Bridgeton is
a 2 ½ hour drive north of the airport in Manchester,
NH. We have not yet seen the show. We'd be glad to publish a review by someone who
has. Let us know if you'd like to submit something for publication
here.
***************
Visiting New
Hampshire this month ?
You should visit the
delightful Canterbury Fair the last Saturday of July. Alone among New England
country fairs, this one has no livestock competition, and no judging of the best
canned pickles. Rather, it is in the style of an olde English
bazaar set on the village green. A highlight each year is the sight and sound of a troupe
of Morris dancers descending a hill onto the green.
They're impressive in white costumes, colorful ribbons and bells jingling
about their ankles. This is a ramble-and-participate fair.
It consists of artisan's booths, small games to play and
food to eat. You buy what you like. There is no admission fee.
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We hope you will enjoy hearing future news and upcoming events.
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John and Jill Hare
61 Borough Road
Concord, NH 03303-1833
Toll free: (800) 818-8419
Entire contents © 2009 Cellar Door Books
 Visiting New England? You're invited to stop by Cellar Door Books by appointment. We are an hour and a half east of Marlboro VT, and a half-hour north of the Manchester, NH, airport.
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