7.04.2010

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans. To celebrate, here are some independence-related scans from a couple of wonderful Fireside song books, each filled with amazing illustrations by some incredibly talented people.

The first selections will be from Fireside Book of Favorite American Songs, selected and edited by Margaret Bradford Boni. Arranged for the piano by Forman Lloyd. Illustrations by Aurelius Battaglia. © Simon and Schuster, 1952:

Hail Columbia
Hail Columbia

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The Liberty Song
The Liberty Song


Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle


Chester
Chester


Next spread is from From Fireside Book of Folk Songs, selected and edited by Margaret Bradford Boni. Arranged for the piano by Norman Lloyd. Illustration by Alice and Martin Provensen. © Simon and Schuster, 1947.

The Star Spangled Banner
The Star Spangled Banner

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The last is not from a song book, but from the cover to a 45 vinyl record:

American Songs To Sing
American Songs To Sing, complied by Judy Wathen. Illustration & design by Abner Graboff. © Scholastic Records, 1976. As many of you know, I featured Abner's work last year when I was able to interview his son, John. This record belongs to one of our buddies here in Portland—I HAD to borrow it to scan so I could share it with you guys.

Okay, that's it! Hope you enjoyed this little bit of liberty-minded inspiration for this 4th of July! Have a great holiday!

Aurelius Battaglia featured in my Flickr.
The First Noel by Alice and Martin Provensen.
Abner Graboff featured in my Flickr.

2 comments:

  1. Happy 4th right back at you! Those are sweet illos!

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  2. These are beautiful illustrations! Thank you for posting. I'm researching Columbia and so I found your page. I had the good fortune of growing up in Westport, Connecticut when it still was an artist's colony. There were many stamps on display at the local post office designed and illustrated by locals. The two which stand out in my mind are Leonard Everett Fisher and the late Steven Dohanos. It was cool and inspiring to me as an artist. Thanks again!
    Francis Smith
    www.portraitofprogress.com (under construction to say the least--just purchased yesterday)

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