Shelf display of Flora kiddie books in the office of Cynthia Johnson, director of the Rowayton (CT) Library. The glass-enclosed office is nestled behind the checkout counter, so patrons can view the display. (The plush creatures are non-Floracentric, but companionate.) Cynthia is producing a jigsaw puzzle of a 1980 cartoon map of the town rendered by its illustrious Citizen Flora, a resident from 1946 to his death in 1998. The puzzle should be available soon…

Above: rejected attempt at a Little Man Press logo, ca. 1939-1940, discovered in early sketchbook. The experiments continued: Eventually Flora and his LMP partner Robert Lowry settled on this design:

Untitled pen & ink, 1994, from sketchpad. Unknown Mexican (presumably) town square.

Untitled pencil sketch, mid-1960s, discovered in artist’s sketchbook. No indication the draft was refined for any specific use.

JimFlora.com is offering a new 2011 poster-sized calendar featuring a 1954 Flora woodcut illustration called SHEFFIELD ISLAND. The artwork is hand-printed letterpress in black ink on kraft card stock; a 12-month tear away calendar is attached on the bottom. When the year ends, you have a unique hand-pulled letterpress Jim Flora print suitable for framing. The full dimensions of the card with artwork are 13-1/2″ x 17″. The calendars, which were hand-printed by Yee-Haw Industrial…

JimFlora.com has issued a low-cost ($25) fine art print of the cover of THE DAY THE COW SNEEZED, Flora’s second kiddie book. Originally published in 1957 by Harcourt, the book was just reprinted by Enchanted Lion. Our 11″ x 8-1/2″ print features the complete cover art (used on both editions), including Flora’s playful hand-cut letters. This is an open, unnumbered edition (i.e., there is no limit on the print run).

To many who know him, our friend Takashi Okada of Tokyo is a talented graphic designer, music producer, historian, cultural connoisseur, cat lover, and gentleman. But unless you visit Takashi and his wife Tomoko‘s home, you might not know he has a deep Flora fixation. Takashi owns original art, album covers, Little Man Press artifacts, children’s books, and fine art prints. We’ve long known about Takashi’s love of Flora, but never having visited the Far…

Detail, “Furnished,” Primer for Prophets alphabet series, 1954. We’ve issued 12 letters as limited edition screen prints, but “F(urnished)” is still in the deep freeze. The full print isn’t as disturbing as the above detail suggests—the husband beyond the crop hasn’t lost his cool. All shall be revealed by the time we complete the series.

Half-page from unfinished and untitled hand-painted children’s book prototype, ca. early 1960s. The project includes ten words (e.g., “automation,” “characteristic,” “evident,” “powerful”) defined, pronounced and illustrated for young readers. A previous partial page (“fantasy”) appeared on this blog in November 2008.

Detail, “Raided,” Primer for Prophets alphabet series, 1954. We’ve issued 12 letters as limited edition screen prints, but “R” remains on our to-do list.