John Hall Thorpe: Free prints and Update

Thanks to reader Brian Merrony today the mystery of the 4 free poster prints ("after paintings by JHT") is now completely solved and illustrated. Thanks to Lily from the Japonism Blog after discovering the My Home Magazine November 1929 connection, of the first two prints. 

Today with finding a copy of My Home Magazine 1933 (with the two original prints still in it !) this mysterie is now completely documented.

Brian "by the way" sends his other JHT prints for sharing on the Linosaurus. And one he saw in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. To my surprise I have to admit I have never seen this Tulips in a vase, very similar in composition to the "Chines Vase". 

The other print is called "Anchusa" showing this wild plant with a butterfly. JHT must have had some good botanical knowledge because the Melitaea Cinxia or the Glanville Fritilaria he probably depicted here is often seen feeding on Anchusa Officinalis or Common Bugloss. The butterfly commonest in the South of England (region Portsmouth-Bournemouth-Isle of Wight)

Completing this update on the Flower prints by John Hall Thorpe I share with you this last find, sadly it's only of thumbnail dimensions, but I had never seen this great little "Anemones" before either. 

See for earlier Linosaurus postings on the Flower prints of John Hall Thorpe the postings of 
16-07-2011
28-06-2011
18-12-2010
18-06-2010

Janet Laura Scott meets John Hall Thorpe

Recently being in contact with John Hall Thorpe’s relatives in Australia (hello Glenda) after sharing most of his flower and other prints on this Blog I today want to share an amazing find. 

Silkscreen print by Janet Laura Scott.

John Hall Thorpe, Nasturtiums

Janet Laura Scott (born 1888) was a very famous children books illustrator for the Volland Publishing Company. I learned from this company specialized in children books and postcards in Japonisme
http://lotusgreenfotos.blogspot.com/ : (Rachel Elmer's prints and Volland).

The Volland Company was started by German immigrant Paul Frederick Volland in 1908 and continued until 1934 when the company was sold although founder Paul F. Volland was shot dead in his office by a psychotic woman in 1919.

Besides illustrating many (famous) children books for Volland in the Art Deco period Janet Laura Scott was also a very good watercolor artist as can be seen in this painting.

First I want to share some of the most irresistible illustrations with you. 

From Edith Mitchell’s:  “Betty and Bobby Bubble”.

(Some of these were earlier shown in Japonisme) 

From Elisabeth Gordon’s 1920: “the Turned Intos”.

   

From (?):  “Good morning dear children”.

But the big surprise is in these 4 flowers and fruits silkscreen prints that have such a familiar "feeling" about them. 

Janet Laura Scott in Hall Thorpe's style.

Janet Laura Scott in Hall Thorpe's style

Janet Laura Scott in Hall Thorpe's style

Other printers (followers?) in the "John Hall Thorpe style" (was he the first to use the blackened background?) are American Margaret Jordan Patterson (1867-1950), British Thomas Todd Blaylock (1876-1929), Canadian Barbara Harvey Leighton (1911-1986) and the British publishing company of Ralph & Mott (active in the 1930's). You can find these printers, with many examples, treated in the Linosaurus using the search function). 


Excavating and digging some further I think it will come as a surprise learning that Janet Scott was the second wife of American wood engraver and printer Carroll Thayer Berry (1886-1978). His wood engravings of coastal areas and sailing ships are well documented but I'll show you  some of his little known and hardly ever seen relief prints in next posting.

See also:
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/betty_bobby_and_bubbles/index.htm

Problems with Blog commenting now fixed.

Some bug or switch blocked commenting on most Linosaurus postings in June. These problems, not receiving and not being able to leave comments on other Blogs but anonymously seem both to be fixed. Feel free to return to earlier posts and if you want leave a comment. This is also the easiest way of checking all is working properly again. 

Thank you Lily from Japonism  http://lotusgreenfotos.blogspot.com/ for sending me this picture of "My Home" magazine cover of november 1929, solving the mystery of these two free posters by Hall Thorpe.

Now the search is on for the magazine that (also?) gave these two away. And if there have been more such magazine presents.

See also earlier postings in this Blog on John Hall Thorpe and Ralph Mott. By using the Blog search.

John Hall Thorpe (update)

A few days ago I received from Australia this nice email-commentary on the Linosaurus' most consulted pages: the postings on John Hall Thorpe's Flower Prints. Glenda agreed sharing the information with readers of the Linosaurus and all those interested in JHT prints.

Gerrie:

Your three unknown prints are in order Polyanthus (c1921), The Country Bunch (c1922) and The Chinese Vase (c1920). My husband R. is the great nephew of JHT (paternal) and directly and through his mother inherited many, many prints, including etchings going back to the 1890s.

His wife died in the 1950s and they were childless, so his collection came to Australia. It was divided between his four nephews some were sold and others I suppose dispersed through their various children. Except for some of the prints displayed at home and some sold or given away, others perished over the years, as R. was an only child the collection was virtually intact and stored away in cupboards, we even found prints in the garage. So the prints had hardly seen the light of day for about 40 years.

I found that JHT printed on different papers ie. Sweet Peas in Glass Vase is printed on like a thick sort of paper, the smaller flower prints were on a shiny cardboard, others on a more porous sort of paper. Also I came across some variations of the colour of the vases, if memory serves Nasturtiuams and Sweet Peas and possibly Marigolds. Parrots and Possum was a Christining gift given to R. by JHT that has the birds in different colours.

Would you believe we even have his original letter of recommendation and introduction to England from the newspaper he worked for here in Sydney it's dated 1900.

Regards,
Glenda

This last picture from Felicity from http://www.bellagraphica.com/

Viktor Pirkhoff (IV) the flower bouquets

Viktor Pirkhoff

(Prag 1875-1962 Brno)

Part IV

The Flower Bouquet Prints

(Larger pictures by V. Pirkhoff, smaller ones for comparison)

I hope, from a woodblock enthousiast's (and flower prints in particular) viewpoint, I have kept the best for the last. Here they are !

Hugo Noske (1886-1960)

Martin Erich Philipp (1887-1978)

These first two prints I found last year in different auctions in the USA and became the start of these postings and the rediscovery of the Art of Viktor Pirkhoff

This above print is probably Pirkhoffs most impressive one. More then 15 blocks were used to create all colors. Using so many blocks created John Hall Thorpe's (1887-1975) fame as a woodblock printer in his 1922 "the Country Bunch" (below) and resulted in one of the most loved prints in the Art Deco Style.

John Hall Thorpe (1874-1947)

Hugo Noske (1886-1960)

Martin Erich Philipp (1887-1978)

As you can judge now for yourselfs I think it is fair to say that Viktor Pirkhoff could match the most renowned flower woodblock printers of the twentieth century. The way he was treated by the successive authorities and later becoming completely forgotten and obscured is very sad.

I hope through this postings Viktor Pirkhoff shall be known and appreciated again amongst the great European woodblock printers of the twentieth century.

Thank you Miroslav for trusting me with his legacy and creating this four postings.

Please, honor Viktor Pirkhoff with a comment on (one of) these postings .