Two of the first books I got from my grandmother back in 1966 when I was a young lady were Little Women and Little Men by Louisa May Alcott.
I loved the books and especially loved Jo because she was so fiercely independent. I also admired Louisa May Alcott as she was an abolitionist, feminist and involved in the women's suffrage movement.
In so many ways she reminded me of my great aunt Flossie, who was born in 1882 and is shown in the picture above. She was fiercely independent, graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Ma in 1904, never married, and worked for the Massachusetts State Department of Corporations & Taxes as a tax assessor.
She, too, was a feminist and suffragette. Like my grandmother, Flossie was very intelligent but was quiet and reserved. She had a very strong constitution and was never afraid to let her views and opinions be known.
As you know, during the past few months I've been looking for illustrations in some of the free e-books that are in the public domain on the Project Gutenberg website.
So, you can imagine my surprise when I saw the Little Women free E-Book (cover shown above) on the Project Gutenberg website from 1880 that had more than 200 illustrations by Frank T. Merrill and a picture of the Home of the Little Women by Edmund H. Garrett. Even though they were all black and white I was still thrilled.
The books my grandmother had given me had 4 color illustrations for Little Women and 5 color illustrations for Little Men, which is certainly not a lot of illustrations. Plus, they currently aren't in the public domain.
Just like Louisa May Alcott "I want to do something splendid...." however, unlike Louisa my creations would involve crafts not writing books.
"I want to do something splendid....
Something heroic or wonderful.
That won't be forgotten after I'm dead....
I think I shall write books.
Louisa May Alcott
“I like good strong words that mean something…”–Louisa May Alcott
"They all drew to the fire, mother in the big chair, with Beth at her feet"
I thought you might get inspired by the books and illustrations too, so I decided to post a link to the eBook here and post the black and white illustrations with excerpts of the text in my Linda's Blog for you all to enjoy as well.
Per Project Gutenberg - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
"Go then, my little Book, and show to all
That entertain and bid thee welcome shall,
What thou dost keep close shut up in thy breast;
And wish what thou dost show them may be blest
To them for good, may make them choose to be
Pilgrims better, by far, than thee or me.
Tell them of Mercy; she is one
Who early hath her pilgrimage begun.
Yea, let young damsels learn of her to prize
The world which is to come, and so be wise;
For little tripping maids may follow God
Along the ways which saintly feet have trod."
Adapted from John Bunyan.
There are 204 black and white illustrations in the Little Women eBook which I posted to my Linda's Blog here.
I have so many ideas in mind for ways to utilize the black and white illustrations and hope you do too.
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