We may not all remember them from childhood, but we surely recognize them from obsolete school library shelves or thrift stores. Veritable treasure troves of arcane knowledge and, thankfully, cool full color illustrations. They are of course, the Golden Book Encyclopedias.
I'm a sucker, a total sucker, for this kind of drawing of rock strata. When I'm in the desert, or anywhere that bedrock is exposed, I imagine myself standing atop a chart like this. Unfortunately (and surprisingly), the illustrator is not credited. It may be a fellow named Cornelius de Witt, but the style doesn't quite match his drawings of the human body, featured in a nifty post at the blog Ward-o-Matic.
To my eye, the drawings betray a Charles Knight influence. I imagine that for many of these illustrators, slaving away for children's reference books, it was par for the course to base their art on existing illustrations, rather than go through the trouble of studying the anatomy on their own.
To my eye, the drawings betray a Charles Knight influence. I imagine that for many of these illustrators, slaving away for children's reference books, it was par for the course to base their art on existing illustrations, rather than go through the trouble of studying the anatomy on their own.
The Allosaurus is by far my favorite. There's a certain canine quality to him, as if he's waiting for his master to throw a stick to fetch. If anyone has more information on the true artist behind these dinosaurs, please let me know!
These are great. I love the expression of the tyrannosaurus :)
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