Filed Under: "kids"

Pamela Paul in the New York Times reviews Enchanted Lion Books‘ new reprint of Flora’s Kangaroo for Christmas: Kangaroo for Christmas offered joy of an entirely different sort to the Sallys and Bobbys of the Mad Men era. First published in 1962, the story of little Kathryn’s astonishing gift from her Uncle Dingo showcases the marvelous period illustration of James Flora, a giant among midcentury commercial artists. Working in riotous bursts of carnation pink and…

Commercial spot illustration, 1961, magazine and subject unknown. Pen & ink, watercolor and Liquid Paper on artist board with printer’s markings. Time-traveler Buster Keaton found himself in a similar predicament in the legendary Twilight Zone episode “Once Upon a Time,” which aired the same year.

The miserable family road trip. Commercial spot illustration, 1958, magazine and subject unknown. Pen & ink and watercolor on artist board. Three additional thematically unrelated spot illos were arrayed on the board.

Spot illustration for “The Patented Gate and the Mean Hamburger,” a short story by Robert Penn Warren which appeared in the January 1947 issue of Mademoiselle magazine. At the time Flora was employed at Columbia Records, but having been promoted out of the art department and focusing largely on bureaucratic tasks (much to his displeasure), he was seeking outside freelance work. His first assignment for Mademoiselle, for Robert Lowry’s “Little Baseball World,” had appeared in…

Today in 1914, James Royer Flora was born in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Above our guy is pictured relaxing at home in the late 1980s. Interesting juxtaposition of bold patterns, with hunting jacket, slacks and chair vying for focal primacy. Cameo in the upper right by the Fab Four, depicted in 1964, tho it appears to be a hand-rendered (probably not by Flora) replica of a famous photo. Flora’s daughter Julia provides some family context: I love…

Flora authored and illustrated 17 children’s books under his own name between 1955 (The Fabulous Firework Family) and 1982 (Grandpa’s Witched-Up Christmas). A milk crate in the Flora archives contains contracts and correspondence for each one. Most of the letters passed between the author/artist and his legendary editress, Margaret McElderry. The crate is also stuffed with manila folders for dozens of abandoned or rejected book ideas. Walter Beartree and the Boo-Saying Whale does not have…

Hot Stove League entry: illustration (one of several) from “The Big Leagues Are Killing Baseball,” LOOK magazine, April 15, 1958. The above image is an original painting. Many of Flora’s early commercial illustrations exist only as printed reproductions, the original art either kept by the magazines or thrown out. When I interviewed Flora in 1998, I asked him about the whereabouts of his commercial originals. “They would reproduce it,” I queried, “but they wouldn’t think…

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.

Spot illustration, dedication page, The Day the Cow Sneezed, now back in print thanks to Enchanted Lion Books. The first review—favorable!—courtesy the For Immediate Release (Kids) blog: I like his habit of calling attention to certain words by putting them in all caps, nearly on every page: POW! WHAMBO! and my personal favorite KA-BLOWIE-BLAM! I also enjoy the language he uses, specific phrases such as “scrunched as flat as corn flakes.” It’s just plain good…

With the anticipated October reprint (by Enchanted Lion) of Flora’s 1957 kiddie book The Day the Cow Sneezed, we’re focusing on the re-emergence of the Flora children’s market. We’re planning an open edition (low-cost) fine art print of Cow’s playful cover, and we’re proofing the above image for a planned bedroom-suitable print. The overalls-clad night-sky moonswinger appears on the back cover of Flora’s 1972 Atheneum-published book, Pishtosh Bullwash & Wimple. When the proof proves proven,…

Detail: undated, untitled, and unidentified commercial illustrationca. late 1960s/early 1970s

We’ve finally collected an online gallery of Flora’s 20 children’s books (17 of which he authored). They’re up for viewing at JimFloraArt.com, the Flora family website. While you’re there, the site has had a makeover and includes three pages of original Flora art from the 1990s that’s being offered for sale.