Dogs are our oldest friends. When a wolf first came to crouch by our fire, cats were wild beasts searching out their own prey, and horses still ran at the first sniff of our approach. Welleran Poltarnees has a lifelong love for dogs, and here in this book he distills his love for them into words. He praises them for their unwavering love, their ready sympathy, their fresh delight in simple pleasures, and their sometimes unconscious humor. He has made each statement more resonant by the addition of pictures, frequently from obscure sources.

This book was inspired by the great era of the American magazine-roughly 1910 to 1960-a time when most homes subscribed to at least several magazines.

The December/Christmas issue was often the bestseller of the year; holiday covers demanded a publisher’s best efforts and the results are evident. December was not a month for experimentation or weak execution, or a less than stellar artist. The covers collected here are both visually excellent and a précis of American Christmas custom.

The 95 covers included are gathered in nine thematic sections:

Looking Forward to Christmas
Christmas Shopping
Decorating the Home
The Christmas Tree
Santa Claus
Gift Giving
Gift Receiving
The Joy Of Christmas
The Birthday of the Christ Child
Miscellaneous Themes

One of the most frequent occasions for gift giving is a token of thanks for hospitality received. While flowers or a bottle of wine are frequent choices, this book offers a splendid alternative. It was written and designed with this specific intention, and speaks of various aspects of hospitality—the atmosphere, conversation, refreshments, shared laughter, and so on.

Welleran Poltarnees has the gift for finding the words and images for universal situations, and that gift has never been more fully present than in this volume.

The illustrations for every page are by the French painter Henri Le Sidaner. His talent is to show homes that radiate warmth and beauty. People are never shown’ which gives the images a timeless applicability.

We think this is the ideal hospitality gift, being both ideally pertinent and visually attractive.

This volume is intended as a birthday gift. Poltarnees, as he has demonstrated in our other Blessing Books, has a talent for discovering the universal truths underlying each situation. His good thoughts fit people of all ages, and in all conditions of life. He also has a gift for expressing the things which we all think, but cannot find the words to say.

In the front of this book there is a page intended for a personal inscription.

A Birthday Blessing begins "To mark the Anniversary of your birth, I send you this blessing…" and continues blessing the friendship between giver and receiver, celebrating the continuing life journey of the recipient.

Welleran Poltarnees believes in the old adage "Count your blessings." His books help people to affirm the blessings of life, to share a loving thought with their friends and family. Poltarnees envisions his books as being like pebbles dropped in a still pond, their rings emanating ever outward, those blessed, in turn, blessing others, who bless yet again.

For many years customers have requested smaller, less expensive editions of our most popular gift titles, and we are happy to announce that we have obliged. A small book has a special charm; it may be slipped into a pocket or a purse with ease. Small Blessings will make welcome gifts for those occasions when a small but lovely token is appropriate.

In this book a baby is blessed in its coming, its blind infancy, its awakening sight and its growth toward laughter, mobility and speech. It uses old paintings and illustrations to make vivid each statement. Poltarnees speaks eloquently the sweet hopes we have for every baby. This blessing in book form makes a superb gift to any new parents and their baby.

A baby blessing is one of the rightest of all blessings – for a child comes fresh into our realm, all possibilities spread before it, and so our hopes and wishes have fullest opportunity for scope and effect. oltarnees believes that the more specific a blessing, the better it is. Further, he thinks that writing it down, setting it in type and printing it increases the power. Finally, he asserts that the addition of images adds the force of manifestation to the thoughts. This volume is the result of these insights.

Those of us who share our lives with animals whose time on earth is shorter than ours must at sometime cope with the pain of losing these friends to death.

From her own experience and from the accounts of other animal owners, Alexandra Day has come to feel that animals who have departed this world want to send a message of reassurance, comfort and sympathy to their beloved human friends.

Alexandra Day, the author and artist of the Good Dog, Carl series has paired her message of love and remembrance with an array of images featuring animals and their human companions.

"Our lives are profoundly enriched by animals. Our pets unselfishly give us their unconditional love and trust. But all too soon, we must face the death of our short-lived companions. As a specialist in treating pet dogs with life-threatening cancers, I have many times witnessed the enduring bond between owner and beloved pet and the grieving that accompanies the loss of an animal friend. In this book, Alexandra Day skillfully combines words and images to send us an important message from our dearly departed animal companions. Even though we cannot cure our animal friends of their every ill, we can keep them alive in our hearts. It is a comforting proposition that, even in death, their perfect love still surrounds us as we continue on our journey. Most of us have difficulty articulating our feeing to those who are grieving for a lost loved one. This book very eloquently speaks to anyone who has been moved by the loss of an animal friend. The reader cannot escape being affected by this wonderful book which evokes a sense of peaceful reflection that is therapeutic for the soul."
-From the back cover note by David J. Waters, DVM, PhD, Director, PATH to Progress

This is a book created to be given. At its center is a poem by Charles Snell which was written for, and published in, 1914 as a small gift book. In it the giver, in a series of concrete images, extends the recipient many good wishes.

"This Is My Wish for You" is in the tradition of ancient blessings, in which one tries, through the power of language, to throw a mantle of protection and beneficence over the receiver.

In our volume, the text is presented within borders made by Daniel Maclise for a book entitled "Moore’s Irish Melodies", published in 1846. We have selected images to accompany each wish. These are made by a great variety of painters and illustrators, and range over more than 150 years.

We assert, without exaggeration, that this is the nearly perfect gift book.

In this book a baby is blessed in its coming, its blind infancy, its awakening sight and its growth toward laughter, mobility and speech. It uses old paintings and illustrations to make vivid each statement. Poltarnees speaks eloquently the sweet hopes we have for every baby. This blessing in book form makes a superb gift to any new parents and their baby.

A baby blessing is one of the rightest of all blessings – for a child comes fresh into our realm, all possibilities spread before it, and so our hopes and wishes have fullest opportunity for scope and effect. Poltarnees believes that the more specific a blessing, the better it is. Further, he thinks that writing it down, setting it in type and printing it increases the power. Finally, he asserts that the addition of images adds the force of manifestation to the thoughts. This volume is the result of these insights.

This book is a celebration in words and pictures of hugs and kisses. Drawing up on a vast library of images, the editor has woven a kind of poem; one that fuses what we read and what we see into an homage to the beauty of love and physical affection. We see couples kissing at masquerade balls, on the beach, on a hill above Paris, in a car, in the mountains, at a cafe, at a dance, etc.; tableaux that
confirm the need of lovers to kiss anywhere, at any time.

"Hugs and Kisses"’ images are drawn from vintage postcards, magazine illustrations, posters fine art, antiquarian children’s books and more, and paired with apropos words to form a montage on these simple physical manifestations of love.

This will make a fine gift for someone you love.

Our most popular author, Welleran Poltarnees, is the father of 7 children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren and considers himself an expert on the subject of babies. "Hooray for Babies" consists of many small sections, each dedicated to one of the many admirable infant qualities, including smiles, playfulness, curiosity, love of simple things and more. Poltarnees, our master of finding the right image for every thought, has reached in many directions for the illustrations, including children’s books, classic painting, and vintage calendars and advertisements. The result is adorable, but not cloying, and would make a delightful shower or new baby gift.

A light-hearted book in praise of cats, richly illustrated.

Alexandra Day’s captivating "Hooray for Dogs" (2008) was so warmly received that we decided that the cat lovers of the world should have their say. Our most popular author, Welleran Poltarnees, volunteered for the job. He has shared his long adult life with a series of gray male cats, all named Charles. "Hooray for Cats" consists of many small sections, each dedicated to one of the many admirable feline traits, inlcuding playfulness, grace, secretiveness, sympathy, dignity, self-reliance and mischievousness. Poltarnees, our master of finding the right image for every thought, has reached in many directions for the illustrations, including childrens books, classic painting, and vintage calendars and advertisements. The result is a feast for cat-lovers.

A light-hearted collection of pictures, observations, poems and insights about dogs as human companions.

Alexandra Day is the creator of the "Good Dog ,Carl" series of children’s books, and in the 22 years she has spent inventing the stories for her books, studying her dog models and then illustrating them, she has learned much about these, our best animal friends. She has also reviewed the great dog paintings and acquainted herself with hundreds of books about dogs.

The result is this potpourri, which will delight the dog lover and intrigue the casual browser. This collection, being the product of loving study, well conveys the affection we humans have for our dogs, and they for us.

An illustrated version of O. Henry’s classic and touching story about generosity, with superb pictures.

We suggest this little book as a slight, but perfect, Christmas book. It tells of the mutual love and self-sacrifice of a young married couple. It is about the best kind of gift giving, and of course, takes its title from the first Christmas gift givers, the three Magi, or wise men.

We illustrate the story with delicate line drawings by Stephen Gooden, published in 1939.

A book designed as a gift from any grandparent to any grandchild.

All of us with grandchildren have the desire to share with them the wisdom that we have distilled from our own lives and to offer them this accompanied by loving wishes. Few of us can find the occasion or the words to make this gift. Welleran Poltarnees has the ability to say what we find it difficult to say, to find the right words to say it and, furthermore, the resources to beautifully illustrate each thought.

Poltarnees, a grandfather himself, embodies his wishes for grandchildren in concrete images – trees in springtime to remind one of life’s endless renewal, a flight of birds to represent the glory of freedom, and so on – a gift of beauty and optimism.

For many years customers have requested smaller, less expensive editions of our most popular gift titles, and we are happy to announce that we have obliged. A small book has a special charm; it may be slipped into a pocket or a purse with ease. Small Blessings will make welcome gifts for those occasions when a small but lovely token is appropriate.

Frequently one wishes to say to another, "I wish you the best of everything." This book delivers this message with power and sincerity. Welleran Poltarnees has taken Snell’s text and selected a painting or illustration for each wish, giving additional life to an already marvelous text.

We assert, without exaggeration, that this is the nearly perfect gift book.

This is a book created to be given. At its center is a poem by Charles Snell which was written for, and published in, 1914 as a small gift book. In it the giver, in a series of concrete images, extends the recipient many good wishes.

In our volume, Snell’s words are presented within borders made by Daniel Maclise for a book entitled Moore’s Irish Melodies, published in 1846. We have selected images to accompany each wish. These are made by a great variety of painters and illustrators, and range over more than 150 years.

This Is My Wish for You is in the tradition of ancient blessings, in which one tries, through the power of language, to throw a mantle of protection and beneficence over the receiver.