April Showers

‘Paris’, 1946, Columbia MasterworksIt’s April! And whether you’re in the Southern Hemisphere like me farewelling summertime, or in the Northern, looking forward to spring, you might be subjected to sudden bursts of April showers. That’s what this album in chilly blue makes me think of. But April is not all bad: this year we have Easter too – isn’t that rabbit illustration just perfect?

The art of both these albums is great; so quintessential of its times. The war had ended, and these illustrations are lighthearted and full of joie de vivre. Unfortunately, the credits don’t make it clear whether Alex Steinweiss drew the illustrations in addition to designing the covers.

‘Music of Cole Porter’, 1948, Columbia MasterworksAnd when those inconvenient rains come, just remember this Al Johnson song, April Showers: it’ll make you smile and maybe even give you a little hope.

Life is not a highway strewn with flowers,
Still it holds a goodly share of bliss,
When the sun gives way to April showers,
Here is the point you should never miss.

Though April showers may come your way,
They bring the flowers that bloom in May.
So if it's raining, have no regrets,
Because it isn't raining rain, you know, (It's raining violets,)
And where you see clouds upon the hills,
You soon will see crowds of daffodils,
So keep on looking for a blue bird, And list'ning for his song,
Whenever April showers come along.

And where you see clouds upon the hills,
You soon will see crowds of daffodils,
So keep on looking for a blue bird, And list'ning for his song,
Whenever April showers come along.

Coffee For Two

I so much enjoy my afternoon coffee breaks. But the Turkish coffee seems to taste so much better when I drink it out of a fine bone china mug  – little espresso cups are for wimps.

I have a special breakfast mug, but just as I like to change my outfits during the day (kidding), I need to have a special afternoon mug. Recently I’ve kept my eye out, and then yesterday I happened upon these delightful Orla Kiely mugs in the department store David Jones. It took me quite a while to decide which one to get, and when I discovered at the sales counter that they were 30% off, why, I decided to get two!

The retro patterns are so fresh and cheerful, and very inspiring. How cute does it look on the radio below!

Evoke Mio by Orla Kiely Lifestyle Lounge. (Image via Pure)Incidentally, the flocked paper background is the last remnant I have from a series of papers I bought for a photoshoot many years ago. This one complements the mugs perfectly.

Kraftwork

The Minstrel Boy, various composers; Columbia Masterworks, 1947

Alex Steinweiss was the inventor of the LP record cover: not only the revolutionary (pardon the pun) cover art, but the packaging itself. Before Columbia Records invited him in 1947 to develop a new jacket, 78rpm record covers were made from folded kraft paper, but this proved too thin to protect the long playing records. When they were stacked, the paper left marks on the vinyl. Steinweiss’s paperboard jacket would be used for 50 years.

In 1939, Steinweiss as the first art director of the company, had already convinced the Columbia executives to allow him to redesign the drab paper covers. Inspired by French and German poster styles, and mixing musical and cultural references, he invented a new graphic language of album design so identifiable with the period.

Symphony No 9 in C Major, Franz Schubert; Columbia Masterworks, 1947

Aah, the Serendipity!

February (main): Songs of Rachmaninoff, Columbia Masterworks, 1946In the first week of January I belatedly went shopping in the city for a calendar. After making the horrible discovery that one of my favourite bookshops and calendar stockists had closed down*, I tramped all over Melbourne hunting for a calendar in every likely store. I found very few, and none that I liked. I gave it up as a bad job and went and bought a dress on sale instead.

Then just last week I found a calendar on sale for $9 in an art supply shop. There were two designs to choose from: photos of New York of indifferent quality, or a Taschen calendar of vintage record covers designed by Alex Steinweiss, the inventor of the modern record cover. This was far more interesting, and a viable subject for the Sketchbook too, I decided.

Oddly, the designer chose to include a second small image on the calendar half of the page. At first I thought these were the flip sides of the main image, but no. It’s as if the designer couldn’t decide which cover he or she liked most, and thought, why not use both?

They are great though, so this calendar was a serendipitous find. Happy February!

*Happily, I’ve since discovered that Reader’s Feast has merely moved to the iconic Georges store on Collins St.

February (inset): Gaité Parisienne, Columbia Records, 1942

Out With January!

(January main): John Kirby and His Orchestra, Columbia Records, 1941(January inset): Piano Concerto No°5 in E-Flat (the Emperor Concerto), Columbia Masterworks, 1942

Year of the Water Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the Year of the Water Dragon, a symbol of power from heaven. Also known as the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, Melbourne is celebrating it until February 5, with street stalls, firecrackers, lion dances and dragon parades, and lots more traditional and contemporary Chinese cultural activities. (Check out the website for more details.)

I’m celebrating it today with this lovely vintage poster advertising Club Cosmetics. Isn’t she just gorgeous? The model carries a feather fan, on the handle of which is the Chinese symbol of longevity. I purchased this, and one other poster, in Hong Kong’s Cat Street Markets five years ago. I was delighted to find them, for I had always admired these Oriental posters of the 50s and 60s. 

Still on my shopping list, a vintage cheongsam – to replace the embroidered oyster satin one I stupidly donated to charity years ago (I plead a temporary fit of closet-clearing).