Chickering's Vintage Postcard Contest Win a $15 gift certificate. Winner will be announced on June 30th 2006. Any item bought and paid for in the months of May and June 2006 will be entered into Chickering's Contest. Good luck!
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - Chickering's has just finished putting in the store John Cecil Clay's twelve months of the year Fantasy Flower Face prints.
These gorgeous and hard to find color plate prints are from his "Cupid's Almanac" of 1908.
John Cecil Clay utilizes exquisite Art Nouveau style in these two sided prints. For $39.99, the buyer is offered a two sided print of fantasy face art and another print of Victorian calendar or engagement page with Cupid sayings for the special month of the year and the text of that months "Hearticulture" advise.
The word play and the imaginative artwork in these prints is truly a fantasy lovers dream. For example, he has lily of the valley policemen flowers, gossip flowers, jockey riding horses with whip flowers.
The word play in the genus species names and descriptions are hilarious. The Valentine Flower, (Lovelornia Desperatia), The Porch Climber or Second Story Vine (with Pistols-firearms- not Pistils on the cap of the flower, The Proposal Plant (Heartis Throbolae), Loveyoulia Family are just a few of wonderful and imaginative flower names by John Cecil Clay.
John Cecil Clay was born on April 2, 1875 in Roceverte, West Virginia. He studied art in New York and specialized in pastel sketches of New York's famous theater and political figures.
Clay also did newspaper and magazine illustration, including over 100 illustrations for Life magazine from 1902-1907, 12 of these were cover illustrations. Almost all of his work deals with romantic subjects.
Clay worked with Oliver Herford on several books from 1908 to 1917, "Cupid's Almanac is one of these fabulous books.
Suffering a stroke in his forties, he was no longer able to work on his art and died May 24, 1930.
Stop by the store and enjoy browsing through the artwork, and if you see something you like and decide to buy it, you will be entered into our $15.00 gift certificate contest. Winner will be announced on June 30th 2006.
