treasures

so, late last summer, lou and I were driving back into town after a thrifting excursion.

we stopped at a thrift store on the edge of town that was having a parking lot sale.

i was kind of on a thrifting high, as i remember. whenever that happens, you pretty much love everything you see.

one of the things we saw was an old, old, broken children's christmas book. it was hardcover, and the front cover was actually separated from the rest of the book.

basically, it was junk.


but the cover was SO SO compelling.

especially to two girls who love christmas, who love vintage, and who love beautiful design.

i think we bought it for 50 cents. or less. not even a dollar, i know that.


here is the cover:

there are so many things that make it special. the coloring is soft and so well done. go ahead, zoom in to look! lou really likes how the reindeer go from full color to silhouette - genius idea! i like that santa is jolly and friendly and sweet. we both love the graphic design elements, especially the 'complete with whirly twirly toy - ready to assemble' notation!

lou was able to scan the cover, touch it up a bit, and output a copy for each of us to hang on our walls. i love mine soooooooooooo much.

today, when i realized i wanted to post about it, i googled it just to see if i could find anthing, and here is what i found:

A search for "the night before Christmas" on Amazon.com, brings up 3,500 matches. Artists' interpretations come in board books and coloring books, pop ups and heirlooms. The most expensive is a 1952 hardcover version "complete with a whirly twirly toy ready to assemble" for $850. Most affordable are a handful of paperbacks that can be had for a penny.

even though i did not see a photo of the description above, pretty sure THAT is our beautiful old book, now preserved for two silly art girls to enjoy every single christmas season.

sigh. and THAT makes me very very happy :)

happy Tuesday!