Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Jane Austen Illustrated...2016 Peacock Edition 12 Month Calendar

It is time to be getting that new calendar for 2016 and I have one ready for you!
My yearly Jane Austen calendar is finished and has been picked up from the printer!
It is now available for immediate shipping!

This year, JT Originals will be donating 10% of all proceeds from the calendar to the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, founded by Caroline Jane Knight, fifth great niece of Jane Austen. It is a wonderful privilege to be a part of this worthy endeavor and I encourage more people to join in the support of bringing free literacy resources to communities in need. For every calendar sold, one dollar will go to the foundation 'In Honour of Jane'! If you would like more information about this non-profit foundation, click on the link above and you will be taken directly to their website.




This year's theme is Jane Austen Illustrated: 2016 Peacock Edition Calendar. It features some of the illustrations by Hugh Thomson
and one by C. E. Brock.
Inside the calendar I have also included a mention of Chris Hammond
and one of her drawings. 






Although these early illustrators did work for other authors, for the purpose of this calendar, my concern was only those books by Jane Austen.
The 1894 Peacock Edition
of Pride and Prejudice,
illustrated by Hugh Thomsom, seems to be the most popular one of all
and has been a favorite of mine
for quite some time.




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There were several reasons for choosing this theme. The main two are simple, I love peacocks and
I love Jane Austen. That explains my fascination with the 1894 Peacock Edition of Pride and Prejudice. Being a person that enjoys drawing, I was 'drawn' to the illustrations. It is fascinating to see how an artist depicted the scenes from the book as I have depicted them from the movies. 



The gold print on the cover was stunning and added to the appeal. Since peacock feathers can take on many different colors depending on how the light hits them, I took many, many photos to get that special one that gave the feathers the golden cast that I was striving to capture. 

Since I have an abundance of feathers in my yard, it was easy to find some beautiful ones to use for the picture which would become the cover. There are five adult male peacocks that are daily visitors to my home. Many times they spend the day on my deck railing or resting in front of my glass door. In mid to late summer, they start losing their tail feathers, just to begin growing a new bunch for the next spring of preening and prancing for the pretty peahens.
They spread, shake and quake those glorious tail feathers while they strut their stuff!
I never tire of watching them and admiring their magnificence. (or finding their feathers)

I had planned to do drawings for the calendar this year but was unable to get them done in time.
I was trying to decide what I could do for the 2016 calendar instead! One evening as I was picking up some feathers, the idea struck...put my two passions together into a calendar
and pay tribute to the early illustrators too!
Jane Austen Illustrated: The 2016 Peacock Edition 12 Month Calendar is now a reality.

The calendar has the holidays for the US, UK and Canada. All major Jane Austen events in both the US and UK are included on their respective dates.

There are many lovely pictures of books by known authors in the Jane Austen community. There are also intriguing quotes from some of their books throughout the calendar. I have read a great number of these books and found myself wanting to read them again as I typed in the quotes. For those I have not yet read, they are now on my wish list.
Going through and enjoying the quotes was a treat itself.

Included Authors:

Amy Cecil                                            Brenda J. Webb                                               
Cat Gardiner                                         Diana Oaks                                         
J Dawn King                                        Jan Hahn
Jeanna Ellsworth                                  Jessica Evans                                     
Joana Starnes                                      Linda Beutler                                    
Linda Wells                                          Mel Schertz
Pamela Lynne                                      Pat Santarsiero                                
P. O. Dixon                                          Regina Jeffers                                  
Rose Fairbanks                                    Sally Smith O’Rourke
Sarah Johnson                                     Sophie Turner                                  
Stan Hurd                                            Vanity & Pride Press                      
Wendi Sotis                                         Zoe Burton

Laughing with Lizzie’s, Sophie Andrews, and the donated space for the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, with Jane Austen quotes, have their spot in the 2016 Calendar.

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Ordering Information: 

The calendar may be purchased on my website, JT Originals,
or directly from me at janet@jt-originals.com.
You may also use the contact form on this blog to contact me and/or order.
The calendar cost is $10/calendar plus shipping. 

If you order from my website, click on the calendar on the home page or go to Jane Austen Stationery to get to the calendar. There is an "Add to Cart'  button under the calendar. From this page, you can only order one calendar. Clicking on the button will take you directly to the shopping cart where you will be allowed to update the quantity wanted.  I apologize for any inconvenience and am still talking with the PayPal Shopping Cart department about this issue
as it seems they do not have a fix for it at the moment. 

If you order directly from me at janet@jt-originals or the contact form on this blog, you may still pay by PayPal or credit card. I will bill you directly with exact postage. I can either send a PayPal invoice or a JT Originals invoice, depending on how you prefer to pay. 

What I will need if you choose to order directly from me:  
  • quantity ordered
  • email address (used for PayPal if that is your payment choice or other for contact purposes)
  • shipping address

I will then send you an invoice for payment. Once I receive payment, I will ship your calendar/s.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

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Thank You!

I want to say 'thank you' to Sophie Andrews for allowing me to use the illustrations from her 1894 Peacock Edition of Pride and Prejudice as well as the other five novels by Jane Austen that were illustrated by Hugh Thomson. She also let me use the drawings from a Pride and Prejudice book that was illustrated by C.E. Brock and an Emma, illustrated by Chris Hammond. It was exciting and fun to be working with the original drawings from these books. I was in awe of them all.
Thank you, Sophie. You are a jewel.

Another person I must mention is Ellen Pickels. Thank you so much, Ellen, for giving me a two and one-half hour crash course in Adobe InDesign. It made this calendar so much better than what I have been able to achieve in the past when using Publisher. I finally got the calendar to look, in print and in color, the way that I have been wanting it to look for the past four years.
I could not have done it without you and I will be forever grateful. 

Thank you to Minuteman Press in Georgetown, Texas, especially to Yvonne and Andy.
You always work with me and work hard to help me make this project the best it can be.
I appreciate that you take a special interest in the calendar and truly care about it.
(and you put up with my exuberance!)  :)

~~~~~~~~~~

Now for a bit of fun with some of my pictures of peacocks, peahens and the cute little peachicks!
I hope you will indulge me and 'my other passion'!
I could not do this post without showing you more of my inspiration!

         

The beautiful male peacock in all his glory!







Aren't the color changes amazing! It all depends on how the light catches the feathers. The picture on the left is how they are seen, and depicted, most often.

I cannot leave this section without including a peahen and her chick!




Can you just barely see that little chick peeking out from under the hen's wing?  (left)

Even this young and with this few tail feathers, the male will
still 'strut his stuff'!  (right)




(below) This is how they sleep at night. The mother will encase the baby/babies in the hollow of her breast. The babies are then completely hidden from view.


I hope you enjoyed the tour of 'Peacock Life at the Taylor Home' and maybe learned something too!

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I will end this post with the ad that will appear in the November/December issue of the Jane Austen Regency World magazine. Be sure and look for it. 
The calendar will also be on their Christmas list! 




Thank you for visiting my blog today and spending part of your time with me.
I would love to hear from you, so please let me know your thoughts! 

13 comments:

  1. Gorgeous, Janet! I love your inspired idea of the Peacock edition and it was fun to learn how the idea came to you. That's neat that you are donating a bit to the charity, too.

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    1. Thank you, Sophia Rose! I appreciate you stopping by. Glad you like the calendar and my inspiration! :)

      When I was reintroduced to Jane Austen, I was going through a rough period in my life. In some ways, her books and then the JAFF community, were like a lifeline. My donation will not be much in the grander scheme of things, but if it helps even one person learn to read and write, then discover the joys that both can bring, whether it be reading for pleasure or education, I can feel that I gave back just a little of what has been given to me.

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  2. Absolutely beautiful. You have great talent.

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  3. It is lovely but I am not going to buy it as the shipping cost is 150% of the price. I know that it is the price for shipping and you are not adding anything but it is a bit too much.

    Another year if I go to the States, if you do it again, I will definitely buy it!

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    1. I understand about the shipping, Ana. International shipping is terrible. I wish I could send them cheaper.

      My first calendar was for 2013 and I've done one every year since. I hope to do two more anyway as that is how many ideas I have for one at the moment! :)

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    2. I will definitely buy it sometime!!

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  4. Beautiful calendar, Janet! I'm glad you could combine your love of peacocks and Jane Austen in the calendar this year. And I love your pictures of the peacocks that call your place home. You're such an earth mother - your country home is like a wildlife sanctuary.

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    1. Thanks, Jan. I'm happy that you like the calendar. It was fun combining my two of my passions for the 2016 Calendar. You are correct, my home definitely is a wildlife sanctuary. The critters come from all around. They know a good thing (and place) when they find it. lol I do love them all!

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Thanks for sharing two of your fondest passions with all of us, Janet. I'm looking forward to receiving the 2016 Calendar. It promises to be one of the most beautiful calendars to-date. I shall consider it a wonderful keepsake, for certain, and possibly the first item in what will be my collection of peacock memorabilia. I enjoyed reading your lovely post and learning more about peacocks, particularly the hens and their chicks.

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    1. Thank you, Ms. Dixon, for stopping by. I hope you will be pleased with your calendar. Your calendar should be there today, if you have not already received it.

      As you can tell, I do love the peacocks and am intrigued with them. I have my living room decorated with peacock items and pillows. I am always looking for anything 'peacock'! :) It is a good collection to have and feel sure you will enjoy it should you start one too.

      My grandchildren and I hand feed the peacocks since they are regular visitors. It is fun and a good learning experience for the children. As beautiful as the adult male is, I adore the little chicks. They are so cute. I have taken countless pictures of all of them. There are some of my earlier ones on the nature page of my website, www.jt-originals.com.

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  6. This is beautiful! I must buy one for myself.

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    1. Thanks, Claudine. I received your order and I hope you will enjoy yours. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

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