Neon’s A Doll A Day… Again (2020)

[Lejays17]

The collection of Wonderful Weirdos is great, even if it's not what you were aiming for. You've got such a varied collection.

That pair of Cleo & Ghoulia is always spectacular when you photograph them. Ghoulia's hair is amazing in both the shots.

And this Frankie is so elegant, she's probably my favourite release of her.

[davidd]

"... the guardian of precious memories...."

What a sweet idea!

[neon_jellyfish]

Thank you, everyone!


Day 256

Migraintion got stuck, so I have another blurry mig pic today.

[werepuppy]

Ahh, sig Raven. I really have to admit, that first wave of EAH dolls was something kind of special at the time. There was so much detail and the outfits were so lovely...

[Lejays17]

These dolls were what got me sucked into doll collecting, so I do love them all. Even the hardly-articulated Daring.

Raven & Maddie (and Ginger) are my favourites.

[davidd]

That widow's peak in Raven's hair is marvelous, and has held its shape well over the years. Of course, Raven is truly an ageless, timeless beauty.

[Elfy]

I don’t really have a favourite EAH, although I think Hunter has a fairly cool outfit.

[neon_jellyfish]

Thank you very much, everyone!


Day 257

Another precious book! This one did appear a few times in my ADAD challenges. This one is specifically about history of bookbinding (while the previous one was also about book culture in general, in addition to bookbinding) in Europe (the previous one was focused on Czechia). This beautiful lady is 61 years old, one of my oldest books (there are many much, much older books in the family, but not in my private collection), and she's in a great shape. I was really lucky when I was hunting for her, it only took one try to find her online in a used book store on the other side of the country. The title translates as 'From history of bookbinding'.

Poor May got awfully over-ex³posed, I was so focused on making Monty visible that I forgot about her being dressed in white...

[werepuppy]

Awww this is such a great photo! I love how enchanted they all seem with the book.

[dargosmydaddy]

Adorable!

If I tried this pose, the book and all the dolls would collapse in a heap...

[davidd]

You have a fascinating specialty library!

And a cute crew of library assistants!

[Elfy]

That is an amazing book. With the doll perched on it and the ones around it, it could just about be an illustration or a cover for another book. I have a book in our library that is 85 years old, I'm going to have to dig it out and do a photo with it.

[neon_jellyfish]

Thank you very much, everyone!


Day 258

This book also appeared in my challenge threads in the past. It's more about book culture in general, not so much about the craft. Compared to the previous ones, this one is rather brief, but has a lot of photos and illustrations, so it's more beginner friendly. I didn't really need it, but I really wanted it, it's so pretty.

[davidd]

Ghoulia looks elegant and aloof here. Is she representative of the snobby superiority of "book culture"?

Do the majority of "book culture" people act snobby and superior?

Or am I thinking of #bookstagram people on Instagram? Which seems to be mostly about posting carefully designed book photos accompanied by self-deprecating captions with the not-so-veiled opposite meaning that "I am far more sophisticated and stylish than you could ever hope to be?"

What is "book culture"? A Google search for the term brings up three pages of nothing but stories about a pretentious New York City bookstore chain and some of their locations closing after not paying rent.

Anyway, Ghouls looks very Book Culture-ish to me in this pic. Or, she seems to convey the attitude that I generally attribute to book culture people.

Nice lighting. Intriguing photo... hence my lengthy rambling.

And you don't come across as a "book snob." So apparently my impression about "book culture" has exceptions. Some very nice exceptions.

Or would you consider yourself a student of book culture rather than a subject of book culture?

Intriguing topic. I wish to know more.

[neon_jellyfish]

Ghoulia looks elegant and aloof here. Is she representative of the snobby superiority of "book culture"?

Do the majority of "book culture" people act snobby and superior?

Or am I thinking of #bookstagram people on Instagram? Which seems to be mostly about posting carefully designed book photos accompanied by self-deprecating captions with the not-so-veiled opposite meaning that "I am far more sophisticated and stylish than you could ever hope to be?"

What is "book culture"? A Google search for the term brings up three pages of nothing but stories about a pretentious New York City bookstore chain and some of their locations closing after not paying rent.

Anyway, Ghouls looks very Book Culture-ish to me.

Nice lighting. Intriguing photo... hence my lengthy rambling.

Aaaaah! My Czengrish betrayed me! To be honest, I just used English words for the Czech term without thinking. Sorries!

....Aaaaaand I haven't found a proper translation

Book culture ("knižní kultura") in Czech is a term that takes everything that pertains to, well, books - from the earliest forms of writing to literature, books as physical objects, libraries, printing techniques; anything that has something to do with books - and views it as one complex phenomenon, with its history and current trends, its impact on society, and so on, and so forth. Because all these things influence each other, and learning about it and then seeing it all change all the other things we as humans do is infinitely fascinating!

For example, ancient Slavic tradition was strictly oral, so it's lost forever (because the records written by christian monks several centuries after these traditions were lost aren't entirely accurate), or at least until we invent time-travel without dislocating our brains and stomachs in the process. I hate my ancestors' stupid life choices! Luckily, not all humanity did that, and many writing systems were invented. First, we were limited to solid things to inscribe our writings into, mostly stone, and that meant we had to be picky with what we want to write down.

Then we invented new materials, namely paper, so we could wrtie down more things and in much easier ways, and we were also coming up with ways to store all these materials covered with writing in safer and well arranged froms - books. Then we invented libraries to keep them even more safe and gathered conveniently in one place. But it still could be lost quite easily, because there was only one of each book, or only very few copies, so all it took was one fire (eventhough The Great Library of Alexandria didn't actually completely perish in that one fire, there were several started by unrelated people, but yeah, J.C's whoopsie bonfire was the worst one) and it was gone forever.

Then came the press print, and we could have many copies for cheap, so we could preserve even more art and knowledge and gradually make it accessible to pretty much everyone, and we eventually got to a point where we don't just store knowledge and art, but also romantic dramas with toxic relationships and harmful behavior being presented as not only acceptable, but downright desirable (fifty shades or twilight? who knows...), and that's actually a great thing! Sure it may lead to some bad 'literature', but that's not a bad price for having an option to keep people's ideas of all kinds so that these ideas (and, in a way, we) are not completely lost for the people who'll come long after us (stupid ancestors! would it be that hard to leave us a note or two?!)

And there are so many other aspects of this whole book culture thingie to be discussed, but this is already getting too long!

And every time we came up with an improvement to the process of getting our thoughts out of our heads and giving them a lasting and accessible form, more people got access to education. More people started thinking and feeling the need to get their thoughts out of their heads and invented even better, more durable and more accessible forms. And then even more people got access to education, and for once, the circle wasn't vicious, but blessed! Too bad that there are other things than book culture, like political movements, that use the same routes to indoctrinate people instead of educating them, and prevent them from thinking for themselves instead of encouraging them. But that's a topic for another day.

So basically, knižní kultura (how does English not have a word for this, there must be one, I shall hunt for it some more) is a field that studies what is written down how on what made how and of what materials, how it is multiplied and distributed, how and where it's stored and how does it all impact what we are and how we do stuff.

...OK, I did that on purpose... Did I break some sort of record for most whats and hows in one anacoluthon? I hope so...

Ahem. ...that studies how books, from what is written in them to how they're made and how we can access them, developed and changed with time and how they influence many, if not all, aspects of humanity's existence.

As for Ghoulia, I was going for smart, not snobby, I'll have to try harder next time.

While book culture doesn't mean instasnobs, they are a small part of it, demonstrating one particular type of impact books have on human thinking. Books were always a great way to be a snob. With how ex!pensive and rare they used to be before press printing, they were perfect to show off one's wealth. There were quite a few medieval book collectors who never learned to read, they only had books to show that they can afford them, because they were heirs of this or that noble family. Nowadays, it's more about pretending to be smart, but I believe the core of book-snobship hasn't really changed. Whether it's showing off money, assumed prowess in any field the book in question covers, refined taste in art and literature, or being such a pro in your vocation that you have all the accessible literature bound in leather and displayed in your office (without ever really reading it), books cover it all! Literally! Teehee, I'm a funny one, ain't I?

So yeah, book culture. I love it.

Edit: UNHOLY CRAP THIS IS LONG!!!  I was typing it in 'quick reply', so I didn't realize I was babbling so much! My apologies!

Edit 2 to answer question davidd asked in his edit while I was typing my heart out : I'd say that, considering the wall-o'-rant above, I'm both a student and a subject of book culture.

Edit #3 - ∞: Adding missing letters one by one to what without a doubt is the next Pulitzer Prize-winning essay about the importance of getting letters written down.