Eileen's Books

On a recent trip to Whangarei we happened upon a second hand bookshop, as we often do, and there I found a charming book about shells, written and illustrated by Dame Eileen Mayo (1906-94). I knew that Eileen Mayo was an English born printmaker and designer who settled in New Zealand in the early 60s, but I didn't realise that she had illustrated so many books for children in the earlier phase of her career. I've been fortunate enough to find two more of Eileen's illustrated books over the past few weeks; one is a compendium of circus stories, and the other is described as an Art Deco Alphabet of Toys. Who could resist! Here's a sampling of some of my favourite illustrations:

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week.