The Snow King

Every once in a while, I see something online that I fall in love with. This book is one such item. I kept searching Ebay and one day, there it was. With my name on it. And the price was right. The stars were aligned.

The book was printed in Ploland in 1968 and I have no idea what the story is other than it involves a King, a princess (?) , a polar bear, birds and a scarecrow. I believe the name is The Tale of the Snow King (or The Ballad of the Snow King), written by Tadeusz Kubiak and illustrated by Zbigniew Rychlicki The illustrations are frosty and perfect for the holiday season.

front cover

Back Cover

Christmas 2017 (and 1953!)

Some favorite vintage Christmas illustrations from the book
Favorite Christmas Songs and Stories The Big Treasure Book of Christmas
Illustrated by Dellwyn Cunningham
Published 1953 by Wonder Books, NY. (a division of Grossest & Dunlap, Inc.)

Janusz Stanny

I love the illustrations of Polish artist Janusz Stanny (1932-2014). I purchased this book on Ebay - it dates from 1962 and was published in Warsaw. I thought it might be poetry but I've translated a bit it's more of a nature lesson. The images are beautiful in their simplicity. I particularly like the way the fur is done on the wild boar and deer.

Vintage Polish Illustration

I just purchased this fabulous vintage book from a Polish seller on Ebay. I can't read it but I know that the first story is "Sleeping Beauty" so I assume it is a book of fairy tales (I couldn't translate the title). The book was published in Warsaw and dates from 1961 but I think it was originally published in Moscow in 1950. Anyway, I purchased it for the wonderful borders on every page. The illustrator is Michal Bylina (Polish, 1904-1982).