From the Bookshelf

I came across this book in the gift shop at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.  It's full of the chapbook illustrations of Jose Guadalupe Posada.  These were inexpensive, pulp-type little paperbacks, published in the first part of the last century, intended for the entertainment of the masses, sort of a combination of comic books/Harlequin Romances/True Stories. The book has a short history of the artist, his times and his work.  But most of the pages are devoted to his art.
The illustrations have become iconic to Mexican art and are instantly recognizable. And they are wonderful for inspiration in collage, assemblage and shrines.   Highly recommended!