Wednesday, April 21, 2010

New Book: Worlds of Enchantment: The Art of Maxfield Parrish


When I posted about the new collection of H. J. Ford illustrations today, I realized I had missed another new book from earlier this year, Worlds of Enchantment: The Art of Maxfield Parrish, also compiled by Jeff A. Menges. Once again, it slipped past me on my long, long list. I don't have a copy of this one yet to personally review it, but it is another volume in the series by Menges for Dover Publications, so I have no qualms about its quality.

Publisher's description:

Best known for colorful portraits of winsome maidens, Parrish created hundreds of images for books, magazines, and calendars. This original collection spotlights work from the 1890s through the 1920s, with magazine art and ads, including the famed Edison-Mazda Lamp series. Book illustrations include scenes from The Arabian Nights, The Knave of Hearts, and other treasured tales.

Since I haven't seen the book yet, I'm unaware of the illustration list but doubt that any Parrish fan will be truly disappointed, especially since the Dover publications usually print larger versions of the images than found in the average art book on Parrish in which oversized thumbnails are more typical.


Also, if you are a Maxfield Parrish fan, Calla Editions (part of Dover) offers The Knave of Hearts, a beautiful facsimile of the original edition illustrated by Parrish. I don't have this title either, although I have two other Calla editions, Stories from Hans Christian Andersen illustrated by Edmund Dulac and East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North illustrated by Kay Nielsen. They are obviously facsimiles and the "plates" aren't quite as vivid as the originals, but if you've never seen the originals, you'd never know the difference.

Also, don't miss the Maxfield Parrish Gallery on SurLaLune.

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