Victorian girls flirting with gentlemen from a window. Theater poster by A. S. Seer, lithographer, c. 1898. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LOC #var1605.

But, I chose it because we are heading towards Valentine’s Day (one more week!) and ladies flirting with gentlemen seemed very much in keeping with that theme. The lady in the middle is even appropriately dressed in red!

This image comes from the Library of Congress digital collections. Click on it to see it/download it full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

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Line drawing of a cake with candles, by Pearson Scott Foresman. Made PD by artist. From Wikipedia Commons.

Kids birthday party illustration by Phantasus. Made PD by artist, from Wikipedia Commons.

Love,
Mom

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Heart-shaped map, 1536. From Wikipedia Commons.

Peace,

Bekka

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'Romeo and Juliet', Frank Bernard Dicksee (1853-1928), 1894. From Wikipedia Commons.

Frank Bernard Dicksee (1853-1928) was an English Victorian painter, who, though he never joined the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, none-the-less is considered Pre-Raphaelite in style. Another of his paintings depicts a Viking funeral. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia article on him.

Peace and love,

Bekka

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'Romeo and Juliet' ,1870, by Ford Madox Brown. From Wikipedia Commons.

Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) was French by birth, but is considered an English painter, for most of his adult life was spent in England. He was a student of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and is best known for the murals he painted in the townhall of Manchester, England. His most famous painting, “The Last of England”, shows an emigrant couple on a ship gazing back at the land they are leaving. He later worked for William Morris’ design company. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia article on him.

To see or download the image full-sized, click on it.

Peace and love,
Bekka

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Photo of a groundhog from Wikipedia Commons.

Happy Groundhog’s Day!

In honor of the humble woodchuck, today I am stepping away from Valentine themed images for just a day. Instead, here are some groundhogs, found on Wikipedia Commons.

Groundhog by Pearson Scott Foreman, released by artist into the public domain. From Wikipedia Commons.

Back in the days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, my family started celebrating Groundhog’s Day as a way to break up the post-New Year’s winter monotony. My father even wrote some Groundhog’s Day songs, such as this one:

The Groundhog and the Woodchuck
[To the tune of "The Holly and the Ivy"]

The Groundhog and the Woodchuck,
When both of them you name
You will find if you but look it up
That they are both the same.

-Tune: Traditional Lyrics: Robert R. Fildes

And, every year, he makes Groundhog’s Day cookies – little gingerbread or molasses cookies shaped like groundhogs. Ours arrived in the mail well packaged and unharmed:

Groundhog's Day cookies. Photo by Rebecca Klingbeil.

And they were delicious!

Click on the first two images to see / download them full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

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'A Stolen Interview', 1888. Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922)

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Victorian valentine, c. 1900. It reads 'O Cupid, cupid / How can you be so cruel?' From Wikipedia Commons.

Peace,

Bekka

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Handmade Victorian Valentine, 1890s.

Peace,

Bekka

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