Riding the Zebra

‘Spring Fabrics and Original Vogue Designs’, British Vogue, January 1926; illustration by André-Edouard Marty.May is synonymous with the celebration of spring, dancing round Maypoles, exchanging flowers for kisses, that sort of thing. But not in Australia. It’s not spring here; it’s the last month of autumn, and Melbourne is overcast and sombre.

This image on my calendar, however, is delightfully frivolous enough to distract me from the gloomy aspect beyond my window. Who has ever ridden a zebra you might wonder? In fact, it can be done and has been done. The first doctor in Kenya used a zebra to convey him on house calls in 1907.

Perhaps the artist, André-Edouard Marty, was inspired by the real-life adventures of the American documentary filmmakers Martin and Osa Johnson. This intrepid couple travelled on safari between 1917 and 1936, capturing the public’s imagination with titles such as Among the Cannibal Isles of the South Seas (1918), Jungle Adventures (1921) and Osa’s Four Years in Paradise (1941).

I doubt very much that Osa ever wore an evening gown on zebraback though…

Happy May to you!

Osa Johnson riding a zebra, 1924. Photo from the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum.

Lettuces and Love

A promising cover: big clouds, a blustery wind, and Pookie’s worldly possessions tied up in a spotted handkerchief. What adventure waits inside!

I was very young when I first started browsing in ‘op shops’, as charity stores are called here in Australia. One of my favourite things to do was to visit the local library on Saturdays – I just loved books, and was thrilled to have my very own library card.

After visiting the library, my older sister Star and I would cross the road and go to the Lion’s Club op shop and look at the heaving bookshelves there. I was under ten, so the children’s picture books interested me most. 

I would sit on the floor and look through piles of discarded, colourful books and take home my favourites. They were 10¢, 20¢; my sister paid for them. 

I particularly remember Ivy L. Wallace’s Pookie tales, about an adventuresome winged bunny, and his friends: fairies, pixies, mice, owls and squirrels all happily living and working together. I loved the cosy friendliness of their lives: outside it was snowing, but inside they were all safe and warm, and merry. 

I loved this cosy image: even the owl and mice ensconced on Santa’s lap have their own tiny glasses.

Pookie’s snuggled up in his picnic hamper; how sweet is this ending? He dreams of Lettuces and Love…

I don’t know what became of those books, but I do remember seeing one in a secondhand bookstore a year or two ago. It was well over $20, which I thought a very high price at the time, but I find that is the average price on Abebooks too. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled in op shops from now on!

Judging a book by its cover

Second edition, published by Mills & Boon, 1936.Aren’t these vintage books wonderful? Often when scavenging in charity shops I stumble upon quaint vintage books, falling in love with their worn bindings, the torn paper dust jackets with their retro designs; even the foxed interior pages hold charm. I totally judge them by their covers and buy them – but rarely read them (except in the case of the Georgette Heyers, which are so much fun).

But I am intrigued anew by Love Pirate. What a title! First published by Mills & Boon in 1935, it was obviously part of a circulating library at one time, as it has numerous stamps on the inside front cover, indicating that it had been lent out between September 1936 and February 1950. After this time it must have been withdrawn, and then the book passed through two different newsagents in Sydney Rd, Brunswick before it somehow made its way into my hands.

It has languished for years on my bookshelves, buried behind a front row of books, but it may now migrate to my bedside table to be dipped into one sleepless night. 

Amongst the selection below are two versions of Frederica, by Georgette Heyer, both published in the same year, and an interesting comparison of two different imprints. 

© 1963 by Georgette Heyer. Edition issued by The Book Club, published by The Bodley Head, 1963. Inscribed: Diane Roberts

© 1965 by Georgette Heyer. Published by The Bodley Head, 1965. Inscribed: To June, from Joan Arthur, Xmas 1966

© 1965 by Georgette Heyer. Edition issued by The Book Club, published by The Bodley Head, 1965. Inscribed: Diane Roberts

Published by Hurst & Blackett, 1960. Inscribed: Diane Roberts

Vintage Russians

Vintage Russian tree ornaments: (clockwise from bottom left) snowman, pony, monkey, bear with banjo, chilli.

Many years ago, I stumbled across some gorgeous Russian Christmas tree ornaments in a quaint Melbourne shop, Babushkas. I didn’t buy any at the time as they were quite expensive. However, the year before last I went hunting on eBay and discovered vintage Russian Christmas ornaments.

I fell in love. I bought a couple dozen and waited in breathless anticipation for them to arrive. They did – just a few days before Christmas. I hung them on ribbons in my windows. Afterwards I turned them into earrings.

This year, I managed to get hold of that rare commodity – a small white Christmas tree – through the efforts of a friend ($1 from an op shop!) and decorated it with the ornaments. It’s my first Christmas tree for many years.

I found these vintage glass ornaments so much more inspiring than modern-day versions … until I ventured into Myer’s Santaland and discovered a number of retro glass finials, ribbed ‘onions’, and spotted and striped baubles and bonbons that would complement my vintage pieces admirably. The same friend tipped me off to Boxing Day sales, and sure enough, I returned after Christmas and swept up a handful of bonbons at half the price.

Christmas Loot

…I ventured into Myer’s Santaland and discovered a number of retro baubles and bonbons…

Sadly, they aren’t as robust as their Russian counterparts. Two broke by the time I got home, and bereft, I had to replace them the next day. I took those home heavily bubble-wrapped. By contrast, the Russians date from the 1940s–80s and apart from scratches and worn paint, are still intact.

Next year I will be investing in a bigger tree, to accommodate all these goodies.

I’ve entered the second photo in Hipstamatic’s ‘Holidays Captured’ competition – please vote for me!