i don't remember which blog i was reading where i first saw images from modern embroidery by ike rosen. but i knew right away that this was a book i just had to have. so of course i turned to ebay but there were no copies available. so then i went to my second and third places to search (amazon and alibris) and copies were going for over $200. i wanted it but not that bad and wondered why so expensive? i found no information on ike rosen either (and now that i have the book there is no info on ike in there either). it appears to be an english language reprint of a german book.
anyway, i did find a much less expensive copy. of course it's in bad shape (looks like it had been soaking in water) but the price was right. the original price marked on the book was $140 (!!) which must have been before it ended up in standing water. so i ignored the musty smell and scanned quite a few of the images to share with you over the next couple of weeks. yes i am breaking my own rule here. i always try to be a good photo editor and just blog an image or 2 from a book in my collection. but this one is just too special and hard to find (which i am still trying to figure out why).
the projects in modern embroidery were done using the stem-stitch for the border and filled in with chain-stitch. this is my favorite type of embroidery. and the styling in some of the shots is just amazing. so please stay tuned for the next couple of weeks.
(image from modern embroidery by ike rosen, published by charles scribner's and sons, new york, 1972)
GORGEOUS! Sigh.
Posted by: lu | April 07, 2010 at 01:37 PM
I'm freaking out over how awesome those are!
Posted by: Heidi | April 07, 2010 at 03:46 PM
Hi
I btw <3 your blog! So funny I got this book a few weeks ago for $7 but don't remember which online bookseller.
I blog weekly posts for Hand Embroidery Network and review vintage embroidery books and this is by far my absolute fav!! As u said the photography, style and designs r to die 4!!!!!! I look forward to your posts always u inspiring me so since my passion (one of them) is vintage craft books!!
Stitch ON Grrl
BTW on HEN we r doing a vintage embroidery book giveaway!
Posted by: Shanti Johnson | April 07, 2010 at 04:11 PM
Lovely. My local library has this book, as well as a lot of other craft books from the '60s & '70s. Such a treasure trove! I never tire of these images.
Posted by: Christina Cathcart | April 07, 2010 at 05:12 PM
Thank you so much for breaking your own rule. The images and work are so stunning.
Posted by: dawn | April 09, 2010 at 05:38 PM
Thanks very much for the stunning images of 1970s embroidery. Any craft based work is often scathingly dismissed from this era, but these images show that is just not so. I look forward to more and I just wish that I owned a copy of the book!
Posted by: john hopper | April 11, 2010 at 07:21 AM