Today we are featuring a portfolio found in Milwaukee
Public Library’s Rare Book Room: French artist E. A. Séguy’s Insectes
portfolio of pochoir prints, published by Duchartre and Van Buggenhoudt in 1929. Émile-Allain
Séguy, whose name is often abbreviated E. A. Seguy was a French artist
known for his ornamental patterns of plants and insects in Art Nouveau and Art
Deco styles. The portfolios of colored plates were created using the labor-intensive
process of pochoir
printing, where each layer of color is applied by painting gouache through a stencil. The results are stunning!
There is some confusion about the biographical details of the
artist Émile-Allain Séguybecause he is often confused with the well-known
French entomologist Eugène Séguy who was active during the same period. There is an essay called “Insect Men” by Timothy Young that describes this case of mistaken identity.
What I love about the plates of this portfolio is that there are both extremely realistic illustrations of insects, presented in a stylized,
overlapping way, and plates that are very decorative, with imaginative designs
and bold colors, inspired by the forms of insects. These ornamental designs were
intended to be used for interior art, textiles, and fashion.
E. A. Seguy produced a number of decorative arts portfolios
in the 1920s. If you ever have a chance see one in person, I highly recommend
it because the vibrancy of the plates is even more dazzling than how they appear online! I made an appointment with our friends over at Milwaukee Public Library’s
Art, Music & Recreation
Department to look
at several of his portfolios, and plan to feature more designs in the future.
Stay tuned!
that feel when you’re walking down the street and a beautiful dog you’re passing picks their head up, looks you right in the eyes, and gives you a big smile.
do you know what I want? I want a game where you play the forces of overgrowing nature, where you systematically destroy the mansion in the GardenScapes game I keep seeing ads for.
like. let me grow grass up through those perfect tiled patios and algae in the fountain and vines up through those marble statues and pillars cracking them in half. let me plant wildflowers and berries and lure birds and butterflies into the yard.
let me grow trees up through the roofs and on top of those perfect stone walls and crack them and break them down
I will DESTROY IT. WITH NATURE.
no microtransactions, no timed building.
you plant seeds and wait for them to grow, then train them over the top of the walls and wrap around the statues
attract birds and squirrels with water and nesting areas and they’ll bring you seeds
the goal of the game is to get it so quiet and wild that you can support entire ecosystems in what used to be a super colonial classist mansion
the hardest thing in the and is to lure and be able to support a cougar, because it requires the entire property to be FOREST with deer and berry bushes and a stream
there’s also a hidden plot about the rest of the world
it’s the end of oil and the entire world has actually managed to switch over to clean energy, everyone lives in gorgeous green cities and close-knit small towns with super efficient greenhouse agriculture with solar and wind power
all the suburbs and manor-house things have been abandoned because they’re too far away from population centres and there aren’t any cars
there are electric public rail systems in all the cities and between population centres and most people bike and use hover-board drones for transportation
full-on solarpunk
you find this out because there’s a subplot of finding and repairing an iPhone with bits of tech you find in the rubble of the manor house, which you can then access a couple news sites on
but that’s kinda the hidden ending
there are a couple more things like that as well, hidden, like the story of the family who lived in the manor (they were all dicks and economically terrible people which adds even more catharsis to the destruction), some campers that come through if you fit a requirement for scenery, that kind of thing)
They’re friendly but shy, and once they’re comfortable, like hanging out with people and getting lots of pets and skritches!
Unfortunately, they currently live outdoors on a friend’s porch, as she can’t take them in due to allergic family members. They would love to be permanently indoor cats, as they often try to sneak inside.
They can be split up; but the two tuxedo cats would prefer to be adopted together.
We haven’t yet brought them in to the vet for fear of scaring them away permanently, however, it’s highly likely they’re all neutered. When they have plans to be adopted we’ll arrange to get them seen by a vet, get the standard barrage of tests and vaccines, and cover at least the majority of the cost.
They will also be sent home with a decent supply of food, as well as toys, various supplies and food enrichment items.
They’re located in NYC, but I’d be happy to drive a few hours to get them a good home.
If you are at all interested, or have any questions please message me!
