Love Poems and Letters for all the year

[2], 61, [1] pages. The dust jacket is price clipped and has some wear and soiling. Ink gift notation on fep. Ruth D. McCrea was a writer and illustrator who had worked for all the major New York publishing houses. She earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Fla., where she met her future husband. For several seasons she led the Ringling Brothers circus parade on its return to winter quarters in Sarasota, seated on an elephant, dressed as a harem girl. During WWII, while her husband served in the merchant marine, Mrs. McCrea supported herself painting watercolors of the Bahamas, producing more than 500 of them. She and her husband of 70 years, the late James McCrea, a designer and typographer, wrote and illustrated four children's books published by Atheneum Books in the 1960s, "The Story of Olaf," "The Birds," "The Magic Tree," and "The King's Procession," which was named one of the 50 best books of 1963 by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. The McCreas collaborated on dozens of book jackets, designs, and illustrations including covers for novels by such writers as Graham Greene and Iris Murdoch. They worked together on the original oil paintings used for the cover design of the full set of Ernest Hemingway titles in the Scribner Classic series. Among Mrs. McCrea's independent work were the covers and illustrations for dozens of books published by Peter Pauper Press, with titles ranging from "Love Poems and Letters" and "Aquavit to Zombie: Basic and Exotic Drinks," and "Abalone to Zabaglione: Unusual and Exotic Recipes." This little volume has been published in a desire to celebrate Love from January to December.for true sentiment need know no single Valentine's Day, but rather should flourish and deepen each day of the year. May Cupid speed it on its journey, and St. Valentine, patron saint of lovers, Bless the true in heart! Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love of a mother differs from the love of a spouse, which differs from the love for food. Most commonly, love refers to a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment. Love is considered to be positive, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—"the unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the good of another". It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, oneself, or animals. In its various forms, love acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts. Love has been postulated to be a function that keeps human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species.…