It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like.....You Know.

Not meaning to work anyone's nerves or anything like that, but the hustle/bustle is upon us!

Here are a couple of pics of unseen finds that might help get you in the mood.

These guys were a curb find.  They were part of a larger decoration that would have included all the reindeer and the fat guy in the sleigh.  This was all I found, but they're still awesome!

I've never seen a sweet little angel blow mold/choir girl like this one before.  Isn't she a doll?  She's dated 1972.  Wouldn't it be something to have a whole bunch of them?

What holiday treasures have you found recently?

Sorrowful Mother

I was going to include this novena booklet based on the Seven Sorrows of Mary in with my Stations od the Cross booklets at Easter time and totally forgot to do it.  I just found it in my drafts again and I think it's too good not to share.  I love the sense of drama evoked by the illustrations!

This is my favorite!

Stations of the Cross

Since it's Good Friday, I've got three to share with you this time.  First is another Liguori Stations, this time with a brilliant red cover.

The illustrations in both the first and second booklets remind me a lot of the style of art used in vintage Protestant religious materials I've seen.  When I was a kid, it was still pretty common to have posters and pictures from the 40's and 50's still in use in Sunday School.

I spent a summer in college working at a church in Miami with a couple of retired missionaries.  They had been retired by their agency, but insisted on continuing their work on their own.  It was a trip, let me tell you.  They had been there over 40 years, by that point.  One day, they asked me to take some stuff to their storage closet, which was actually a large room.  It was stuffed to the brim with every picture, book, Bible, hymnal, poster, magazine, flyer, leaflet and booklet they had ever used.  These ladies threw nothing away.

I ended up spending a half hour up there.  They thought I had left for the day, but I had to check stuff out.  The graphics and things were so amazing!  I slipped a couple of old church fans out to take with me.  (Shhh!)  I think about all of that stuff there days and wish for just one more chance to visit that room.

But I digress.  Back to the Stations of the Cross.

The cover to this second booklet is my favorite of the bunch.  I love the somber, moody feel.  The image is almost ethereal, like it's being projected by that little flame on the "W" in the word "Way."  Cool effect, that.

 This last booklet is not really a Way of the Cross, but rather a devotion for Good Friday itself.  There are no illustrations aside from the cover, but I wanted to include it, since the service may also include the Stations.  The church name stamped on the front is a local church that is still in operation.  I always love finding things with local connections, even if it's just a name stamp.

This series wraps up tomorrow!

Stations of the Cross

Today we have a children's Way of the Cross booklet from the 40's.  They use silhouettes to tell the story, maybe because the traditional images might be too intense for kids.  I don't know whether these are cut-outs or drawings, but they remind me a lot of the cut-outs of Sister Mary Jean Dorcy, who frequently illustrated children's books, often stories of the saints. She wrote many of the books she illustrated. I've always liked her work, because it has a kind of ethereal quality to it. These images don't quite have the gracefulness of her stuff, but they do have a power of their own that ius quite captivating.  Enjoy.

Kind of a gruesome image for children. huh?

The sixth station is my favorite.

The thirteenth and fourteenth stations are the most dramatic.

Stations of the Cross

This is probably the oldest one out of my set.  I love the illustrations.

Awesome front cover!

Inside front cover.

The heading illustrations for the stations themselves look kind of like medieval wood-cuts.

Stations of the Cross

This is a popular version of the Stations.  I actually have two or three different editions of the Liguori Stations.  I liked the images in this one a lot.  You can tell from the cover the use that this particular booklet has received throughout the years.

Traditional symbols of the Crucifixion from the back cover.

Stations of the Cross

I decided to start this series of vintage Stations of the Cross prayer booklets with my very favorite one.  I love the purple color and the images that they use for each station, probably the most vivid black and white images I've ever seen.

I was a little thrown at first by the cover image with the crossed crucified arms, one bare and one clothed.  It finally dawned on me that this is a Franciscan booklet, so the two arms represent Christ (bare) and St. Francis (clothed).  St. Francis is supposed to have been the first person to bear the marks of the stigmata.

From the back cover.

Inside back cover.

By the way, it appears that the St Francis Bookshop is still in business in Cincinnati, but it's moved to a different location.  (This booklet is from the 30's.)

Your Vintage Religious Booklet Cover of the Day

I love the bold design, colors, and retro font on this one:

As a bonus, it's got a chart!  I love fundamentalist Bible charts!  I  grew up with them, especially the ones about the end times!  I loved the graphics and the fonts and following all the arrows and lines.  I gotta admit, though, that the one in this book is one of the most confusing and unclear ones I have ever seen:

Even with the explanatory text below, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  But it is kind of interesting to look at!

This is the last of the booklets, by the way.  I hope you enjoyed this little mini-series.  I'll be on the look out for more to share!

Your Vintage Religious Booklet Cover of the Day

Don't have too much to say about this one, except that I think it's kind of cute that the author's name is "Grounds" which is a synonym for "Reason."  Odd little things like that appeal to me.  As far as I know, "Vernon" isn't a synonym for anything.  The Bible on the front is kind of cute, too, floating in the clouds like that and all.  Well done.

I do love the hand reaching down for the Bible on the back.  I wonder if it's supposed to be the hand of God blessing the Bible or just some random dude patting it?  Or maybe taking an oath?  Maybe he's getting ready to testify in court?  We may never know.

Your Vintage Religious Booklet Cover of the Day

This one. front and back, is my favorite out of the whole batch.  Another really nice combo of bold, retro colors and artwork grace the front.  You cannot go wrong with a Middle Eastern theme on a Bible booklet, right?  I love the use of red for highlights.

Besides, camels totally rock!

The back cover completely changes gears with this brightly colored line drawing.  I love the dramatic light that is just beaming from that candle.  Awesome!

The glasses are kind of cool. too!

Your Vintage Religious Booklet Cover of the Day

This one is one of my favorites from this batch of booklets!  I love the bold stylized artwork.  It's kind of modern, yet kind of primitive and folksy at the same time.

I wonder if they've looked behind the sofa?

The real kicker on this one is the back cover:

Take a closer look at the record on the top left:

I know it's been a while since I've done this kind of thing, but I seem to remember the purpose of these kinds of endeavors was to keep people from going to hell, not picking people to send there!  I guess it would really pay not to get on this guy's bad side!

That Cecil Todd:  He's hardcore!  (He's also not above playing fast and loose with the truth for his flock.  Neither is his son.)

Your Vintage Religious Booklet Cover of the Day

Oops!  Someone misspelled "Apostles!"  Tee Hee!

It's not crooked.  The cover was slightly miscut.

All right, all right!  I know "Apostates" is a word and I know what it means and I know that's what they intended to use here.  It's been a long time since I've done any Bible study, so I don't remember what's actually in the book of Jude.  I am, however, not one to resist a chance to make a lame joke.  (Or belabor the point in an unnecessary aftermath.)

This is the back cover.  It seems most of the back covers are given over to some kind of ad for the booklet publishers.  I kind of love that cute little picture of grumpy Daniel Webster.

Your Vintage Religious Booklet Cover of the Day

I love this color combination!  It's the kind of thing you only get in vintage graphics.  It's almost trippy, which is a strange thing to say about a religious booklet cover.  Groovy!  It's really interesting that the hues change so drastically on the back cover.

I could swear this was straight when I edited the scan.

Your Vintage Religious Booklet Cover of the Day

I have to wonder if the pun in the title is intentional or not.  "Winsome."  Heh, heh.  "Win some." Get it?  Maybe you have to have been raised evangelical to see the potential joke.  Maybe I'm kind of doubly blessed (cursed?).  I'm a punster/wordsmith and I have an evangelical upbringing that follows me everywhere I go, even today.  Of course, I would see the joke, if there is one, and even if there isn't!

Why don't we use the word "winsome" any more?

The back artwork continues the fishing theme stated by the netting on the front.