Elinore Blaisdell (October 15, 1900 – 1994) was an American illustrator known for her work on ''

Bulfinch's Mythology ''Bulfinch's Mythology'' is a collection of tales from myth and legend rewritten for a general readership by the American Latinist and banker Thomas Bulfinch, published after his death in 1867. The work was a successful popularization of Greek my ...

'' (1947),

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

and

Mary Lamb Mary Anne Lamb (3 December 1764 – 20 May 1847) was an English writer. She is best known for the collaboration with her brother Charles Lamb, Charles on the collection ''Tales from Shakespeare'' (1807). Mary suffered from mental illness, and i ...

's ''

Tales from Shakespeare ''Tales from Shakespeare'' is an English children's book written by the siblings Charles and Mary Lamb in 1807, intended "for the use of young persons" while retaining as much Shakespearean language as possible. Mary Lamb was responsible for ...

'',

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Good Wives'' (1869), ''Little Men'' (1871), and ''Jo's Boys'' ...

's ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...

'', and

A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classics, classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in ''literae humaniores'' and t ...

's ''

A Shropshire Lad ''A Shropshire Lad'' is a collection of 63 poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman, published in 1896. Selling slowly at first, it then rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. Composers began setting the poems to ...

'' (1932).

Early life and education

Blaisdell was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, the daughter of Edward Kendall Blaisdell and Sara Elizabeth Harris Blaisdell. Her father was a lumber dealer; both of her parents died when she was young. She was a student of Robert Brackman at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

, and studied drawing with Naum Los. She attended

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

, and the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London.

Career

Blaisdell began making illustrations for print in her childhood; she had a drawing published on the children's page of the ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' in 1911. She wrote, illustrated, and edited books, mostly for young readers. From 1950 to 1979 she also designed hundreds of

greeting cards A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthda ...

, under several pseudonyms. She won the Julia Ellsworth Ford Prize from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

in 1939, for a children's book she wrote and illustrated, ''Falcon Fly Back,'' based on her late husband's research. She was a friend of writer Edith Hamilton in New York. Blaisdell moved to

Bradford, Pennsylvania Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Home to an oil refinery, Zippo headquarters and a University of Pittsburgh b ...

, in 1971, and to

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

in 1979. In 1980 she showed eight of her paintings, mostly

still lifes A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or human-made (drinking glasses, books, ...

, at the Tremellen Gallery in Lancaster.

Selected publications

In addition to her work in books, Blaisdell made illustrations for periodicals including ''The American Parade''. * ''Falcon Fly Back'' (1938, writer and illustrator) * ''Elizabeth: The Tudor Princess'' by Marian King (1940, illustrator) * ''God's Troubadour'' by Sophie Jewett (1940, illustrator) * ''Stories of King Arthur'' (1941, illustrator) * ''Theodosia: Daughter of Aaron Burr'' by Anne Colver (1941, illustrator) * ''Boy of the Woods: The Story of John James Audubon'' by Maie Lounsbury Wells and Dorothy Fox (1942, illustrator) * ''The Emperor's Nephew'' by Marian W. Magoon (1942, illustrator) * ''Grubby Gets Clean'' by Mary Ellen Vorse (1943, illustrator) * ''Tales from Shakespeare'' by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb (1943, illustrator) * ''Little Women'' by Louisa May Alcott (1946 edition, illustrator) * ''The Double Birthday Present'' by

Mabel Leigh Hunt Mabel Leigh Hunt (November 1, 1892 – September 3, 1971) was an American people, American writer of children's books. Biography Hunt was born in Coatesville, Indiana, on November 1, 1892, to Quakers Dr. Tilghman Hunt and Amanda (Harvey) Hunt ...

(1947, illustrator) * ''Bulfinch's Mythology'' (1947, illustrator) * ''Rhymes and Verses: Collected Poems for Young People'' by

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...

(1947, illustrator) * ''Tales of the Undead: Vampires and Visitants'' (1947, editor and illustrator) * ''The Real Book About Abraham Lincoln'' by Michael Gorham (1951, illustrator)

Personal life

She married writer Melrich "Mike" Vonelm Rosenberg in 1928. Rosenberg died in 1937, when he was 33 years old. Blaisdell died in 1994, at age 94, in Lancaster.

References

External links

Elinore Blaisdell at AskART

Ebenezer Blaisdell Papers
in the Folger Library at the University of Maine; Ebenezer Blaisdell was Elinore Blaisdell's grandfather. {{Authority control 1900 births 1994 deaths American women illustrators 20th-century American women artists