A gathering of colorful costumes from old pattern books, to inspire those looking for ideas for Halloween, New Years or any other occasion for a costume party

The custom of dressing-up in a disguise of one kind or another for balls, parties, or other celebrations is not only an ancient custom, but one that has deep roots in our minds. It provides an opportunity to live our dreams, to realize our wilder aspirations. One is, when costumed, a different being.

We have drawn from our large fashion collection some especially attractive costume plates. They are from classic French and continental fashion magazines of the 1920s to 1950s. This volume is inspirational, not instructional, though most of the costumes are readily imitated.

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

In 2008 we published Alexandra Day’s captivating Hooray For Dogs. It was so warmly received that we decided that cat lovers of the world should have their say as well. 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, including 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 children’s books, classic painting, and vintage calendars and advertisements. The result is a feast for cat lovers.

A richly illustrated gift book for a bride and groom.

In 1997 we published A Bridal Blessing, which has sold more than 100,000 copies. From the first we have heard from many who said that as much as they admired the book, they wished we had not focused exclusively on the bride, but had blessed more widely, especially remembering the groom. We finally acknowledge this neeed, and here offer an inclusive celebration of a marriage.

A blessing is defined as “a wish, expressed in words, that stated good things occor.” Welleran Poltarnees has become a master of the book-length blessing. His careful prose, his sense of essentials, and his ability to find the right picture to give the words additional power make volumes that are perfect gifts for special friends and important occasions.

Poltarnees blesses the marriage by remembering the fresh love which was its origin. He includes and celebrates the engagement, the preparations, ceremony, reception and honeymoon, and aptly illustrates each phase.

A book of beautiful pictures and words intended as a gift for a bride.

Within the Blue Lantern Studio’s huge collection of old books and paper ephemera is a collection of bridal books dating from the 1890s through the 1930s. We have culled these books and selected from them beautiful and inspiring words and images and assembled them into this volume.

Poems, flowers, illustrated borders in which to record facts and memories and old-fashioned images are shaped into a beautiful gift for any bride to be.

Included is a decorated certificate of marriage, which when completed, increases the value of this book as a precious keepsake.

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.

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.

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.

Optimism uses for its text The Optimist’s Creed, which, though written in 1917 for the extant Optimist’s Club stresses the value of positive thinking in a timeless fashion. Welleran Poltarnees has selected a wide variety of gently inspirational images to accompany the text.

We try to stress in all of our books hope and idealism, and yet we have never published a book that directly asserts the value of positive thinking. In 1912 Christian Larson wrote a creed for the organization known as The Optimists. They have kindly allowed us to use this articulate statement as the text for our publication Optimism. It urges the reader to project happiness and prosperity. It encourages us to make all of our friends feel valued, and to treasure others’ triumphs as we do our own. We are to forget the mistakes of the past and start life anew with a sunny spirit. It advises us to greet everyone with a smile.

The Optimist’s Creed

Promise Yourself-
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Happy Anniversary is intended as a gift to a couple. It celebrates the triumphs of marriage – the adventures, the conversations, the companionship, the making of a home, the play and laughter, and the faithful continuance. By including pictures of various eras, and a great diversity of married couples, it strives for unusual applicability. As different as we are from one another, we do, at elemental points of our existences, share common feelings.

This is an ideal present for a first – or paper – anniversary, a fiftieth – or golden – anniversary, or any anniversary in between.

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.