New Edward Gorey Prints

It is mid-summer and if you are feeling a little anxious because you have not had added anything new to your Edward Gorey collection for a while, The Edward Gorey House is there to help you! Just released are two New Prints that are sure to delight every Gorey enthusiast...

The first print is Antiquarian Cat Reading. The image was originally created by Mr. Gorey for the 1994 Boston Book Fair and appeared on the poster. This wonderful image shows one of Mr. Gorey's signature cats doing what cats do best - confusing us by their actions! The image measures 6 9/16" x 8.5" (paper size is 9.5" x 11.5") and appears in full color.

The second print is a double header - the front and back cover for an unpublished book titled The Awful Warning. The image measures 4" x 11 5/8" (paper size is 11" x 17"). This is a fantastic double image in Mr. Gorey's distinctive black and white crosshatched drawing style.

Both prints are being offered as a standard printing, a numbered limited edition (200 copies) with an embossed signature, and a lettered limited edition (26 copies) with an embossed signature. Contact The Edward Gorey House to order your prints today!

The Unrest Cure by Saki

The Unrest Cure And Other Stories by the English writer H. H. Munro (pen name Saki) with illustrations by Edward Gorey has just been issued (or re-issued depending on your point of view) by The New York Review of Books. Mr. Munro (1870 - 1916) was a British writer and playwright who wrote short stories that satirized upper class Edwardian society. His works first appeared in newspapers and then were published as collected stories.

This is the fourth time these stories have been published with the 1964 Edward Gorey illustrations. Mr. Gorey created the artwork for a German language edition titled Die Offene Tur published by Diogenes. The publisher will re-issue these stories in paperback several times over the next 30 years (I am not showing the German language paperback re-issues, and am combining all of these reprints together as the second time the illustrations appear in print).

In 1981, the Franklin Library produced a leather bound collection titled Saki Short Stories. The Franklin edition features Mr. Gorey's illustrations and is in English. This version has more stories than the German editions, but it does not include all of the Gorey illustrated stories or illustrations. The Franklin Library also commissioned one new illustration by Mr. Gorey for their edition. This illustration, for a story titled The Stalled Ox is printed on page 215 and it does not appear in any other publication of Saki stories. Comparing this drawing to the others in the book, it is finer and more delicate than the earlier illustrations.

I have one piece of original artwork from these stories which is reproduced in both the 1964 and the new 2013 volumes. The story it illustrates is The Hounds of Fate. This small piece of original art has a lot of atmosphere and evokes a mood of gloom. Because I do not read German, I was previously unable to read The Hounds of Fate. Like the drawing, the story is moody and dark. With its enigmatic protagonist and air of impending doom, the story reminded me forcibly of the old television program "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". The artwork is signed by Edward Gorey at the lower right.

In the original German edition (on the left in the photo above), the image in the book is printed the same size as the original artwork (center). In the new edition (on the right), all of the art is printed larger than before and the illustrations suffer a bit from both enlargement and from being reprinted from a previous printing. The line quality is ragged and all subtlety gone from the images. It is, however, nice to finally have an English language version including all of the stories with the Gorey illustrations.

Happy Independence Day!

Patriotic Figbash does his annual Happy 4th of July dance!

More Edward Gorey Mugs

On my posting from January 22, 2012, I showed a number of Edward Gorey designed mugs that I have in my collection. A generous follower of this blog has sent photos of three mugs that I did not show.

There were two mugs created for the Signals catalog to advertise Mystery!, the weekly series of classic and modern murder stories. The two designs were made with printing that partially disappeared when the mug was filled with hot liquid, revealing new plot twists. While nice in theory, the mugs never really worked that well, and with repeated use the disappearing ink goes mid-tone grey. These mugs must also be hand washed. This is the second design, the first being shown in my previous post. The small helicopter that appears to be hovering at a distance is one of the more unusual aspects of this mug.

The other two designs forwarded to me are mugs that feature Figbash, that enigmatic creature created by Mr. Gorey for his book The Raging Tide. Figbash cavorts merrily on both of these mugs, dancing with a gramophone horn on one and floating amongst commas on the other. The mug with the commas was created for Mr. Gorey's show Inverted Commas.

Dracula & Dark Shadows

We have been watching a lot of Dark Shadows at our house over the past few months. The 1960's & 70's daytime soap is awash with vampires, ghosts, the supernatural, and more than a few passing references to classic horror films. I have not heard that Edward Gorey was ever an avid watcher of the show, but it seems to be the kind of daytime entertainment that he would have enjoyed for its high camp tone and occasional, questionable production values.

While looking up information about actor Humbert Allen Astredo, the actor who played warlock Nicholas Blair, I came across the fact that Mr. Astredo played Van Helsing in the 1985 national tour of Edward Gorey's Dracula. The tour starred Martin Landau as Dracula, and came to the newly completed Ordway Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota on February 4 & 5, 1985. Bill and I attended both performances of the play.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls Art

 I was asked to pick my five favorite pieces of art from the Edward Gorey illustrations for The House With A Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs. My picks and comments are now on the bellairsia website.

Gashlycrumb Tinies Stained Glass

As many followers of this blog know, I co-own Century Studios, a stained glass studio in St. Paul, Minnesota with Bill Campbell. Each year, we like to create and donate a stained glass window hanging to the Edward Gorey House which they can auction or sell. The piece relates to the theme of the current exhibition, and each is a one-of-a-kind creation.

In 1963, The Vinegar Works was published as three separate books housed in a decorated slip case. The design of the box features a skeleton family dressed in their Sunday best. This year, we have chosen one of the skeletal children who appear on the spine of the box as the theme for our stained glass suncatcher.

The piece is completely hand made using American-made art glass. We chose an unusual textured red glass for the background of the figure. The figure and decoration are hand painted by Bill onto the surface of the glass and is kiln fired to become permanent.

To find out how you might obtain this one of a kind piece, contact The Edward Gorey House.