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Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address: See them both in their 150th year

January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Long Remembered: Lincoln and His Five Versions of the Gettysburg Address

Long Remembered

American history has some big birthdays in 2013. Both Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and his Gettysburg Address are 150 years old.

Both of these documents play a major role in the Spielberg film Lincoln. The plot revolves around Lincoln’s struggle to have the Emancipation Proclamation ratified by Congress, and the movie opens with two black soldiers reciting for their president the words of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., has placed Lincoln’s own handwritten first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation on public display for the first time in six years. You’ll be able to view it through February 18. Find more details here.

The Library of Congress also houses two of the five known drafts of the Gettysburg Address that Lincoln hand-wrote. The other three are scattered. One is in the White House, another is in the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, and a third is at Cornell University. But you can see full-size, full-color facsimiles of all five versions of the Gettysburg Address in the Levenger Press book Long Remembered: Lincoln and His Five Versions of the Gettysburg Address.

In addition to what’s bound in the book, two of the versions of the Gettysburg Address –those that the Library of Congress owns—are reproduced as loose sheets and folded as Lincoln folded them. They are the closest you can come to holding this American history in your hands.

Mim Harrison

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iPad covers that have you covered when you work

September 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

So maybe we can’t have it all. But with the various iPad covers and iPad cases that Levenger offers, you can have the best of both worlds when it comes to technology: both digital and paper.

The fact is, using paper with your iPad can make you more productive. (A little like how a pinch of salt brings out the sweetness.) iPad is social; paper is personal. Let your iPad take you out into the world. Then use pen and paper to tune in quietly to your thoughts.

And we don’t mean office-supply paper. Levenger notebook paper is extra-strong, rich and thick. It’s paper worthy of an iPad.

Here are three ways to get more from your iPad by pairing it with Levenger paper:

  1. The Circa iPad Foldover Notebook offers a removable iPad holder with bulldog-strength Velcro on the left side of the notebook. On the right is the authentic Levenger Circa note paper, which moves on and off the discs as smoothly as a finger tap on your iPad screen.
  2. The Freeleaf iPad Zip Foliogives you the same dual-technology convenience of iPad-plus-Levenger-paper, this time in a handy junior size and with our traditional notepad.
  3. The Circa iPad Folio offers a tuckaway pocket for your iPad, along with the authentic Levenger Circa note paper. This pocket welcomes other tablets and e-readers as well, including the Nook and Kindle.

All three of these iPad cases are in rich full-grain leather.

And for those who are fans of Moleskine, Levenger offers the Moleskine Digital Folio for iPad, a marriage of two icons. Maybe you can have it all, after all.

 Mim Harrison

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The world’s most famous botanical engravings are in a new kind of Levenger Press book

September 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Here’s something you can’t do with an e-book: you can’t frame it. But that’s something you can do with our new Levenger Press limited edition book, Redoute, The Grand Collection: 128 masterpieces of botanical art.

The botanical engravings of Pierre-Joseph Redoute (1759-1840) are arguably the most famous in the world. Our new, exclusive book is a collection of 128 high-resolution, true-color facsimiles of various Redoute roses, lilies, fruits and other flowers. But instead of being a bound book, this collection is a series of 128 loose pages, printed on one side only. These high-quality Redoute botanical prints are thus suitable for framing.

The sheets are housed in a beautiful beribboned portfolio box of grass-green linen. The portfolio, which is lined on each panel with a Redoute design, is another way to display these botanical prints.

The story of Redoute is a fascinating one. He was influenced early on by a monk; he later became the artist to Marie-Antoinette and Napoleon’s Josephine; and he drew his botanicals as they’d never been done before. Two leading experts relay the Redoute story in a companion booklet that comes inside the portfolio. One expert’s perspective is on the artistic Redoute. The other’s is on the scientific Redoute.

For Redoute’s botanical prints are more than pleasing pictures: they’re also scientifically accurate. You might say that Redoute is the Audubon of botanical prints. And John James Audubon—whom Redoute once met—was, in fact, an admirer.

Redoute, The Grand Collection is available in a strictly limited edition of 1,400. This exclusive book comes with a special holiday price of $125 through December 24. At $125 for 128 prints, that’s less than a buck-a-botanical!  That’s not something available elsewhere, and certainly not at this high quality.

Sure, you can look at a picture of a Redoute print on a screen, but we think you’ll find the experience far richer on the rich, archival-quality paper we’ve used, and in a portfolio that opens panel by elegant panel, and with pages that are truly yours to have and to hold.

And don’t look for this Redoute in the bookstores. It’s available only from Levenger, making it almost as rare as a rose in winter.

Mim Harrison

 

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Three books to get a read on for National Read a Book Day

September 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Did you know that reading makes you more empathetic? That’s according to a study at the University of Buffalo. It also gives you a boost in mental acuity, as a a number of psychologists and neuroscientists have found.

But besides making us kinder and brighter, the best reason to read is because we like to: it’s rewarding. Since September 6th has been decreed National Book Day, we thought it would be a good time to give you our reading on why these three Levenger Press books are worth cracking open (yes, they’re print books, complete with ribbon bookmarks): Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Thoreau on Cape Cod, and The Fantasia of Leonardo da Vinci.

 Don’t Quit Your Day Job: What the Famous Did That Wasn’t. Read this book if you like…

  • - Bite-size bios of famous people that are both entertaining and authoritative. Jack Lynch, the author, is on the faculty at Rutgers–and a superb storyteller.
  • - To read a chapter of a book in about 10 minutes tops (great bedtime reading)
  • - To impress your friends with little-known facts about the famous—like the cubicle number assigned to Scott Adams, the creator of “Dilbert,” before he defected corporate cubicleville for a comic strip. Or how Isaac Newton designed counterfeit-foiling coinage for the British Mint.

Thoreau on Cape Cod: His Journeys and the Lost Maps. Read this book if you like…

  • - Cape Cod. Thoreau walked the entire Cape, so if you’ve been there, chances are you’ve been where he’s been.
  • - Old maps. There are two facsimiles, pocketed loosely into the book, of maps of Champlain’s that Thoreau corrected in red ink.
  • - On Walden Pond. This is Walden with waves and salt water. Lots of the usual great epigrams from Thoreau, such as “A man may stand there and put all America behind him.” But along with the contemplative is plenty of action—Thoreau’s night spent in a lighthouse, and his encountering of a shipwreck of immigrants from Galway, Ireland.

The Fantasia of Leonardo da Vinci. Read this book if you like…

  • - Owning a book by a New York Times bestselling author, Ross King, that few others will have.
  • - Discovering a side of this famous artist that few people know about. The book contains Leonardo’s riddles, jests, fables and bestiary. (He was a great animal lover, in a time when few were.)
  • - Riddles. Try this one of Leonardo’s: “Men will speak with each other from the most remote countries, and reply.” (Find the answer here: http://www.levenger.com/LevengerPress/Excerpts/LPExcerpts_LeonardoFantasia.aspx)

You won’t find these books on Amazon or in bookstores. You’ll find them at Levenger—and we think you’ll find them a good read.

 

Mim Harrison

 

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Can fine art be functional? Yes, when it’s at Levenger

June 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Pen a letter, jot a note, settle in comfortably for a read. And pursue these pleasures with fine art as your backdrop. Thanks to our partnership with the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Levenger is able to bring you functional pieces that feature fine-art reproductions you can’t find anywhere else.

Alma Thomas Rollerball

Alma Thomas Rollerball

If you are drawn to vibrant colors and bold strokes, let the Alma Thomas Rollerball blossom in your hand. Alma Woodsey Thomas (1891-1978) was the first African-American artist to have a solo show at the Whitney museum. She was also the first graduate of Howard University’s art department. Her canvas of Iris, Tulips, Jonquils and Crocusesbursts forth beautifully on this pen.

If French Impressionism is a favorite genre, you’ll probably enjoy our Berthe Morisot collection. Morisot was a contemporary of Monet and an equally fine painter, but alas, the women didn’t always receive the recognition that their male counterparts did. But Morisot (1841-1895) enjoys plenty of recognition from Levenger.

French Impressionist Ballpoint & Note Cube

French Impressionist Ballpoint & Note Cube

The green and gold palette of her painting The Cage inspired a new True Writer (fountain, roller and ballpoint). The image also graces the sides of a note cube.

A full reproduction can be found on our reader’s pillow—lovely to look at, and with a handy magazine pocket in back. These pleasing palettes also perform.

 

Mim Harrison

 

 

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Productive coexistence: these Levenger hybrids fuel both your electronic and paper needs

May 17, 2012 By 1 Comment

In his new book iDisorder, psychologist Larry Rosen advises that as much as we may love our personal technology tools (and he does), it’s good to take a “tech break” periodically.

At Levenger, we’re designing ways to achieve this balance through what we call productive coexistence. Products that let you use both fast tech and slow can actually help you be more productive, as you’re using your brain in different ways. Here are three to consider.

  1.        Circa iPad Foldover Notebook. See how well your iPad and your Circa notebook work with each other side by side. Sometimes it’s more efficient to tap and scroll; other times it’s more effective to write. Now both share an equal presence.
  2.       iPad Laplander. More of us who love to read are discovering when and what we prefer to read as an eBook, and when and what we enjoy reading more as a print book. This cozy lap pillow for reading answers both these calls.
  3.        Performance Pad Folio. Taking notes on a Levenger note pad with your iPad by your side can be especially productive when you’re researching on the Web and need to write as you go. Plus, having both these technologies—one fast, one slow—in one convenient folio keeps you at the ready for whatever the business day demands.

                                                                                                                       Mim Harrison

 

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A President’s Day pair for history lovers: Lincoln and Kennedy, side by side

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Long Remembered: Lincoln and His Five Versions of the Gettysburg Address

Long Remembered: Lincoln and His Five Versions of the Gettysburg Address

John F. Kennedy: The Making of His Inaugural Address (book and DVD)

John F. Kennedy: The Making of His Inaugural Address (book and DVD)

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address of 1863 and John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address of 1961 are two of the shortest speeches in America’s history, yet they have had the most lasting impact. In fact, they rank as two of the world’s great iconic speeches.

For those who want to know the stories behind the making of each speech, you’ll find them in two of our Levenger Press books. (But you won’t find Levenger Press books anywhere but Levenger.)

The Library of Congress and Lincoln historian Doug Wilson provide the scholarship for the story of the Gettysburg Address—how, when and why Lincoln wrote five versions of it. The JFK Presidential Library and historian Roger Kennedy show how JFK (whose prose was influenced by Lincoln’s) crafted a message whose famous “Ask not” still resonates.

And then, by giving the reader full-size, full-color facsimiles of the documents that went into the making of both these speeches, we show you how two great thinkers edited and refined their messages.

Our Lincoln and Kennedy books are the same coffee-table size, 9 ½ x 12, and make excellent companions for the history lover’s bookshelf. Why not have a virtual browse of both the Lincoln book  and the JFK book right now?

 

Mim Harrison

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Come get Loopy for literacy with me: a note from CEO Steve Leveen to fans of Levenger

January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Lori and Steve

Lori and Steve

Dear Reader,

Next month Lori and I and a bunch of Levenger staff members will Loop the Lake for Literacy. You’re invited to come along—virtually or otherwise.

“Loop the Lake for Literacy” is a charity bike ride that some dedicated souls here in South Florida started last year, with me as one of their champions. Levenger, as you may know, is headquartered in South Florida’s Palm Beach County.

The ride is on the shores of Lake Okeechobee, that large doughnut in the center of the Florida peninsula, and the cause it supports is one close to my heart, the nonprofit Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County.

If you’d like to come and ride yourself, we’d love to have you join us. The event takes place Saturday, February 25th. You’ll find all the details on the event website.

You’ll be in for a most rewarding experience. Just make sure you register in January, because on February 1st the prices go up.

First-hand admiration

That the Literacy Coalition does important work I know first-hand, because I’ve tutored some of the people the Coalition reaches. I once asked the 25-year old Mexican gardener I was tutoring why he was studying his English so hard. “I would like someday to get a job indoors” was his reply. I’m happy to report that he did get that job indoors, moving carpets at a furniture retailer.

The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach CountyI’ve also tutored some of the migrant workers in Belle Glade, the agricultural town on Lake Okeechobee. Believe me when I tell you how rewarding it is to see the delight in the faces of migrant-farming moms when they’re able to move one step closer to helping their children with their English-language homework.

The downside is that all the fine programs that the Literacy Coalition runs, and which I’ve been personally involved with, have waiting lists and budgets that don’t allow for more teachers and more hours. And yet, few dollars work harder to support economic development, public health and safety than those invested in literacy.

Pedal with mettle

loop the lake starting lineThe ride is actually many different rides the same day—from short distances of 15 miles for casual cyclists, to the entire loop of the lake, of approximately 115 miles, for the experienced, hardcore road-cycling enthusiast. Detailed descriptions of each ride option are on the website.

For Loop the Lake, I do my best imitation of Lance Armstrong and go the whole doughnut. Loopy? You bet. But worth every pedal for the cause it supports.

If you’re not able to join us in person but would like to donate by sponsoring my ride, I promise to do you proud.  Just click on the Steve Leveen account, and know that you have my heartfelt thanks.

If you want to know how this cycling event came to be, there’s a (short)story behind it  that you might enjoy reading.

And then, just imagine if you couldn’t read this.

That’s why I get Loopy for literacy.

—Steve

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Artisanal gifts from Levenger: handmade and truly one-of-a-kind gifts

December 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Dickens Christmas Carol Stocking

Dickens Christmas Carol Stocking

If you buy two of our handmade Dickens Christmas Carol Stockings,  look closely and you’ll see that each Scrooge is different, each Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim is different—even each snowflake is different. The Dickens Christmas Carol Stocking is one of several artisanal gifts Levenger is offering. These are truly unique holiday gifts, each item one-of-a-kind. In a virtual age, isn’t it nice to know that what you touch is handmade?

When you buy Levenger artisanal gifts, you’re also helping to keep alive handcraft traditions among people who would otherwise live in extreme poverty. The artisans of the Dickens Christmas Carol Stocking are women and men who live in impoverished, rural India.

One more reason to feel good about giving these artisanal gifts from Levenger: they’re connected to worthy causes. Levenger is making a donation to Reading Is Fundamental, in support of children’s literacy in the U.S., based on sales of the Dickens Christmas Carol Stocking through December 24. Reading Is Fundamental is the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. devoted to children’s literacy.

MyMela Tree of Life Tote

MyMela Tree of Life Tote

Another artisanal gift that Levenger offers is the MyMela Tree of Life Tote. Handmade by women in India, each of these silk totes features delicate hand embroidery, in what is known as the Ahir stitch, of a brilliant Tree of Life. Rich in symbolism, the tree bursts forth on this tote in a jewel-toned canopy of flowers, birds and other creatures from nature, each one embroidered by hand.

The father-and-daughter team who founded MyMela contribute 20% of their profits to the Indian artisan communities they work with.

Thai Pad™

Thai Pad™

Our popular Thai Pad book rest for your iPad is also handmade, by women in rural Thailand, during those times when they’re not harvesting crops. On Steve’s blog titled Thai Pad Country, you can read about his son’s visit to meet the women who make this sturdy book pillow, which holds an iPad or other e-reader as well as a traditional book. Levenger is making a donation to the International Reading Association that is earmarked for literacy programs in the remote regions of Thailand.

Our holiday theme for this year is Lasting Gifts of Joy. Levenger artisanal gifts are handcrafted from traditions that have lasted for centuries, and bring a special joy to both the one who receives and the one who gives these handmade gifts.

 

Mim Harrison

 

 

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Winston Churchill’s racehorse is up at Levenger Downs!

December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Churchill's Racehorse Bookend

Churchill's Racehorse Bookend

Okay, “Levenger Downs” may be a stretch, but Winston Churchill’s racehorse Colonist II is, indeed, at Levenger. We commissioned the British sculptor Jon Bickley to create a miniature sculpture of Churchill’s racehorse, which we made into a bookend.

Jon’s sculpture is faithful down to the fencepost on which is propped the hat Churchill wore at the track, and that you see in the photograph of Churchill with Colonist II that’s featured on the bookend.

And since this is Winston Churchill, the base of the bookend features one of Churchill’s famously witty quotes. We had Churchill historian Richard Langworth vet the quote, so you’re assured these are words Churchill actually uttered.

Winston Churchill, The Happy Warrior

Winston Churchill, The Happy Warrior

You can see a pictorial rendering of Churchill as a young soldier, sitting astride a horse, in our exclusive Levenger Press book, The Happy Warrior. The book is a facsimile of England’s famous Eagle Comics strip from the 1950s, which presented a Churchill biography in comic book form. The Happy Warrior was a graphic novel ahead of its time.

And as unusual as this biography of Winston Churchill is, it’s also accurate. Once again, we asked Richard Langworth to put his expert Churchillian eye to each page, to ensure that it was.

 

Mim Harrison

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