Monday, November 3, 2014

Fall Is Here, a 1948 early science reader.

I know Hallowe'en is over but this book is about the entire Autumn season, and I love Autumn. "Fall Is Here" was first published in 1948 by Row, Peterson and Company, this copy is the 1951 edition.

Up until this year I had not realized that this book sums up my entire outlook about Autumn and Hallowe'en.

The book starts out with all of the signs of Autumn, the changing colour of the leaves, the flowers of the season, the fruit and nuts of this time of the year, and the rain... there is a lot of rain on the West Coast.  Because this is an American book each of the three months that make up Autumn seem to have a separate identity. September is harvest, October is Hallowe'en, and November is Thanksgiving.

We have a totally different holiday arrangement in Canada. September is harvest time as it is in the United States but mid October is Thanksgiving and the end of October is Hallowe'en. November is a kind of no man's land for holidays. Remembrance Day is not a holiday, it is a time of reflection and gratitude for those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Hallowe'en in the United States is a time of ghosts, goblins, black cats, witches, and jack-o-lanterns. It was that in Victoria where I was born and grew up but for me it was filtered through the Autumn harvest, the colourful landscape, and Thanksgiving. Victoria was the most British city in all of North America so toss in fireworks for good measure. Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th is celebrated with fireworks so we took the fireworks for Hallowe'en instead. I believe that some people celebrated Guy Fawkes Day in Victoria but I didn't know any of them.

Enough with my talking; have a look at this science reader for yourself.






















This sculpture, "Landscape Rattle; Ambrose and Monty, his Parade Lantern" uses a lot of the elements that I mentioned in the beginning of this post. I love Autumn and I love this sculpture, it sums up the season for me.

Please email me at lenbenny@shaw.ca if you wish any more information or to purchase this sculpture. Go to this post for a full description and more pictures of this sculpture.

Go to the EHAG Emporium to see lots of other great work to add to your collection.

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