Mermaids (Magical Beings) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Ratisseau (Author)

Book Description

Series: Magical Beings | Publication Date: October 1, 1999

Our volume is a compilation of succinct and insightful extracts from the literature of mermaids, and also some of our favorite images of mermaids. The pictures are by a variety of painters (including Waterhouse, Bocklin, and Burne-Jones) and book illustrators (including Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and W. Heath Robinson).

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

This is a book created to be given. At its center is a peom bt Charles Snell which was written for, and Published in, 1914 as a small gift book. In it the giver, in a series of concrete images, extends the recipient many good wishes.

In our volume, Snell's words are presented within borders made by Daniel Maclise for a book entitles Moore's Irish Melodies, published in 1846.

We have selected images to accompany each wish. These are made by a great variety of painters and illustrators, and range over more than 150 years.

This Is My Wish for You is in the tradition of ancient blessings, in which one tries, through the power of language, to throw a mantle of protection and beneficence over the receiver.

About the Author

Charles Livingston Snell was one of a group of talented authors and artists who created books for the P.F. Volland Company in the first two decades of our century. This publishing house specialized in gift and children's books, and was very successful in creating distinctive books with wide appeal.

Harold Darling is a specialist in the power and resonance of printed images. He is especially interested in old children's books, paintings by obscure artists, and printed ephemera. His published books include Image and Maker (1984) and Bon Voyage: Souvenirs of the Golden Age of Travel (1990).

Daniel Maclise (1806-1870) was a successful historical and portrait painter. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1840. From 1830 onward he emphasized book illustration. He drew meticulously with a lithographic pen. Among his best known books are: Fairy Legends (1826), Dickens' A Cricket on the Hearth (1845), and Moxon's Tennyson (1857).

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Laughing Elephant (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188321114X
• ISBN-13: 978-1883211141
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You're Looking for Facts, Check the Britannica, November 28, 2001

By 

Terrie (Little Chute, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mermaids (Magical Beings) (Hardcover)

This slim, beautiful little volume is very satisfying if you are looking to enjoy the beauty of mermaids. It does not have a lot of "facts" but why would you be searching for facts about mermaids when they inhabit the nebulous realm of magic? This book contains 49 full color illustrations of mermaids, some of the more famous ones like Waterhouse's and Pyle's are included, but so are many that you probably will not have seen before. Ratisseau is a brilliant compiler and she has outdone herself here with super research and a flair for the subject. The text consists of many wonderful quotes, again, some famous and some obscure. The page lay-outs are tasty and most of the illustrations have a luminous sea-blue border around them, all printed on quality paper and perfect for gift-giving or for treating yourself.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book, July 31, 2000

By 

Sea Air - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mermaids (Magical Beings) (Hardcover)

This has to be one the most drop-dead-gorgeous books I've seen. The pages have a luxuriant blue luster, and the illustrations--many of which I had not seen before--have been remarkably chosen. The literary excerpts, including words of Shakespeare, Wilde, Yeats, are the sort that you would underline while reading those works, for their sheer beauty. Note that this is not a scholarly work and teaches nothing of the history of mermaids. However, it gives an impression, overall, of the sadness and beauty of the mermaid experience.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful collaberation of mermaid pictures, September 28, 2002

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mermaids (Magical Beings) (Hardcover)

I was so pleased when I looked inside this book. This book includes beautiful pictures of mermaids as well as interesting sayings, information, and poems about mermaids. The pictures weren't just cute drawings but paintings, excerpts from magazines, pictures from storybooks, and medieval drawings of mermaids. I am a mermaid lover and only like the best of mermaid books. This is book is one of the best. I recommend this book to anyone who loves mermaids.