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April 14, 2023

Nydam Nursery

         Welcome to the April A to Z Blog Challenge!  My theme this year is Relief Printed Alphabet Squared, an alphabet of alphabets illustrated with relief block prints.  Check here for the master list of participating blogs.
        Well, obviously given my predilections, I myself have done block printed alphabets of my own, and obviously I was going to feature them, so today is the day for the three block 
printed alphabets of Anne E.G. Nydam.  The first one I completed is botanical, and the N is Nasturtium.  I love the shape of nasturtium leaves and the shape of the flowers, but
what I really love is their fiery colors, so I’ll be honest: this is one of those few cases where color might really be better than black and white.  (Go back and enjoy Pomeroy’s nasturtiums at D!)  My favorites in this alphabet are probably P (Poppy) and T (Thistle) because they’ve got some interesting texture.  Although some of the illustrations in this alphabet are wood block prints, all three of these are rubber block prints.  The whole alphabet is available as a poster, which you can see here.  One other note about this alphabet is that for some of the letters I used the Latin (scientific) names of plants instead of English.  So this is actually a bilingual alphabet of sorts.
        The second Nydam alphabet is animals, and N is for Nautilus.  The animal alphabet has a poster version, too, and there is also a book version called Amazing, 
Beguiling, Curious, which includes fun scientific facts about each creature, as
 well as questions to get young scientists (and artists) thinking about what they observe.  (Did you know that a nautilus can have up to ninety tentacles?)  I’m having a hard time selecting a favorite, and you can see the whole thing on the poster here, so for today I’ve chosen to highlight the very first one of these animals I ever carved, and the last.  Those are R for Rhinoceros and V for Vicuña, spanning a 13 year spread.
        Then the third Nydam alphabet collects Beasts of the Realms of Imagination, which was the subject of my A to Z Blog Challenge in 2019.  The N is represented by Ninki Nanka, which you can learn all about here.  Once again it’s not easy for me to pick favorites because these are all my beloved babies!  But to exercise discipline and pick just one I think I’ll go with the Hercinia at H (and you can learn more about it here).  These animals are all part of an alphabet book that was not aimed at children at all (although children do seem to enjoy it).
        But enough about me, let’s get back in the Nursery with The Nursery Present of 1830.  N is for Nest, and I give you also C for Coach (because nowadays you’d get C for car instead), and F for Fruit (which is a particularly attractive little picture).  The painting job in this book is of considerably higher quality than most - actually an enhancement rather than a defect.
       Today’s bonus is Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year by Betsy Bowen.  You can see B, D, Q, and X in prior posts.  N is for Northern Lights, but I don’t think that one works as well as some others in a wood block print, so I’ve also shared L for Loon.
         The moral for N is Never let the truth get in the way of the truth!  In other words, sometimes fictional stories are more true than the “reality” we think we know.  And sometimes looking at something in a new way can reveal fresh truths.
        And also, go check out my books!  You or a child you know might enjoy one!  (By the way, while I’m shamefully plugging my own alphabets, all of the originals of the block prints that illustrate my books were made in limited editions for sale, and you can still find many of them on my web site.  Nasturtium and poppy are available; thistle is sold out.  Vicuña is available, nautilus and 
rhino are sold out.  Ninki Nanka is available; hercinia is sold out.)
        So, have you ever seen the northern or southern lights?


[Pictures: Nasturtium, Poppy, Thistle, rubber block prints by AEGN, 2006, 1997;
Nautilus, Rhinoceros, Vicuña, rubber block prints by AEGN from Amazing, Beguiling, Curious, 2010;
Ninki Nanka, Hercinia, rubber block prints by AEGN from On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination, 2019;
Nest, Coach, Fruit, hand-colored wood block prints from The Nursery Present, 1830 (Images from University of California);
Northern lights, Loon, watercolored wood block prints by Betsy Bowen from Antler, Bear, Canoe: a Northwoods Alphabet, 1991.]

10 comments:

  1. When we lived in Idlewild, Michigan, I saw the Northern Lights. They are amazing and other worldly. It was winter and cold and amazing.

    I like your flower alphabet. Nasturtiums are some of my favorite flowers too.

    https://findingeliza.com/

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  2. I like the flower prints you made. The animal poster looks really nice, too. This series is making me want to try designing my own alphabet chart. Probably something space themed.

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  3. I really æike that you show us your own works as well. I like them all, and am envious of your creativity. I went and looked at your posters, and I love the green, botanical one. I'm only sad that not all those capitals work in Danish, surprisingly many do, but still.

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  4. What beautiful work.

    I did a lino cut once at school and was very pleased with it, but for some reason it didn't come up to snuff for the teacher so I didn't attempt any more.

    I love the illustrations from the 1830 book. There's something very special about the colouring.

    I wonder what O and X looked like - they're the letters I judge pictorial alphabets by.

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  5. I love your ABC illustrations and their different styles. The clean lines of the flowers are just as pleasing as the texture in the illustrations of the imaginary creatures.

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  6. You got me with the thistle - I have a tattoo on my ankle of a thistle in honor of my Scottish heritage.

    Donna McNicol - My A to Z Blogs
    DB McNicol - Small Delights, Simple Pleasures, and Significant Memories
    My Snap Memories - My Life in Black & White

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  7. James, you should totally make a space-themed alphabet with your illustrations!

    Charlotte, yeah, I love the alphabets in other languages, too, but it's always more fun when they work in English for me.

    jabblog, if you were pleased with your work, you should definitely give it another try! One of my favorite things about relief block printmaking is that they can look amazing whether they're simple or complex, "realistic" or stylized or abstract, big or small...

    Donna, several of my designs have actually been turned into tattoos by people I know -- but not me, as I'm strictly no-tattoo for myself! lol

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  8. Also, jabblog, if you want to know what O and X look like, you can see all the images from the alphabet on-line. The link is at the bottom of the post in the sources. Also, I'm curious about your choice of letters by which to judge an alphabet. I get X, but why O?

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  9. Thanks for dropping by my blog and for your comments.
    It's always good to look at new perspectives. They open up new possibilities.

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  10. Though I like all of your prints, I think the botanical's simplicity speaks to me the most.

    Ronel visiting for N:
    My Languishing TBR: N
    Nymphs of All Kinds

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