Holling Postcard Illustrations Are Found!

The diligent detective work of curator Joan Hoffman has uncovered full color illustrations done by Lucille Webster Holling when she and her husband, Holling, undertook an assignment in Texas. [They’re reproduced at the bottom this site.] She found and purchased the postcards from a seller on eBay, and they recently arrived.

These postcards were published about 1941, Joan believes. “They are like the Indian dancers [Holling] painted at the new Hilton Hotel in Lubbock, Texas, at the end of 1929. This was a speedy assignment, as Holling and Lucille arrived in Lubbock on Christmas Eve and completed the job by the hotel’s opening on New Year’s Eve.”

After arriving at the new Hilton Hotel in Lubbock, “They decided to do the huge dining room walls in different Indian dances which they had seen in New Mexico. Lucille started the dining room paintings, while Holling began the cartoon sketches for the three walls of the coffee shop. It is not clear if Holling had a part in the sketching and painting of the Indian dances, if Lucille also helped with the cartoons, or if they both just worked wherever to get the job done in a short amount of time. But the postcards [with the exception noted below] are just credited to Lucille.”

Joan also mentions there is a series of paintings of Indian craftsmen, of which she has five. But, she says, “I have no idea how many different ones there are in each series.

The commentary on the back of the Yucca Kachina is interesting because the yucca was considered lucky. The back of that card states, “Indians of northern Arizona and western New Mexico (mainly Hopi and Zuni) believe in sacred Kachinas, beings who live in the spirit World. From December through July these Kachinas leave their homes to visit mankind, bringing such blessings as rain for corn crops. It is a sacred duty, fraught with risk, for pueblo men to impersonate these Kachinas in seasonal ceremonies. The performer feels that he himself becomes the spirit, having its mysterious powers, when he dons the mask. There are hundreds of Kachinas with forms of birds, animals, reptiles and natural forces. Each has its own ceremonials. Half the cultural life of these Indians revolves around spiritual values of Kachinas, their songs and dances. Kachina dolls make pueblo children familiar with each Kachina. The Kachina pictured here wears a Yucca-leaf skirt and is known as “He Who Wears a Yucca Kilt.” This useful plant has long been essential to these Indian peoples. (This one of a series of Southwest Indian dancers designed by L.W. Holling, on Yucca veneer.)”

The Corn Dancer postcard may not have been designed by Lucille Holling. While the text is similar to the others, it does not give her credit.

Joan Hoffman’s work is “ephemera archeology” of the first order – finding and securing 70-year-old postcards and archiving them for posterity. Congratulations!-

Paddle-to-the-Sea Film Is Stunning

We can all be indebted to Eli Ross and his response to my last post that a 28-minute Paddle-to-the-Sea film is available. (See www.nfb.ca/film/paddle_to_the_sea) This is Bill Mason’s film adaptation of the classic tale for the National Film Board of Canada.

It’s a film of pure joy. Please share it with your children…those of all ages.

Leslie Museum Now Opened!

Good news comes from Joan Hoffman's newsletter that the Holling museum has reopened after the flooding that temporaily put it out of business. She writes:

"Now we are back in business. The museum looks great and we had the best ever June visitor attendance. The Holling display portion of the museum turned out well, I think. Thanks to generous gifts of Holling items along with what we had, the displays have taken on a new look."

Main display parts, unified by labeled miniature canoe paddles, include:
• A two shelf glass case houses Holling items telling the story of Holling's years in the local area. On top of the case is an aquarium with two live hermit crabs. They help us tell the story of Pagoo.
• On the wall behind the glass case hang a framed portrait of Holling and three of his framed original paintings.
• On the left is a divider. This will be a rotating display of Holling's commercial art work. Currently appearing are Junior Home Magazine covers from 1928-29.
• To the right is a tall multi-shelved cabinet displaying Holling's children's books. There is a spot for Paddle, a model pueblo, a picture of the Hollings in the late 1930s looking over several of their World Museum dioramas,an assembled diorama and much more. Atop the cabinet is the long bow Holling made and used.
• Holling's Army jacket also is displayed. The story about that jacket appears elsewhere in the newsletter and earlier in this blog.

“Keep It Simple” Formula

One of the secrets to Holling’s enduring interest by young people is his simplified vocabulary. Dr. Seuss—Theodor Geisel—also realized this with his severely truncated lexicon in stories like The Cat in the Hat.

Holling’s Paddle-to-the-Sea has a Fog Index of 6.9, meaning 91% of everyday words we use are more difficult to read. His Flesch Reading Index score is 75.2, meaning 90% of other vocabulary is harder. Similarly, only 5% of Holling’s words are “complex. His word choices have just 1.4 syllables per word. And, there are just 12.3 words per sentence.

This doesn’t mean Holling wrote down to youngsters or was patronizing. It does mean a fifth grader can easily pick up a Holling book and understand the story. Home schooling sources regularly cite Holling’s books for their educational value. But, to a nine-year-old, Holling is a captivating guide to new worlds.

(A note of thanks for to E.J. Hirsch, Jr. for What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Fifth Grade Education, from which these statistics are cited.)