With love,
The Ward-O-Matic
The Christmas Angel Book by William Dugan. ©1965 Golden Press, Western Publishing Company, Inc.
William (or Bill) Dugan is one of my favorite illustrators, creating some of the more interesting and colorful books for children during the midcentury era. There were certain details that Bill focused on for some of his pieces, like the hair and fabic, that stood out from the usual stuff.
We read this each year for Christmas.
Like her hair!
ReplyDeleteI remember this book! I loved these beautiful images. Thanks for giving me back a memory!
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautifull! thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI loved your work...
I saw my Uncle Bill (Bill Dugan) this evening at the retirement community in PA where he and my aunt are living and just sent them an email with the URL of your site. He'll be pleased to see it. I remember so well going into his studio in the 1950s and 60s while he was at work on golden books. He has just put together a show on exhibit in the halls outside the dining room in the community where they live.
ReplyDeleteCarl, thank you so much for commenting here, to let us know about your Uncle Bill! This makes me so happy. Please tell your uncle that I LOVE his work - he's influenced me in so many ways I can't even mention here. Not enough time. In fact, I've been meaning to write a big post on him, showcasing some other books he illustrated from my collection. I would love to ask him some questions via email, if that's possible. Please, by all means, contact me and maybe we can work this out!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your comment, Carl!
Carl (above) sent me this link. I am Bill Dugan's daughter. Even though I was five when he illustrated this book, I remember when he was doing it. The thing he spent the most time on (other than the angel's hair) was the bull's head in the manger. He did a bunch of cow studies and I remember doing cow studies as well imitating him! My grandmother had a crèche under her tree and I wondered where the bull was.
ReplyDeleteJenny
Jenny - thanks for commenting here to share your story about your father working on this book. My day keeps getting better and better! That's very interesting to hear how detailed he was in getting the bull's head just right. I can definitely relate!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to be able to connect with Bill's family. And yes, Carl, I was able to get your email and sent you a response earlier today. Hope you got it.
Jenny, I look forward to hearing more from you, if that's possible. Just sharing a little more of your father's history, etc. If you can, please email me by going to my profile page. OR, you can go to my website and there's a Contact page with a link to my email address. Either way, I hope to hear from you!
Many thanks!
oh my GOSH.. i had completely forgotten about this book... i remember staring at the illustrations for long periods of time as a kid...i JUST now remember it. wow. thanks for that memory :)
ReplyDeletereally really beautiful!
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