Book Illustrator Eulalie and Daughter Athalie
Our Miniature business is often filled with the most wonderful surprises. I was contacted by one of my favorite illustrators "Eulalie's" granddaughter. Sally noticed all my miniature books using her grandmother's illustrations.
She put me in touch with her mother, Athalie Neely who is a miniaturist and thought she would love the books for her doll's house. Here are some of the emails from my conversations with Eulalie's daughter.
Dear Jean, I am so excited - saw 'The Gingerbread Boy" , and others. Wasn't sure they all were hers - so Sally checked and wrote you. My mother would be delighted to know her books are in miniature. It was she who started me on the mini hobby - made me my first doll house when I was 6 - out of a cardboard box - I still have a picture of it. It was during the depression and if I dried the dishes every night
for a week I got a dime. Every Thursday night we would drive into Santa Monica and go to Newberry's or Woolworth's.( dime stores). They had huge counters full of tootsietoy 3/4 inch furniture and I would spend
(hours?) trying to make up my mind. I must have dried many dishes, as I have a whole house full of furniture. My present house is in progress- designed after one we lived in long ago, and one of her ocean scenes is
in the dining room as a mural. I am also working on an inch size, for a collection of teddy bears.
I belong to NAME - National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts - as
well as to the Four Corners Mini Club, here in Colorado.
Our president, Marilyn White, was the one who gave us your website
info. We are going to display our General Store in Denver in September (2007)
I just got out the pictures and found the one of my first doll house- I'm not in it,
but if you look closely at what seems to be a ramp going in the front door - that is one
of my white rats - and the other one is going into the little house on
right - (I have no idea what that house was, ) the rats were Peter and
Wendy, and I ended up with 99. Sold them 2 for .25 cents at pet shop
in Santa Monica! I also have a good pic of my mom when she was doing
"chalk talks" at schools etc. so will send that on.....She
did the Bumper Book in 1921 - the year I was born.
The original linen books were sold 10 to a box for $1.00.
Photos include Athalie's Garden Shop, bakery,
Eulalie giving one of her talks[picture 1 below], Athalie's first house [picture 2 below] and
Athalie with the home she is working on that is a copy of one she lived
in long ago and a book case filled with her miniature books that contains
our reproductions of her mother's books. (Two bottom pictures are the finished house)
Here is a terrific page with more information on Eulalie.
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/eulalie.htm
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Book Illustrator Eulalie and Daughter Athalie |
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