Hungarian Fantasy

 My little trip around the world of folk art continues with a visit to Hungary,

a country whose bold popular crafts include a stunning embroidery tradition.

The vivid colors and joyful love of nature present in these art forms find 

a wonderful individual expression in the works of Károly Reich.

Three linocuts by Károly Reich

Károly Reich (1922–1988) was an Hungarian artist best known for his children's book 

illustrations and poster designs. Born in a farming family in the lake Balaton area, 

Károly loved to draw, preferably animals. At 18 he won a scholarship and moved to Budapest, 

where he graduated at the Hungarian Academy of Applied Art.

 During his long career Reich illustrated more than 400 books, mostly for children. 

These were much loved in Hungary, but to my knowledge not many were published abroad.

The title above is one of the exceptions, and was published by Jonathan Cape in 1975.

The book's cover was posted on flickr by Moonflygirl together with this sweet illustration.

See more photos from the French edition at Ribambelles & Ribambins.  

I found these two postcards in the flickr stream of Oli Kovacs,

who posted a selection of Reich's illustrations.

This is a series of Reich's book covers found around the web. They make me really

curious to see what they hide inside, and as soon as I have some spare time

I'll embark on a hunt for some Károly Reich volumes to call my own...

and I'm not the only fan, as you can see here and here!

Update: I just discovered Deborah's post on Károly Reich's counting book 

at Kickcan & Conkers... go take a look, it's lovely!