my collection and my heroes

through the years ive filled out several of those online survey for myspace and facebook and whatnot. you know, the ones where they ask you your eye color and hair color and ask if you prefer chocolate or vanila, or daytime or night time, and all kind of other useless garbage. one question that always kind of bothered me was "do you collect anything?" i would stop and think and feel unsettled. that feeling you get when you know you've forgotten something but you dont know what. i love "stuff" and i have a lot of it, but i could never think of just what it was that i actually collect.

going through an old trunk in the basement, i realized something. i collect vintage children's books. i had at least 10 of them, mostly cherished from my childhood. and im fortunate enough to have older siblings born in the late 1970s, so i got '70s kids' books handed down to me. some were even from the late 1950s and belonged to my parents. my favorite, by far, is "Dean's Mother Goose's Book of Rhymes."

(source)

the illustration in this book really captivated me since my whole life. i've always been in awe of the fancy costumes, beautiful hair, and detailed animals. 

NOTE* all other photos pulled from google images and not individually credited

janet and anne graham-johnstone were a pair of british twins born in 1928. they were illustrators who worked  on every book together as a team. they are true heroes of mine. i look up to them and i am inspired by them. i hope to be an illustrator someday, and looking back it it, im sure growing up with their work in Dean's Mother Goose sparked that in me.

here are just a few examples of their illustrations. 

gorgeous, yes? be still, my heart. <3