Customer Reviews

Christmasland

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ralph Del Pozzo and David High take readers back to Christmas past in their book, CHRISTMASLAND. The book contains a charming display of vintage Christmas figurine decorations that probably date back to the 1940s to 1960s as well as commentary from the authors. Del Pozzo and High share little tidbits of popular Christmas history that reference origins of the most familiar figures and traditions that occur during holiday -- Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, Frosty the snowman, the artificial Christmas tree, candy canes, and many others.

Del Pozzo and High show their creative expertise in the fields of photography and design to conjure up the joys of Christmas past. With creativity, they recreate and bring to life a miniature winter wonderland, which magically displays ornamental objects that usually were not meant to be set up in a play-like fashion, but may have been displayed in a shadow box or on the kitchen table -- a snowman salt 'n' pepper shaker and collectible reindeers that were originally attached to a cardboard promotional recording disc of the Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer song. The figurines may have also fit perfectly with a train set village. And the most interesting aspect about the book is that most of the items exhibited in the book come from Del Pozzo's and High's personal collections, which they have accumulated throughout the years from childhood to the present.

CHRISTMASLAND will enchant the child in everyone. There's a chunk full of elves, angels, nativity figures and church steeples, and Old Saint Nick in different forms for all to enjoy. So, for those who remember the old five and dime stores, most of the items displayed in the book will and bring back memories of Christmas past.

Have yourself a modernist little Christmas seems to be the message from this book. The one hundred and twenty-eight (unnumbered) pages reveal a whole lot of close-ups of individual figurines, bottle-brush trees and a few whole page bits of packaging of, for example, hanging mistletoe, tree lights and tree decorations.

The contents are from the authors personal collection but judging from what is on display in the photos they must have a rather small collection. The book's title suggests, to me at least, that inside would be a wee village or two created from historical or contemporary yuletide decorations, plenty of fake snow stretching to the out-of-focus horizon. The photos would capture this tableau from above, close-ups, shots through windows showing a bright interiors and plenty of bright, colorful Christmas imagery. Unfortunately there are page after page of extreme close-ups of single figurines resting on fake snow.

The enchantment of the festive season is an obvious photographic subject but this Christmasland seems very thin on sparkle. Worth searching out is Santa Claus a book bursting with photos of Mr C that does, I feel, capture the occasion.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

The pictures are beautifully done, but most all of them have only one collectible in each picture. The front cover led me to believe the book would contain photos of Christmas villages or settings, not individual santas or angels. I walked away from the book feeling like it was just a small sampling, not enough to do a whole book on.

After reading the previous reviews, I feel required to defend the authors. They never SAID that it was a comprehensive pictorial of Christmas ornaments and decorations. The objects photographed are things that have meaning to THEM, and are either part of their own collections or are things that they had when younger that evoke memories of their childhoods. I felt the same when I looked at the interestingly lighted and composed photos. Some of the ornaments are straight off of my grandmother's piano! A coffee table book, which is what this is, is entitled and should reflect a sampling of the subject matter. My mother would have loved seeing this book!

If you like flickr.....and vintage elves and snowmen and angels.....for the used price of $.73 it's a steal.....if you are looking for some great book on vintage Christmas, it's not for you. it's simple and fun and the photos are a joy to look thru..