Fuck Yeah, Book Arts!

unhistorical:

September 21, 1937: The Hobbit is published.

J.R.R.Tolkien’s classic children’s novel turns 75 years old today. The book begins with the line “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit”, a sentence which, according to Tolkien, came to him spontaneously while marking papers. The first edition dust jacket was designed by the author himself, who also provided the black and white illustrations. Since 1937, The Hobbit has been translated into over forty languages and sold tens of millions of copies. The initial print of 1,500 copies ran out in three months, and response was unanimously favorable. Tolkien’s close friend and fellow fantasy author C.S. Lewis wrote in The Times Literary Supplement: ”Prediction is dangerous: but The Hobbit may well prove a classic.”

Perhaps The Hobbit’s greatest legacy was not the book itself but the sequel that was published seventeen years later - the far more complex first volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring. Urged on by his publishers, who wished to make the most out of the smashing success that was The Hobbit, Tolkien worked on his sequel slowly and deliberately through the years of World War II and after. Both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings brought the popularity of fantasy literature to new heights and established Tolkien as the “father” of modern high fantasy. 

Wonderland Series by Kirsty Mitchell

Kirsty Mitchell’s late mother Maureen was an English teacher who spent her life inspiring generations of children with imaginative stories and plays. Following Maureen’s death from a brain tumour in 2008, Kirsty channelled her grief into her passion for photography.

She retreated behind the lens of her camera and created Wonderland, an ethereal fantasy world. The photographic series began as a small summer project but grew into an inspirational creative journey. ‘Real life became a difficult place to deal with, and I found myself retreating further into an alternative existence through the portal of my camera,’ said the artist.

Read the full story here.

Paper Craft Tunnel Books by Patricia Sarrafian Ward

1. I Dreamt I Was Sleeping (2009) - Accordion Tunnel Book 

2. Briar Rose: It Was What I Wanted (2010) - Paper Diorama

3. Insomnia Dream (2007) - Tunnel book

fer1972:

The Last Chapter by Sandra Arteaga

nodefiningme:

Created by Helen Musselwhite. Paper art sculptures under domes, very cool!

weheartpeacocks:

Plumage by James Jean. Ballpoint Pen on Paper, 10 x 9”, 2010.

publicdomainbitch:

Journeys Through Bookland

1922

Flickr

(Source: publicdomainthing, via childofdanu)

Gone Fishing by Himmapaan (Niroot Puttapipat)

‘It may look little more than a glorified puddle, but one never knows.’

Adrift by Himmapaan (Niroot Puttapipat)

An artist with a fantastic imagination!

teachingliteracy:

by sugrdva

(via bibliophibious)