Harris Museum Dandelion Print

The Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston has just re-opened after a refurbishment making the whole space more accessible and presenting displays, exhibitions and showing new acquisitions to the collection. It looks fantastic!

I have a number of screen prints held in the permanent collection at the Museum and one of them is presented in the new Special Collection Gallery shown digitally alongside a copy of Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal. The original is a screen print of dandelion leaves - but the digital copy is tiny and you'll probably miss it - but it's there.

Imperial Leather Dandelion

I collect and I'm given labels from products that show dandelions all for inclusion in the Dandelion Archive.

Here is one I was given from a hand wash by Imperial Leather. It's called 'Spring Meadow, English Blossom and Gardenia' but it shows a dandelion seed head as the flower motif on the label.

I like the idea of a combination of scents: the gentle aroma of English blossom (not sure how different English blossom is from say Scottish or Welsh blossom?), combined with the heady and strong smell of gardenia. Gardenia is native to tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australia, usually cultivated here as a house plant. 

Imperial Leather is a UK soap manufacturer dating back to the 1800s. Being one of the first companies to invest in TV advertising in-between episodes of TV dramas in 1950s this is where we get the phrase 'soaps' in relation to these types of dramas in the UK (according to the Imperial Leather website).

Anyway, none of this is why the label is in the Dandelion Archive - it's because of the use of an image of a dandelion seed head.

Greek Dandelion Stamp

And another stamp with a dandelion on it in the Dandelion Archive (there's a lot of stamps in the archive) - this time from Greece.

It shows the image of a dandelion with chicory, both closely related. I can't find the info on who the artist is, but it was issued in 1989 and in a series of stamps showing Greek wild flowers.

North Korean stamp (with Dürer dandelion)

I have a stamp from North Korea in the Dandelion Archive. Issued in 1979 it is to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the death of Albrecht Dürer (1471 - 1578)*  

The stamp has the title of the artwork as 'A Big Tuft of Grass' but it's also known as 'Large Piece of Turf". It was painted by Dürer in 1503 and the original is held in the Albertina in Vienna. Amongst the grasses, yarrow and plantain are some dandelions either just opening out, or they could be closing after flowering (one or the other). Beautiful!

*I can't quite get that to add up, but whatever.

Insho Domoto dandelions

This is a particularly lovely stamp issued in 1999 from Japan that I have a copy of in the Dandelion Archive. The artwork is by Inshō Dōmoto showing three rabbits and flowering dandelions (it's taken from a larger image, but split over 2 stamps). Inshō Dōmoto (1891 - 1975) was a Nihonga painter in the Shōwa era and there's a museum in Kyoto dedicated to his work. I've found another artwork of his showing a woman in a field / meadow with many different flowers and herbs - some of which are definitely dandelions. 

Posukuma and dandelions

 

I've got a few postage stamps from Japan in the Dandelion Archive - this one is of Posukuma, the mascot of Japan Post, with a couple of friends sat beside dandelions (and what looks like horsetail too). I can't find out much more information (artist, year of issue), but I'll update this post if I find anything else out.

Hungarian dandelion and moth stamp

I've not updated the blog for a year! But I still collect information on all things to do with dandelions, I've just not found any spare time to keep this up to date. 

Anyway I've found a few minutes today and will see how many posts I can do...

Here's a wonderful example of a Hungarian postage stamp with a dandelion on. The main focus of the stamp is a moth (I think a Spurge Hawkmoth) and it's dated 1974, designed by Éva Zombory. Needless to say there is one in the Dandelion Archive.