The Arabian Nights - 1899
...7/8/24 (updated 11/29/25)The Arabian Nights Entertainments published by George Newnes is a notable illustrated edition of the classic collection of Middle Eastern folktales known as The Arabian Nights or One Thousand and One Nights. This edition was released in parts around 1899 and featured illustrations by artists such as W. Heath Robinson, Helen Stratton, A.D. McCormick, A.L. Davis, and A.E. Norbury. It includes famous stories like those of Scheherazade, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Sinbad the Sailor, and Aladdin's Magic Lamp, presented in a richly illustrated format meant to captivate readers of all ages.This publication was well regarded for its beautiful and imaginative illustrations that complemented the tales' magical and exotic themes. The format often emphasized the nested storytelling style, where stories flow into one another through characters telling other stories, creating a layered and mesmerizing narrative experience. George Newnes Ltd. was the publisher, known for producing popular illustrated books in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.In summary, George Newnes' Arabian Nights Entertainments is a richly illustrated late 19th-century edition of this classic folklore collection, valued both for its artistry and its engaging presentation of timeless tales.Source: Perplexity.aiCurated by G. Ly
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Wildflowers of America - 1894
7/9/24 (updated 11/25/25)The series "Wild Flowers of America" published by G.H. Buek and Co. in 1894 is a botanical work featuring detailed and accurate illustrations of wildflowers from every state in the American Union. It was issued as a weekly botanical fine art publication and later compiled into a bound book edition. The series contains 288 color illustrations of flowers with corresponding explanatory text, emphasizing botanical accuracy by depicting each flower as it grows naturally, rather than artistic fantasy, to maximize educational value. The publication had contributions from a corps of special artists and botanists and was endorsed by leading artists and university botanists from America and Europe. It was designed to familiarize Americans with their native wildflowers in detail and color.The book is an oblong quarto with a burgundy cloth cover, decorative lettering and floral designs, and gilt edges, indicating it was a quality production. Its introduction highlights the intention to provide a realistic representation of wildflowers for botanical learning, resisting the common trend of fanciful imagery in botanical commemoratives at the time.Source: Perplexity.aiCurated by Gabrielle Ly
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Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, published by the W. B. Conkey Company, features a large selection of rhymes, poems, and accompanying illustrations. Some of the nursery rhymes are written as sheet music, while others tell moral tales about anthropomorphic animals. It's a delightful, though sometimes dated, set of amusing works for children.Source: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/tell-me-about-mother-goose-wGnYDJXPR6Cgyd4WLGkd6A#1 History of Mother Goose - perplexity >>> Mother Goose is a legendary figure in children’s literature, best known as the supposed author of tales and nursery rhymes beloved for centuries. The name first appeared in French literature in the late 1600s, when Charles Perrault published Contes de ma Mère l’Oye (“Tales of Mother Goose”) in 1697, introducing classics like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Translated into English in 1729, the collection established Mother Goose as a storytelling icon across Europe and beyond.wikipedia+2The concept, however, may be much older. French legends trace her to “Bertha the Spinner” or “Goose-Foot Bertha,” a queen from the 10th or 11th century famed for captivating children with stories. In America, a popular but apocryphal tale identifies her as a Bostonian woman—either Elizabeth or Mary Goose—whose son-in-law allegedly published her rhymes in the early 1700s.pookpress+2By the 18th century, the English publisher John Newbery helped cement her association with nursery rhymes through his Mother Goose’s Melody (c. 1765). Whether myth or memory, Mother Goose became a symbol of early childhood literature—an enduring, grandmotherly figure whose songs and stories bridged generations and cultures.poetryfoundation+2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Goosehttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mother-goosehttps://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/mother-goose-rhymes-history/https://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/2018/01/23/who-was-mother-goose/https://bookriot.com/a-brief-history-of-mother-goose/https://rodbenson.com/2021/07/28/who-is-mother-goose/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoDDeIdfoMMhttps://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Mother-Goose/275950https://americansongwriter.com/who-was-mother-goose-really-and-what-is-the-meaning-behind-her-story/https://iew.com/support/blog/who-was-mother-goosehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoires_ou_contes_du_temps_pass%C3%A9
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Williams Art Community Project - 2025-2026
Welcome to the Williams Art Community Project! Our goal is to energize the Williams arts community by bringing students and alumni together, and through a program of review and mentorship foster a better future for the arts. We hope you’ll join us.See student exhibits (complete as of 1/1/26) here.See recap videos of our Fall alumni-student art chats here and here.Students have created mini-exhibits highlighting their studio or curatorial work, with alumni providing feedback. We have 17 finished Exhibit Stories available here, and final group exhibitions will be hosted in-person in January in Williamstown, online in February, and in-person in Manhattan in April. See latest Google Slide deck.The first exhibit will be January 24, 2026 at 6pm at the ‘62 Center in Williamstown.- Nick Garlid ’25, Tom Paper ’84, Chris Hughes ’28
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