Rowel Friers' endpapers and interior illustration for "The Obstinate Ghost"

I still need to get around to a full essay on the dandy 1960s ghost/folklore books by Geoffrey Palmer and Noel Lloyd. In the meantime, this post features some of the superb artwork by their illustrator, Rowel Friers (1920-1998). Shown above are Friers' endpapers illustration and his illustration for "Billy Bates's Story" from the 1968 collection The Obstinate Ghost and Other Ghostly Tales. Don't we all wish we grew up in a neighborhood with a house like that? Or lived in one now?

Friers was a cartoonist, painter, illustrator, set designer and actor. For a story on his funeral service in 1998, Neil Johnston of the Belfast Telegraph wrote:

"The church was packed with representatives from the arts, music, drama, newspapers and television. ... All of them referred to his humanity, his generosity of spirit, his charm, his talent as an artist, his work for charity, particularly Cystic Fibrosis, and the devastating way in which he used his gift for cartoons to attack pomposity, political cant, and sectarian bigotry wherever he saw it."

It seems that providing illustrations for children's books was just a minor side job for Friers, but we should be very glad it happened and that his contributions to these Palmer/Lloyd books exist.

Other endpapers illustrations

• Curious artistic endpapers from the 1912 novel "Corporal Cameron"
• Dubble Bubble Quiz tucked away inside an old schoolbook
• Birds wearing clothes to help children learn to read in 1930
• Sheep featured on endpapers of Elson Junior Literature book
• 1936's "Albanian Wonder Tales": Frontispiece and endpapers
• Cool map featured on endpapers of "At Camp Kee Tov"
• The Three Investigators #1: The Secret of Terror Castle
• Gorgeous endpapers in 1895's "The Young Conductor"
• "Joyce of the Secret Squadron: A Captain Midnight Adventure"
• 3 cool things: The Story of Siegfried (published 1931)
• Endpapers and title page for 1920 primer: "The Winston Readers"
• Nifty endpapers from a Nelson Doubleday Junior Deluxe Edition
• "A Child's Garden of Verses" and the work of Eulalie
• Book cover & endpapers: "Doctor Dolittle in the Moon"
• Book cover and alarming endpapers: "All About the Atom"
• Book cover: "The Vanishing Shadow"
• The joyous illustrations of Johnny Gruelle's "The Paper Dragon"
• Farewell to a book
• Book cover: "Little Pilgrim to Penn's Woods"
• Book cover: "The Mystery of the Shining Children"
• Remembering "Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful"
• Endpapers of 1915's "The Brownies and the Goblins"
• Colorful covers and endpapers of 1926's "Granny Goose"
• Carlos Mérida's delightful illustrations for "The Magic Forest"
• Wynn's dandy endpapers illustration for 1933's "Incredible Land"

Little green library in Mesa, Arizona

We don't have many Little Free Libraries in the rural area of Florence/Coolidge where we live. But the sprawling Phoenix/Mesa/Gilbert/Chandler/Tempe metroplex has many such community book exchanges in business districts and residential areas.

We visited this nice one, dubbed a "Little green library," in Mesa last weekend. We didn't have any books to add to it, but it was pretty stuffed, so I think that was OK. I took this worn copy of Mooch the Messy, a 1976 "I Can Read!" children's book by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (1928-2019) of Nate the Great fame and illustrator Ben Shecter. 

Mooch the Messy has very positive ratings on Goodreads and Amazon and seems to be fondly remembered. Mooch cleans up his untidy dwelling to make his father happy during a visit. But once father is gone, he reverts to comfortable messiness. "I like to see all my things," said Mooch. In the end, he makes himself a cup of cocoa and relaxes amid his "bunched up" sheets and blankets. Good for Mooch!

Book cover: "Fear in Firland"

I guess we'll just keep going with this summer's UFO theme ...

• Title: Fear in Firland
• Author: Norman Power (1916-1993). Full name: Norman Sandiford Power.
• Illustrator, including cover: Michael Jackson.
• Publication date: 1974
• Publisher: Blackie & Son Limited, London and Glasgow, which was in business from 1809 to 1991.
• Printer: The Anchor Press Ltd.
• Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
• Pages: 128
• Dust jacket price: £1.85 
• Acknowledgements: "The author thanks members of his family, Mrs. Ruth Cockfield, Mrs. Helen Cooper, the Reverend Jack Courtenay, Mr. John Cutforth, Professor Helen Guthrie, Miss Pat Hudson, Mrs. Ann Potts and Mr. Arthur Rowlett. Each of these has helped bring the Firland stories into being by having faith, giving encouragement, criticism, and suggestions, or practical assistance with the manuscript."
• Dedication: "For Angela"
• Dust jacket description: "The Firlanders, whose story is first told in The Forgotten Kingdom have regained their native land from Queen Ivis and her evil, half-human army of Yelgs and Ergs. Young King Richard and his friends are working hard to create the free, happy land of their dreams. Their peace is shattered when a race of insect-like creatures arrive in space ships. It soon becomes clear that they will eat every living plant and animal in Firland. Fear in Firland tells the exciting story of how the time-travelling wizard Greylin goes forward into the present from the fifth century to find help. After a number of false starts he returns with three teenage cousins and a secret weapon to defeat the invaders. Children of all ages, especially science fiction and fantasy devotees, will enjoy this enthralling journey into the past."
• Series: So, as we read above, this is not the first book in the series. The first book was called both The Firland Saga (paperback) and The Forgotten Kingdom (hardcover). Fear in Firland was the second book. And the final book, Firland i Flammer (Firland in Flames), was only published in Danish. Apparently, the Danes loved this series the most. Here are the three Danish covers. As you can see, there's a lot going on.

• First sentence: Hideous and menacing, the dinosaur shadow reared up on the wall above the fireplace.
• Last paragraph [SPOILER alert]: "As a matter of fact," said Edward, "it was D.D.T. They were only insects after all!"
• Yikes: Indeed, Firland defeated the insects from outer space, but little did it know of the looming environmental impact of the victory on its fair land. There was plenty of public evidence of the dangers of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane by the time this book was published. Silent Spring came out in 1962! Perhaps Power should have used a different deus ex machina.
• Excerpt from the middle #1: But Richard knew he must be ever on guard. At the very first sign of danger from Yelgs he would attack them. It was no good building walls or hoping they'd go away.
• Excerpt from the middle #2: "When troubles came, I expect they all tried to stand on their own feet or help each other. I always longed for the welfare state, but I wish we could have done things differently. It is all so impersonal. We pay our taxes and don't follow through with any personal concern the money that goes to pay to help a family in trouble. And many people have lost all sense of responsibility for their homes, families and even themselves. They think 'they' should provide everything free."
• Online reviews: None to be found, really.
• More about Power: However, there's an excellent 2016 article about Power on Douglas A. Anderson's blog Lesser-Known Writers. Anderson describes Power's upbringing as the son of a clergyman, his early nonfiction writing (including a book about hypnosis) and the eventually creation of the Firland books as an extension of telling bedtime stories to his children. Anderson's full article and ongoing blog are well working checking out if you're interested in obscure authors and their books.

From the readers: A tailor, a bishop and Ruth Manning-Sanders

It's time to turn another post over to the readers...

J.C. Savage of Belfast, tailor and breeches maker: Sian writes: "Just wanted to say thank you for this. The tailor in 1920 would have been my great-great-grandfather, so it was great to see this piece of history and I have forwarded it to my daughter. My father (93) has some tales about him and still has his tailor's scissors. Bristol City Corporation complained about the electric lights in his shop, as they were frightening the horses. His was the first shop to have had the lights installed. One of the family was an inventor and devised a system for recording sound and was visited by [Thomas] Edison. Mr. Savage devised a way to make waxed cloth and used it during World War I to make clothing for officers. The J.C. stood for James Carl, and I remember being told when I was young the there were 5 generations of James Carls!"

Thank you for sharing all those great memories and details, Sian! 

Hans Holzer & hot pink: "The Psychic World of Bishop Pike": Brian Busby of The Dusty Bookcase writes: "I've been on a bit of a tear through obscure 1970s stuff myself, Chris. My current read is The Man From Krypton: The Gospel According to Superman (1978) by evangelist John Wesley White. Billy Graham provides the foreword. I've read and reviewed three other books by the Rev. Dr. White. The Man From Krypton disappoints only in that it has the fewest factual errors. Though an Anglican, I knew nothing of Bishop Pike until I read John Wesley White's Re-entry (1970), which deals with 'striking parallels between today's news events and CHRIST'S SECOND COMING.' White goes after Bishop Pike, not one year in the grave, on the very first page. I don't think that's right, but will not cast the first stone. If interested, here's my review: The Oxford PhD Rambles On."

A dark and stormy night ... and a good book: Peggy writes: "Beautiful! Each [advertising card] is a window into the past (and sometimes a reminder of how important our consumer protections are!)"

Guest post: Finally finding a "white whale" book from childhood: I got a couple of comments regarding the happy reunion involving Ruth Manning-Sanders' Mystery at Penmarth.  

Anonymous writes: "Great post! I found a copy through inter-library loan — halfway through it and really enjoying this book."

Anonymous writes: "This is amazing!!! I can't believe you found the book and were able to read and enjoy it. A big thanks to all those out there who work to connect readers with books they loved and lost."

Lamenting what we'll never know about Phyllis J. Stalnaker Harris: This post keeps generating comments. A lot of them are short. Some are rude and/or speculative. I won't put all the new ones here, but you can check out the post if you want to get involved in the continuing conversation. I do thank Gabriel Lampert for writing, "Thanks for giving this woman a proper eulogy."   

Some of the books that helped to inspire Ruth Manning-Sanders: 23skudu writes: "Hopefully someone managed to buy them all or make a detailed bibliography of the books that were there. Some of these stories need a bit freshening to be retold for this new generation of readers."

The books definitely went to many different buyers across the globe. This is on my list of things to write more about!

Elaborately designed envelope for Bennett Printing Company: Anonymous writes: "My father, Harvey McHenry, worked there for years."

Wampole's Creo-Terpin ink blotter from Ensley, Alabama: Teresa writes: "I am curious if you know anything on his 'worm syrup' I would gladly trade some photos for information."

No, I don't know anything about "worm syrup," but maybe someone else out there does!

Prudential booklet on signers of the Declaration of Independence: Anonymous writes: "I have been going through my parents old papers and found a copy of this booklet! Very interesting! It would be timely for it to be reissued today for the benefit of today’s generation."

Absolutely. I'm a big proponent of quality civic education (and teaching the true and full history of the United States).

Baseball program ads for Coca-Cola and Hires

It's 110 freaking degrees Fahrenheit here in Florence, Arizona, today, so refreshing beverages are a must. Here are some advertisements that might hit the spot. Shown above is an advertisement from the 1955 yearbook for the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Red Roses, a minor-league baseball team that was around until 1961.

Below are two more advertisements from the 1953 Philadelphia Phillies scorecard, which I wrote about way back in 2011. I'm not picky about my beverages these days, and I mostly drink water. My soda of choice is Teddy's, which is tasty, inexpensive and comes in 26-ounce bottles that take me three days to finish. I drink the Teddy's root beer, cream soda and orange soda. They also make strawberry, raspberry and grape flavors, but those aren't available at my local supermarket.  

Book cover: "Strangers from the Skies"

• Star Wars-like pre-title cover scroll: "Flying saucers ... UFO's ... great balls of fire! Where do they come from? What do they want? Why has the Air Force adopted a policy of silence and ridicule? Do the UFO's hold the key to man's future? DO they explain mysteries of the past? Are they only natural phenomena? Or is the planet Earth actually being visited by"
• Title: Strangers from the Skies
• Author: Brad Steiger (1936-2018). He was born Eugene Olson, which is the name on the copyright page of this book.
• Publication date: 1966
• Publisher: Award Books (A171X). The company published books between 1964 and 1977, according to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Its first book may have been a reissue of The Wizard of Oz and its final book appears to have been the 1977 reissue of the 1969 anthology Tomorrow's Worlds. 
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 158
• Cover price: 60 cents 
• Topics mentioned on back cover: Swamp gas, blistered skin, weather balloons, balled lightning, astronauts photographing UFOs, saucers sinking into rivers, cultists and Albert Einstein.
• A few of the chapter titles: The Saucers and the "Robots" That Terrorized an Argentine Ranch; The Fiery UFO That Crashed Near Pittsburgh; The Clergyman Who Waved Hello; Helmeted Aliens Over New Zealand; The Paralyzing Force That Stalked an English Village; and Space Ship on a Minnesota Highway.
• First paragraph: "Senior Moreno! Senor Moreno, wake up!"
• Excerpt from the middle #1: "Nearly exhausted with the incredible donnybrook in which they had just engaged, the two Swedes continued on their journey, each agreeing that they should keep the story to themselves."
• Excerpt from the middle #2: "The William Denton family of Wellesley, Massachusetts announced that they had been paying regular visits to Mars as early as 1866. ... Denton's studies convinced him that the Martians had been examining our planet and had found us out as a people early in the 1800's."
• I'm sorry. What? William Denton (1823-1883) was, according to Wikipedia, "a self-taught geologist, preacher, and a promoter of occult practices such as psychometry." In "fairness" to the Dentons, what Steiger describes as "regular visits to Mars" were not via spaceship but were purportedly the result of psychometry, the idea, unsupported by science, that you can touch an object and learn its history. (I saw it portrayed once in Cathy's Curse.) In a May 2022 dissertation titled "Spiritual Matter: Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism, Whiteness, and Material Performance," Hazel Rickard writes: "The Dentons’ son Sherman and William’s sister Anne Denton Cridge all had psychometric visions of life on Mars after touching meteorites. ... As William Denton concluded: 'there are at least four distinct races of human beings on Mars,' including 'The four-digited race' described by his son Sherman, 'the dark, stunted race' described by Elizabeth and Anne, a 'pink-skinned' and 'stareyed race' described by all three, more advanced than the others, but lower than humans because they 'worship images' or statues, and the fourth 'superior race' described by Anne and Elizabeth, marked by their moral transparency, luminescence, simplicity, beauty and a 'communistic system of living' (Souls of Things, vol. 3, 276)."
• Rating on Goodreads: 3.41 stars (out of 5)
• Rating on Amazon: 4.6 stars (out of 5). It surprises me to see the rating that high. The book has been reprinted several times and seems to enjoy a good bit of popularity with modern-day readers. Steiger wrote dozens of books about UFOs and the paranormal, and this was one of his earliest efforts.
• Amazon review excerpt: In 2016, Kevin wrote: "Back, so many years ago, when I was in high school, this was one of the first books that I read about UFOs. It helped spark my interest in the subject. It was filled with sighting reports that seemed to refute the idea that all UFOs were balls of light seen at night." 

Previous UFO posts

• Some spacey tidbits from the Fall 1966 issue of Saucer News
• 1988 UFO Magazine: John Lennon, Gulf Breeze sightings and more
• Galactitags: The must-have accessory in the event of alien abduction
• Book cover: "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts"
• "Fate" magazine classifieds, August 1975
• Book cover plus some bonuses: "The Oak Island Quest"
• 1976 booklet on UFOs, occult from Southwest Radio Church
• Book cover: "Investigating UFO's"
• Questions, answers & mysteries with Hookland's David Southwell
• RIP Art Bell, of the Kingdom of Nye
• Three sci-fi paperback covers with UFOs (and one with a chimp)
• "Secret of the Old Museum," with tangents, footnotes & Nimoy
• Hoping to see UFOs for 1976 bicentennial Independence Day

Everything will be funner in July

Vogue magazine, June 1, 1917. This is not the scene here in the Sonoran desert.

I'm still here! I knew headed into June that it was going to be a tough month for finding time to write posts, and then I used that as an excuse to turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

My goal for this year is to finish with between 120 and 130 posts, and now I've fallen behind a bit. I'm on pace for only 117 posts. Still plenty of time to get back on track.

July will be funner! I have plenty of stuff to write about; I just need to get back in the groove. There won't be much motivation to go outside in July, as the forecast temperatures for the first nine days of the month here in the Arizona desert are 110, 111, 110, 110, 109, 108, 108, 108 and 110. Holy broiler, Batman. I feel awful for the feral cats and kittens. It will probably be mid-month before we get our first monsoon.

I have still been reading this month, at least. My current reads are "Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape" by Cal Flyn, "Television Horror Movie Hosts" by Elena Watson, and "Lurkers at the Threshold: 100 Ghost Tales from German Folklore" by Jürgen Hubert. An interesting mix! 

Check back for more here soon. Blog Assistant Pete is watching over my shoulder to keep me on track.

Postcrossing card from Japan with Noboru Baba art

One of my recent Postcrossing arrivals was this postcard from Ayumi, who works at a library in Saitama, Japan, and likes Moomins, lighthouses, quokkas and the tulip fields of the Netherlands.

The illustration is from a book by writer/illustrator Noboru Baba (1927–2001). He was an award-winner whose children's books include (these are the English translations): Mountain Man of Fox Wood, Eleven Hungry Cats, Eleven Cats and Albatrosses, Eleven Cats Run the Marathon, Māsuke the Bear and It Is Time for a Catnap. Of these, Eleven Hungry Cats is probably the most lastingly beloved; there are multiple online reviewers writing about how it was their favorite childhood book, or their own child's favorite book 

We have far more than eleven cats. Here are some of them napping. Maybe I should write a book about them.