THANK YOU, LOC

My sister-in-law Sarah knows me so well-- between sending along the link to these photos and my birthday present which I'll soon share. These photos are of women working during WWII (a favorite topic of mine) via The Daily Mail via the Library of Congress. The first is a worker at the Vega Aircraft Corporation. The second is Mrs. Virginia Davis at the Naval Base in Corpus Christi, TX. That top photo? With the dress pattern and the red lipstick, and the shimmer of the coil, and the work gloves? That's what I aspire to convey in my calligraphy. Always excited to take on clients looking for this same, elusive thing.

{Photos via the Library of Congress}

22:1.22

And the cinematography:And the contrast-- the softness of the curtain and pink dress and robin's egg blue room with the black leather of her shoes.Have you seen the movie Bright Star? I can't remember the last time a movie made such an aesthetic impression on me.  Amy, may I entice you to please do a "Living In" about this movie? Although the beautiful details are beyond acquisition. When Fanny embroiders the pillowcase with the tree, when she snips her the yellow ribbon on her sister's dress to tie up a care package, when she decides to start keeping butterflies in her bedroom. So, this letter goes to costume and production designer Janet Patterson -- thank you for your boundless talent.

(You can find such envelopes at legal stationery stores. They are intended to keep wills, trusts, etc.)

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Thank you to Alan for pointing out this site, The Art of the Title Sequence. Not surprisngly, included is a homage to some of my favorite minutes of cinema: Stephen Frankfurt's sequence for "To Kill a Mockigbird." Another item to add to the list of things that inspire the look of Neither Snow.

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

Lately I have found myself in a number of terrific archives in Philadelphia, from the Library Company to the Historical Society. This image comes from an annual 1913 public health report from Philadelphia which Dona Horowitz-Behren, the city’s historian, unearthed for me. The objective? To illustrate the number of deaths from 15 diseases over the previous decade, and the increase and decrease of each cause. This beautiful chart folds out of a perfectly ordinary printed book. Isn’t it inspiring to think of all of the things like these waiting to be discovered?