Neon’s A Doll A Day… Again (2020)

[Elfy]

The twins also look so delightfully spooky and, as all good twins are, totally in sync.

[neon_jellyfish]

Thank you very much, everyone!


Day 250

My sweet librarian is showing off one of my super-precious books - it's a book about history of bookbinding (and book culture in general) in Czechia. It's long out of print and I had to hunt for it in many second-hand bookshops, but I was successful and I'm proud to have it!

[werepuppy]

Ooh this is a wonderful photo. The book looks so interesting and your librarian looks so proud to have it.

[davidd]

Lovely portrait, indeed.

And a truly unusual, and very specialized, book! Which brings to mind two questions:

1. Have you read it (or parts of it, or most of it)?

2. What prompted your interest in such a niche topic?

Okay, three questions:

3. How did you learn that such a specialized tome even existed?

[Alliecat]

How fun to find a book you have hunted for through used book shops. Like finding hidden treasure. Your librarian is very pretty.

[Elfy]

Both the doll and the book are very attractive.

[Lejays17]

I love the cover of the book - and the librarian is very proud that you (she) hunted it down to add to the collection.

[neon_jellyfish]

Ooh this is a wonderful photo. The book looks so interesting and your librarian looks so proud to have it.

Thank you! It's a great book, if you're into that kind of topic.

Lovely portrait, indeed.

And a truly unusual, and very specialized, book! Which brings to mind two questions:

1. Have you read it (or parts of it, or most of it)?

2. What prompted your interest in such a niche topic?

Okay, three questions:

3. How did you learn that such a specialized tome even existed?

Thank you!

To answer your questions in a somewhat "suddenly, it's Neon's life story!" style - I went to an art high school, and for my final exam (we have overall results and final exams on top of that), I had to, among other things, make illustrations for a story of my choice and bind it all into a book. I always loved books, so it really clicked with me and I chose bookbinding as my major when I went to art college. Then it turned out I lack what nowadays constitutes talent for art, flunked out (honestly, I wasn't even trying to stay there, I lost all my motivation) and went on to get a totally useless bachelor degree from a totally useless uni in a completely different field.

My college's library had practically zero literature on bookbinding, eventhough it had a whole major dedicated to it, and city library only had a few books and waitlists for those were pretty much infinite. So I set out to put together my own little private collection. I was, and still am, very proud of it, and I got a lot of As thanks to actually having literature to research. I've read this book, but not in one go, it was chapter here, chapter there, depending on what I needed to learn. I don't remember much of it, to be honest, because it goes into insane levels of detail. It's a really good book.

Even after leaving the college, I still love bookbinding (I still have some equipment, but not space, I hope to renew my 'workshop' one day) and books in general, so I kept everything. Actually, if there's a fire, I'm getting kitty to safety, and then I'm running back into the flames to save these books (and dolls, of course), because a lot of them aren't in print anymore and are increasingly harder to find, and I'm very attached to them. Heeyyyy, maybe I could do a series of photos with my book treasures...

I hope that answers your questions!

How fun to find a book you have hunted for through used book shops. Like finding hidden treasure. Your librarian is very pretty.

Thank you! It was fun, and the hunt resulted in finding other unex²pected hidden treasures along the way, in form of books I wasn't originally looking for but I'm really happy to have, and for a great price! For example specific translations of Bulgakov, I only read translations of his work from one person, the other ones, while also good, just don't scratch that itch. A weird quirk to have, isn't it...

Both the doll and the book are very attractive.

Thank you!

I love the cover of the book - and the librarian is very proud that you (she) hunted it down to add to the collection.

Thank you! The cover of the book is a page from medieval Czech translation of Guido delle Colonne's Historia destructionis Troiae. I can only read it with a lot of troubles and a lot of confused staring, and my understanding of it is limited, the language really changed a lot since then. It was one of the first printed books in Czech Kingdom.


Day 251

It's been a while since I last took a photo of this girl.



Original:

[werepuppy]

Ahhh, collectors La La has such a fierce and regal look to her, it's so easy to see her as a completely different character. I love the vintage picture.

[davidd]

"Historical" Ulla-D seems like a great follow-up to the historical bookbinding book post. She seems somehow forever youthful, yet ancient... which is a relatively common vampirish trait, I suppose, but still, she does it well.

And the combination "life history" and "bookbinding books history" was absolutely fascinating! A mini-chapter from your mini-autobiography, well told in an informative and entertaining manner. Thank you for this glimpse in to the World of Neon Jellyfish.

Of course, another question arises: what was your eventual major for your totally useless bachelor's degree from a totally useless university? (You see, I can relate to aspects of this story...).

I hope you are able to move to a larger living space soon, one with room to restore your bookbinding workshop and art studio... as well as for dolly and diorama crafting!

[Alliecat]

Oh, yes, you should do a series with your book treasures. There is/was a wonderful old used-book shop in Halifax, stuffed to the gunnels with everything, including, being a port city, an appropriately diverse nautical section. I'm sure there were many treasures. I went in each time I was in Halifax, but I think I recall reading the city was shutting him down as a fire hazard or something, because the piles were so out of control.
I hope bookbinding doesn't become a lost art in our digital world. I had a little family Bible restored by a bookbinder in Montreal once -- the transformation was truly amazing. Do you do any bookbinding of your own these days?
Nice floaty-in-the-dark photo.

[Elfy]

Never seen Lala looking displeased, but she has that look here.

[neon_jellyfish]

Day 252

ADAW #35
Migraine doodle. I'll reply to your posts tomorrow.

[werepuppy]

Aww, the doodle is so funny but a bit sad too. Poor Dracula unable to go out in the sun. Elissabat looks wonderful mimicking it.

[davidd]

What an adorably cute and funny drawing! Beautiful monochrome shading.

And the pic with Elissa, emulating her little storybook friend, is cute and clever and fun!