See Saw

Four Color Process: the inner world of dots and comic books

Comic Book, detail. Four Color Process. From 4cp.posterous.com a blog by Half Man Half Static

My regular readers know I've been a bit obsessed with making and or blogging about large scale reproductions of fragments from printed ephemera, particularly chromolithography, stone lithography and other early to mid 20th Century color-print processes.

 

Mid 20th Century Needle book. Detail. Liza Cowan ephemera collections.

I recently discovered the blog 4CP (four color process) by John Hilgart, the blogger known as   HM/HS Half Man Half-Static, A Curator of lost items. (Great name, by the way.) HM/HS writes in an early early essay In Defense Of Dots: The lost Art Of Comic Books: 

"Who is responsible for this art? At the level of a square inch of printed comic book, no one was the creative lead. 4CP highlights the work of arbitrary collectives that merged art and commerce, intent and accident, human and machine. A proper credit for each image would include the scriptwriter, the penciller, the inker, the color designer, the paper buyer, the print production supervisor, and the serial number of the press. Credit is due to all of them, to differing and unknowable degrees, for every square inch of every old comic. The hand of fate created this art, and it guides our hand as we search for 4CP images: We move a tiny Ouija board pointer across mid-Century comic books, looking for beautiful ghosts."

Comic Book, detail. Four Color process. From www.4cp.posterous.com

Jell-O booklet. Chromolithography. Detail. Liza Cowan ephemera collections. 

"However, in the decisive, paradoxical twist, four-color process created a form of depth even as it fought against illustrative realism. Whereas contemporary reproductions of mid-century comic art are truly closed and flat, old comic books are visually leaky and deep. Four-color dots perforate the flat surface of the universe, opening onto nowhere – some uncharted cosmos."

 

Detail of Comic, 4 Color Process, from www.4cp.posterous.com

 

Early 20th Century seed packet, stone lithograph. Liza Cowan ephemera collections

 

Comic book detail, four color process, from www.4cp.posterous.com

Read the whole essay HERE and make sure to spend some time in the 4cp archive for amazing images and really well thought out and well written articles. 

The Pudding's spoiled. Jell-O saves the day in the early 20th Century kitchen.

 

Daniel, the wonderful new intern here at Pine Street Art Works, has been busy scanning my rawther large collection of vintage Jell-O recipe books. Here, from an undated  early 20th Century book, are some illustrations of how terribly wrong things can go in the kitchen. Jell-O is here to save the day!

 

Her pudding burnt.

 
Her pie went wrong, too. Nothing goes wrong with Jell-O

 
A corner in a busy Jell-O workroom.

 

 
In the big shipping room.

 
The Jell-O girl, always ready to serve you.

 
The Jell-O girl, Elizabeth King.

 
The Pudding's spoiled. Why didn't I use Jell-O?

 

 

Set your table

Time to set the table. Holiday festivities are coming up, and then there's just plain every day gorgeousness. Check out what we've got for your table.

Here's what's on the table: Jello Placemats, made by Flashbags for Pine Street Art Works. Goblets by AO! Glass. Vase by AO! Glass. Mid century condiment bowls. Boxed sets of stationery as guest gift.

In the background: Ginny Joyner food illustration prints, mid century botanical school charts.

Also available for you table: Shinzi Katoh tea pots, Liquid Cardboard tabletop sculpture, more mid century vases and dishes, pottery from Paige Russell.

Did someone say party?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

 JELLO, the Birthday Party. Rose O'Neill.

 Just thought you'd like to know.

NEW WAYS TO ENJOY JELL-O EPHEMERA

If you know me, or follow this blog, you know I'm a bit over the top about my Jell-O ephemera. I have almost every Jello recipe book ever made, starting at the turn of the last century. And I know that many of you come to SeeSaw for my Jello images. One of the top google searches that brings people here is "Jell-O and condensed milk", as well as searches for Jell-0 ephemera, Jello images, and the like.

Now I have some Jell-O images from my collections available as handmade handbags by Flashbags, and reproductions which are fine- art laminated by Silver Maple Editions, here in Burlington.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING

JELL-O. Lucille Patterson Marsh. 1924

Jello and condensed milk - under separate cover

In this week's mail: the great Jello book I blogged about recently and a gorgeous recipe booklet from Borden Condensed Milk.

First the Jello. This booklet , Desserts From Around the World, is from 1909, almost a hundred years old! It features very Eurocentric versions of people from around the globe and the Jell-0 recipes they've inspired. Here's the centerfold.

so you can see the details better:

This one is the Paris Jello eaters. The Eurocentric version of Parisians is, of course, pretty accurate, Paris being a fairly European city.

The view of Eve in the Garden Of Eden- eating apple snow Jello - is a riot. I love her garment made of fig leaves. And the text - check out the embedded assumptions:  "Whether woman has always been privileged to prepare man's food for him or not, and to persuade him to eat, is a point on which history furnished unsatisfactory information." But hey, in 1909 women in the United States couldn't even vote.

There are additional pages for the Indians (i.e. Native Americans), "now a vanishing race," as well as natives of India, Hawaii,  Japanese, Russia, "oriental countries," and Holland. With enough encouragement, I will post some of these pictures.

Moving along to the Borden's Condensed Milk booklet. This one isn't dated, but I'm guessing thirties to forties.

Here's the cover:

and some oh so beautiful illustrations by Herbert Cutler on the inside:

I love feedback. Leave me a note in comments!

EXPENSIVE DESSERTS: JELLO RECIPE BOOKS

You know how it is with auctions? The racing pulse, the quickened breath, the agony of that last bid? Well, maybe you don't, but folks, it's the thrill of the hunt - online. How convenient is that?

Last night I bought a Jello recipe book for more money than I've ever spent on one. Seriously. But in 30 years of Jello collecting I'd never seen it before. When it arrives in my mailbox I will scan it for you, but right now, here are some scans from the auction. I know from my site stats how many of you come here looking for Jello images, so enjoy.

 

Notice how similar it is to this centerfold in the "jello for dessert" booklet I featured a little while ago.

 

Do you love vintage Jell-O? I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment.

A JELL-O YEAR WITH LUCILE PATTERSON MARSH

Yippee. New old Jello. Here, from 1924, A Jell-O Year, images by Lucile Patterson Marsh. This booklet has an illustration for each month. The images are a bit clipped at the edge, but if you click on each image it will appear in full.

Jell-O recipe booklet. Lucile Patterson Marsh 1924

 

 

COLOR SEPARATIONS

I was browsing around the website COLORlovers, looking at how they analyze color trends in magazine covers and blogs and I was inspired to take a look at the color trends in some of the art I've been looking at and posting lately.

The last time I did something like this was when home computers were a gleam in their inventor's eye, during my first (and only) year at The School Of Visual arts in New York City in 1968. We used Color-aid paper. Yumm.

Now I use a design software that I love but almost nobody I work with has heard of. It's called Swift Publisher, and although it has only a fraction of the horsepower of Adobe Illustrator, which everyone recommends, I find it flexible and, best of all, I actually know how to use it.

Like most design software, it has a way to copy color from one place and put it in a designated location. Nifty. I depend on this feature for most of my digital color choices.

I did this mainly as a color exercise, but it turns out they're fun to do and quite nice to look at. I hope you enjoy them.

colors in Jello recipe booklet.

This Jell-o booklet was printed by chromolithography, which separates (and combines) colors in many many layers of printing plates, often dozens of layers. The way they combine, and the way the light hits the colors and the eye decodes the message is both subtle and tricky - think of a pointillist painting. So in this Jell-0 cover, it looks like there's lavender, but there isn't an actual lavender ink. These are the colors that separate and combine to make the final impression.

Diamond Dyes booklet. Circa 1890's. Wells Richardson & Co. Burlington, VT

This is a detail from a Diamond Dyes chromolithographed booklet, circa 1890. The colors I've defined don't necessarily reflect the colors of ink that were used to make this chromo. I'm sure there's a way to figure that out, but darned if I know it. The colors I've extracted are from a digital scan, as all of these images are. The colors, at least on my screen, are faithful to the original, but they are still digitized. So if two layers of ink are superimposed - layered on on the other, they will read as a third color. Even to the scanner. Still, its quite interesting, I think.

Ad for American Gas Association, Saturday Evening Post 1940

This 1949 ad uses different printing technology. Using a four color printing process, the inks combine to create colors from only four colors: cyan, yellow, magenta and black. The finished print, of course, is defined by the original work, in this case a painting, probably guache.The colors of the kitchen are a simple yellow, blue and white palette. The greens are only in the out doors. I've written about this ad before in this blog. It's one of my favorites and I keep coming back to it. Also, the American Gas Association has a google notifier, and last time I posted this ad I got a really nice note from them, so if you are reading this from AGA, hello!

Liza Cowan aka Liza Leger from FAKE!Paintings by Liza Leger et. al.

This is a digital photo (by Dok Wright) of a painting by me, Liza. The colors are paint in the original, and they look pretty faithful to me. I paint using mixtures of only five colors: Cadmium yellow medium, cadmium red medium, cobalt blue, titanium white and black. I get my neutral grayish greens and etc. by mixing all three colors plus white.

I was having so much fun with my color game that I introduced it to my children. I showed them how to do it and they each came up with one.

Photo by Liza Cowan 2002

Older daughter, WG, decided to do this photo I took of her many years ago. It was a digital capture, so the image was pixilated in it's inception. She chose to design her page with the colors right up against one another in different sizes.

detail from Alphabet Of Country Scenes. 1875, McLaughlin Bros. NY.

Younger daughter GW did this one, another chromo, and I love how she made the colors different sizes. Lively composition. I didn't discuss options of box sizes with the children, nor did we explore using different shapes or placement. We'll save that for another time.

SWIMMING IN JELLO

I now have thirty two jello recipe books. Plus doubles. Yikes! The strange thing is that my Jello mania is a strong as ever. My heart skips a beat when I find a new book, or a better copy of one I already have.

Jello, 1916. PSAW ephemera collections.

I finally got a a good copy of this beauty. Notice how beautifully and delicately rendered the lace is, while the jello-y streaks in the back are so painterly and quick.

 

Jell-0 The Dainty Dessert. Cover.  Not dated. PSAW ephemera collections.

 

Jell-o The Dainty Dessert, back cover. Not dated. PSAW ephemera collections.

 
Jell-o The Dainty Dessert, centerfold. Not dated.PSAW ephemera collections.

Jell-o for  Dessert. Cover. Not dated. PSAW ephemera collections.

Again, the contrast between the delicately rendered figure and the painterly wash background.

Jello For Dessert, Centerfold.Not dated. PSAW ephemera collections.

 

Jell-o Rhymes. Not dated. Illustrations by Lucille Patterson Marsh.PSAW ephemera collections.

Jell-o Rhymes. Illustration by Lucille Patterson Marsh. Not dated. PSAW ephemera collections.

"The factory is light, bright, beautiful; the workers happy, prosperous and content, and the product which they turn out by the tons and dons day after day, never varies in its excellence and purity"

Lucille Patterson Marsh, born in 1890,  was a prolific American 20th Century illustrator. Her clients included Ladie's Home Journal, GE, Cosmopolitan, and later, book illustrations.

Lucille Marsh Patterson, 1931 GE Refrigerator Ad.

Jello Wonder Dishes, 1930. PSAW ephemera collections.

Jell-o  6 delicious  flavors. 1924. Back Cover. PSAW ephemera collections

Jell-o 6 Delicious Flavors. Detail. 1924. PSAW ephemera collections.

LITHO DETAILS

Yesterday I posted a couple of details from Jello recipe books. I'm enamored of the way the details of the lithography breaks down into dot patterns. Here are some more.

Jello Booklet, detail.
You can see that someone wrote over the "W" with pencil. People leave mysterious traces of themselves.

Jello recipe booklet, detail

Jello Recipe booklet, detail

Jello Recipe Booklet, detail

Jello Recipe Booklet, detail

Jello Recipe Booklet, detail

Jello recipe booklet, detail

Jello Recipe Booklet, detail

Jello Recipe Booklet, detail

Jello Recipe booklet, detail

Needle pack, detail. made in Japan.

Needle pack, detail. made in Japan.

Needle Pack, detail. made in Japan

Needle Pack, detail

Needle Pack, detail. made in Japan.

Needle Pack, detail. made in japan

Needle Pack, detail, made in Japan

Needle pack, detail

Atlantic City Rolling Chair Postcard, detail

Atlantic City Rolling Chair Postcard, detail

Corset trade card, detail

Diamond Dyes Trade Card, detail

Corset trade card, detail

MORE JELLO IMAGES

Here are some more images from my Jello Ephemera Collection. We'll start with the 1916 recipe book, which is all about the new bride starting her family life with Jello.

Jello Recipe book 1916. Cowan ephemera collections

Jello Recipe book 1916. Cowan ephemera collections.

"Though the honeymoon is not yet over and everything she does is still perfect, the young housewife who is no cook has gone through a period of awful trepidation while preparing that first dessert."

This was in the day when young ladies of a certain class didn't live alone before they were married, and most likely had household help doing the cooking.

 

Jello recipe book. 1916, Liza Cowan ephemera collections.

"In her old home she had never been taught to cook, as so, when her father and mother, making their first visit to "the children"miss her from the room for a moment and then witness her triumphant return, bearing a tray with tea things and napkins and spoons for two, and two beautiful dishes of Jell-o upon it..."

 

 

Jello recipe book, 1916. Cowan ephemera collections.

"Father and mother and other "company" have come and gone many times  before baby arrives, and the lovely bride, looking hardly a day older, has become a proficient housekeeper."

 

Jello Recipe book, 1916, centerfold. Cowan ephemera collections.

Jello recipe book, 1916. Cowan ephemera collections.

On this beautiful summer afternoon three of her schoolmates - all happily marries- gather at her home to live again their girlhood life and exchange confidences regarding the whims of their husbands and the cleverness of their babies..."

 

The Jello girl made her first appearance in 1904. She was Elizabeth King, whose father, Franklin King, was an artist at the ad agency that made the Jello Ads. The Jello girl remained a staple of Jello ads for forty years. She appears at the end of the Jello Bride Recipe Booklet, as well as on the front cover.

"Attention, children! Some day you will be buying groceries, and if they have continued to go up in price, you will do well to consider the cost of different articles of food."

Jello recipe book. Cowan ephemera collections

Jello Recipe book. 1912. Cowan ephemera collections

 

 

Jello Recipe book. 1917. Cowan ephemera collections
 

Detail. Jello recipe book 1917. Cowan ephemera collection.

Look how beautifully the lithography tolerates enlargement.

Jell-o Recipe book. 1918. Cowan ephemera collections.

 

Jello Recipe book, 1915. Cowan ephemera collections.

 

Jello Recipe book. Date unknown. Cowan ephemera collections

This book has more gorgeous beautifully printed images than any other. And the copy I have is in brilliant shape. The rest of the images in this post are from this book.

 

 

Cowan ephemera collections.

 

 

Jello

I’ve been collecting Jello ephemera for thirty or more years. I used to find recipe booklets at yard sales for a dime, but that was then. Now they are a bit pricier, and harder to find, although with eBay anything’s possible, with patience and determination.

Jello started advertising heavily at the beginning of the 20th Century. The early booklets are lush with chromolithographed color. The Jello really does seem to shimmer off the page. Jello was an innovative advertiser throughout the 20th Century, and my collection goes right up to the seventies.

My collection will stay intact and is not for sale unless I have doubles. I do, however, make reproductions and have them mounted by Silver Maple Editions, for sale at Pine Street Art Works.

I only reproduce images from ads in my collection, in limited editions, and only those before 1925. Although it is possible to find good scans of Jello, and other, ads on some websites, I  find it somehow unseemly - if not unethical - to sell copies of electronic copies of copies of art.The parade of simulacra must not be allowed to get too rowdy.

The back cover of this booklet - of which the above Jello Ice cream Powder was an insert - shows the Jello girl on the phone to the grocer, who is pictured on the front of the booklet answering the phone. Phones were a new technology, and using them in the advertising shows just how modern and up to date the product is. The telephone cord in the picture becomes a real life green string which is threaded through the  green hole on the upper right.

If this ad were  being made today, the girl would be using her Blackberry to call the grocer. If we called the grocer anymore. "Hello, City Market, send over a box of Jello please."