How FILM NOIR GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT

I didn't want to go to sleep last night. I felt like it would be wasted hours. I ended up spending hours with this book, The Art of Noir by Eddie Muller. A beautiful book full of four- color images of vintage noir movie posters.

The book was originally published in 2004 so you know it must be pretty good to still be in print. You don't have to go looking for used copies.

If you have a love of film noir, vintage illustration and posters, hand lettering, oh heck...Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Dick Powell, Betty Davis, Ray Milland and on and on and on. Simply stunning sumptuous images.

I've put a link to the left in the Amazon column where you can see more images from the book. I add these below just to give you an idea of how stunning it is.

Time will pass and you'll find yourself lost in it. Each page brings a new and stunning piece of ephemera that fortunately was not destroyed as the theater owners had been originally told to do.

And don't think you're getting a small format book. This book is a very nice trim of 10.6" x 14.3", 271 pages. A coffee table book that should come with it's own table because you'll just want to leave it open so you can stand back and take it all in.

A NEW YEAR With a Couple of Recommendations

Now that we're officially out of the season, though my tree is still up and looking beautiful, it's time to move away from festive ephemera or anything pertaining to the holidays. You'll soon find I'm reneging on this.

This post is about two books you might be interested in, both with links to Amazon in the left column where you can see pages from their interiors and read reviews. One about ephemera, the other about being an artist.

Breathless Homicidal Slime Mutants by Steven Brower. Okay, I actually think they could have chosen a better title because this is simply too "hip" for a lot of people. It doesn't really give you an idea of the wonders between the covers. If you like collecting vintage paperbacks this is the latest book to provide a quick fix. Page after page of wonderful, odd, and salacious covers of all genres. Mysteries, science fiction, westerns, romance, even the classics, and so much more are covered. I was pleased to find a few books I actually own including this one below, I Want to Live.

A movie tie-in book for a film noir starring Susan Hayward for which she won an Academy Award. Want to see the movie? Turner Classics will be showing it on January 16th, check your schedule for the exact time.

Now, the second book is a complete opposite. Signed, Abiah Rose is a wonderful children's book that my friend, who is an illustrator, gave to me for Christmas (told you I wouldn't let the holiday go in this post). An edition signed by the author Diane Browning. A tale of a young girl in the 18th century who wishes to be an artist. Though allowed by her father to paint, she is discouraged from signing her work, her mother telling her it would be "prideful." Oh my how times have changed. Abiah chooses to quietly sign her work with a rose. How many traveling artists from long ago were women hiding their identity? A beautifully illustrated book with an uplifting story. Do check out her blog at http://www.dianebrowningillustrations.com/.

As I said, totally different subject matter, but each book well worth owning.

FILM NOIR mouthwash

The use of fear to sell things has always been around. Sellers are always toying with the psyche of their buyers. This ad, from 1933, just seems to ramp it up. Maybe it's just me, but this looks like a photo you'd expect to see on an old film noir movie poster. This fellow has more than a sore throat to worry about. This fellow is about to die. I don't know who killed him, but it wasn't germs.

Click on the image to see it larger.