Look, this is going to be rambling af so totally okay to skip this whole post because it’s me talking about something that gave me so much joy and I want to write it down for myself so I always remember it. It will not be well-written and if you are not a fan of Shelley Duvall you will be confused as shit. But in case you’re just here to check on Hailey, they are still in pain but much better and seem to be recovering well. YAY!
Still here? Okay. I’ve written before about how much I adore Shelley Duvall. I’ve seen almost everything she’s ever been in and her Faerie Tale Theatre show was one of my favorite things ever, especially because I’ve collected old children’s books (especially dark fairy tales) since I was a kid and never quit. (Click the link to watch Jeff Goldblum as a sassy wolf. Fun for all ages.)
Twelve years ago we lived in the Hill Country not far from Shelley and I never told her how much she meant to me because she was in a delicate state sometimes and I didn’t want to scare her with my adoration, but once we ran into her and she stopped Hailey (who’d dressed themselves in a fluffy hat and poofy dress and green galoshes that looked like frogs) and asked Hailey if they were a princess, because they certainly seemed to be one. And Hailey beamed and I may have cried a little afterward. It’s one of my favorite memories.
A local auction house is auctioning her things next month but this weekend they had an estate sale AT HER HOUSE and so of course I showed up at dawn and waited in the heat with so many other people who were so kind and shared their own Shelley stories. I told Victor that there were only two things I really wanted…a fairy tale book and a small flower crown that I’d seen in the preview pictures hanging with hundreds of her hats because it reminded me of one she’d worn in one of my favorite Faerie Tale Theatre episodes.
When I got inside I was overwhelmed because it’s a small house and it was PACKED (although everyone was very kind and helpful) and it was not air conditioned so I just ducked into the space just a few feet into the front door because that was as far as I could go without getting panicked…and that just so happened to be where hundreds of her fairy tale books were lined up. *magic* Victor had disappeared in the crowd so I picked up an armful of books I wanted and smiled at how many obscure books I skipped over because they were already in my weird collection. (WEIRD MINDS THINK ALIKE.) They weren’t in great shape (many had survived the California earthquake that convinced her to move back to Texas) but I don’t care about condition because I read them and don’t sell them. They were mostly $40 each and when Victor finally showed back up I handed him a big stack and he was like, “Really?” and I was like, “I know. I am showing great restraint here only because I know other people will want books too” and he was like, “No, I mean..do you really need all these books?” and I was like “Is that a trick question?” And he pointed out that I hadn’t even gotten to other rooms and I said, “Yes, but I can’t do it. This is enough. I’m happy.” And he was like, “What about the crown you wanted?” and I said, “Forget the crown. I need a xanax and a quiet corner” and then he turned to show me the flower crown in his arm that he’d picked up while I was in book heaven.
And when I got home I found a screenshot of Shelley Duvall in her crown and…
I went through the books one by one and most were inscribed with her name and the date she bought them and where she bought them (Abilene, London, NYC, Kyoto).
One that I’d never seen before was called Master Snickup’s Cloak and it was a very out-of-print dark fairy tale about syphilis, the dark ages, the plague, prostitutes and flagellation and the art was spectacular but what struck me most was this image of a giant with ship on his head in the sea, which I’d seen before in a Shelley Duvall movie ” Time Bandits”. Now, Shelley bought this book in 1979, but Time Bandits came out in 1981 so I assumed that this illustrator (Brian Froud) must’ve worked on the movie but when I looked him up it said that he hadn’t but that the director, Terry Gilliam, admitted to borrowing from “a book” by Froud. Was this the book? (Froud would later go on to work on The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.)
I spent the whole night reading her books and pouring over the illustrations and trying to identify what she was doing in her life on each date. Some books were bought during her time shooting The Shining but most were bought in the 80s when she was doing Faerie Tale Theatre. I also picked up an unpublished script for Aesop’s Fables that was marked with her production company’s logo. In an interview she’d said that wanted to start shooting the fables but hadn’t gotten to it. I suppose this was one of the pieces that never got made?
It was a little heartbreaking to see pieces like that, honestly, because it feels like her personal papers and one-of-a-kind scripts and photos should be in an archive or with a biographer or documentarian rather than scattered to the wind. Perhaps they were all copied before they were sold? I don’t know. Ephemera is so fleeting.
Yesterday I wanted to go back for the last hour of the sale because I really wanted to walk through her house and thought maybe the traffic would be better. (She lived down a one-lane, mile long country road and we were trapped for an hour trying to leave because you couldn’t leave if someone else was entering.) Victor agreed to take me and we figured if the traffic was still bad we’d just park and walk the mile but it was almost empty when we got there.
The house and barns were fairly empty of things, which was fine because I just wanted to walk through and say goodbye but then someone pointed out that there were bookcases in the garage that still had children’s books no one had wanted. They were mostly from the 60s through the 90s, and there were stacks of books that I’d read over and over from the library. Steven Kellogg, Mercer Mayer, Rosemary Wells, Marc Brown, Beverly Cleary. It was like a small, dusty time-capsule of my childhood. None of them were inscribed with her name and they weren’t in great shape but I was one of the last people remaining so they gave me a very good deal and so I pulled together a stack that I’d like to one day read to my grandkids if I have them. I got a few for my sister, for my mom, for friends who couldn’t make it but who were inspired by Shelley and her work with books.
The last one I picked up was a teddy bear book written by Kathleen Hague and illustrated by Michael Hague, which had a little water damage but my mom and sister and I love Michael Hague so I couldn’t leave it behind. When I got home I cleaned each book page by page and when I opened up the Hague book I found that it was signed by Kathleen and Michael and that Michael had drawn a teddy bear inside. 0_0 This seems like a silly thing to most people but when I told my mom and sister and sister they were like, “OMG” with so many exclamation marks so just believe me that this was an absolutely giddy hyperfixaction thrill.
It struck me how many of the antique fairy tale books that I bought were written by women (although often under their initials or pseudonyms) at a time when women weren’t often recognized or remembered as anything other than mothers and wives. I also saw how often the names of the books owners inscribed in the books were usually women…each a temporary guardian of stories that others may see as frivolous, but which carried secrets, inspiration and often offer a temporary sort of freedom and escape that was not always available to women.
One of the books I bought was a 1903 copy of The Ward of King Canute, by O.A. Liljencrantz. I bought the book this weekend from Shelley’s house. Shelley bought it second-hand in April of 1982. Before that it was owned by a woman named Rita Cantine, who died in Texas in 1976. Before that it was owned by Eliza Vanderveer Prince, who was a Brooklyn native (and died there in 1932) and who probably bought it new in 1903 from the F. Loeser and Co. Brooklyn Bookstore, who stamped the inside of the book. The author (Ottili Lilincrantz) was still alive at the time it was printed, but died at age 34 in 1916. She was best known for writing the book the silent film The Viking (1928) was based on. She was inspired by her drama teacher, Anna Morgan (1851-1936) who was the first person to put on a production of Caesar and Cleopatra with an all female cast. I know this all can seem like pointless details but if you’ve ever done genealogy you know who rare it is to be able to find women listed as anything more daughters, wives and mothers. Getting even a tiny glimpse into the minds and lives and tastes of women from as far back as the 1800’s using just a single book is sort of incredible. As each one wrote their name inside the book it made a spider web into the past, a note saying “I was here. I was real.”
I wrote my name in the book today. One day I assume there will be an estate sale for me and someone will pick this same book and write their name in it, which is sort of a lovely thought. In the end we are all just stories. But what amazing stories they can be.
Ps. As a small little rabbit hole in a whole post that is rabbit holes: One of my favorite things about children’s books is how often illustrators will hide tiny jokes in their pictures. I often go through the books with a magnifying glass and that’s how I found this infinitesimal image (truly smaller than a fingernail clipping) hidden on a newspaper in Graham Oakley’s The Church Cat Abroad (1973), that I picked up from Shelley’s house :
It cracked me up and made me look up the author and that took me to this 14-year-old blog post about how he couldn’t get published anymore after the 90s ended when there was a push-back on the detailed drawings with little jokes for parents and kids. His publisher said it was it was a bad idea to tuck in jokes and satire that kids wouldn’t get and he said that these books are for grown-ups to and would spur kids on to look up what they didn’t get or search to learn more. And now, 51 years after he published The Church Cat Abroad, I’m here doing just that.
I have read so many of your posts over the years, but this may be the one that has touched me most. I relate very much to the fairy tale love and your list of women who wrote and loved just that one book choked me up a little. Thank you.
Hi there! My husband and crew were the ones who set up everything at the sale and ran it (I had to come in on Saturday mid-day to help run checkout so the line could move faster). If you would like some more behind the scenes info about the items that were there, feel free to drop me a line!
(Long time follower, first time commenter)
(You guys did a good job. Everyone was so nice and I loved that y’all had water on hand. I’ll email you. ~ Jenny)
You’re fabulous but it is simply beyond my comprehension that you do not have a picture of Hailey that includes the green galoshes!
Amazing. I am gobsmacked at this! Your love for books is outstanding. I loved reading this encounter and all the tiny details of the day. Thank you,thank you.
Girl! Magick is real af & you live it. Love that.
I read every word of this fabulous post. I love books and all things book related. Thank you for sharing with us.
This post came at exactly the right moment. I have been dealing with doctors all day playing phone tag and fighting for prescriptions. I was starting to spiral into a major anxiety attack, then I opened my email. Reading this helped pull me out. Thank you. I am so excited for you and your finds. I love how dedicated and detailed you are about things you love. Reading about your rabbit hole dive pulled me out of mine. I am also glad that Hailey is feeling better (sending healing vibes).
Sounds like a wonderful couple of days! Graham Oakley is one of my, and my four sons’, favorite picture book authors. The jokes were the fun of them. I still don’t own all of them, between my eldest, who amazingly lucked into a bunch of them at, of all places, a church rummage sale, and me we probably have most. Last I heard many of them were still in print in England.
What a great adventure (for you, Shelly, and the books)! Definitely the same crown. The colors on the flowers line up exactly.
Can I just say: Victor for the win.
Wow! I know so much more than I did before I read this. I am amazed, delighted and happy to learn all this. And also, Even with the book comment… what a jewel Victor was to have found you the flower crown. You two are a good team indeed. And how awesome that Hailey met and was designated a fairy by Shelly Duvall.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. What a beautiful tribute!
Wonderful post! I wouldn’t have had the funds for such a haul, but its nice that a book lover like yourself was able to rescue some of her collection and give it a good home.
I love all of this!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I didn’t have a chance to comment on the original post last week but I immediately thought “If she had met you, she’d have totally wanted you to have that”.
This was an absolute delight to read! I’m so glad you found so many wonderful treasures.
This post felt like magic to me. Thank you for describing it loosely, honestly, and just as if you telling a dear friend about a wonderful thing that had just occurred. What a gift.
OMG! I adore Shelley Duvall as well! Her Faerie Tale Theatre show was my favorite growing up and I have a DVD set and still watch them out of nostalgia. You are the such a shining light in my life right now! Thank you so much for all your incredible posts! You are a ducking delight 🙂
I had a tough day, Nadine.
This was a fabulous love letter to a creator. May everyone remember her as an uplifter of story as you do
Fantastic! Victor is awesome for finding the crown for you.
I’m so glad Hailey is feeling better, and I love the story of you both meeting Shelley Duvall, she sounds awesome.
I love, love, love that she and you collect children’s books and fairy tales, which were often dark cautionary tales.
I recommended in one of my last comments Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family a 1965 children’s novel, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
And I love Ferocious the Puppy-dragon a children’s book written by David Page, first published in 1971 or 1972.
I love Andrew Lang’s rainbow fairy books series, and the original Grimm’s fairy tales, and the pre-Disney Rescuers books series by Margery Sharp, and the Borrowers by Mary Norton, the older Ladybird imprint of miniature children’s fairy tales books series, and other books series by so many other lovely children’s authors.
I wonder if you could share the many stories and series and authors you love, and your followers could as well? There are so many that are out of print and undiscovered or have been taken over by Disney, never to be seen in their original form again.
Next time you’re visiting CT or going between NYC and Boston up I-95, stop off in Niantic and check out the Book Barn, https://www.bookbarnniantic.com/
This is SO amazingly cool and wonderful.
that part about the women who owned the teddy bear book gave me chills because you are right! the shadow women are everywhere. what a vivid tracery of women’s lives just in those details. Wow. (Karla, formerly Texpatriate in the early days of blogging)
barely relevant to the post overall, but all the Church Cat books are absolutely treats and I had to hunt them all down again as an adult.
I love the ramblings. They treat me to a one on one conversation with you. I also love Shelley Duvall! She was amazing. And what a treasure trove. I collect old children’s language readers. I find them so telling about what was important and what the social mores were in the time they were written. Estate sales are the best for those things. And yes, I too get overwhelmed by the people and the stuff. But I love to think of all the things that brought someone so much joy finding another home and living on, with someone else’s name inscribed in their history.
xo andrea
That moment when Victor shows you the flower crown is pure romance novel & I’m so here for it.
I also love Shelly Duvall but OMG BRIAN FROUD MENTIONED! I have his faerie book and I treasure it.
If you missed that “Dark Crystal” documentary, his son Toby (the baby in “Labyrinth”) apprenticed at The Muppet Workshop in 1999, and has worked on some VERY cool stuff, including the Dark Crystal prequel series.
He found your flower crown…. Too sweet
This reminds me how I felt after hearing about Carrie Fisher’s passing. I never had the opportunity to meet her but I admired her so deeply I actually cried when I saw the announcement. It’s incredible how deeply we can care for a person who touched our life without ever knowing us. I’m so glad you were able to go and that you have such incredible mementos to celebrate her memory.
Reading this, I could feel your joy.
This was wonderful. I love Shelley, love you and adore old children’s books and fairy tales so what a connection I feel.
As I was pouring over every single word of this – and loving it – I swear that for just a moment, I smelled musty books. It was so distinctive, I was really taken aback. Then I smiled. I loved many of the same authors and illustrators, and was caught up in memories of reading them to my children. Thanks for sharing this, and taking me there.
I love this post. I recently got a bunch of David Lynch’s photography books at an estate sale. Never met him but I love to have a lot of his books. I spent a fortune but it was worth it to me. – arbrk.net
You captured and conveyed the Shelley Duvall estate sale experience wonderfully! I left my home six miles away in Rockin’ J Ranch, never realizing her home was si close to mine. I joined the morning hurry up and wait long line and turned to see friends and neighbors there to capture a piece Shelley. I spent hours surfing with the crowd through the barns and home seeking insight from the creative safe-house in the hill country. You captured what I too observed, the vast number of tomes of and by women. Just as you found hidden treasures others had not by looking beyond her signature, there were many fairy and children’s books inscribed and dedicated to her by family, friends, authors and illustrators who fed her creativity. My favorites are three also illustrated by Michael Hague: The Hobbit, Peter Pan, World of Unicorns and Old Mother West Wind, each with a special inscription and added illustration to Shelley from Michael Hague. I have these now to share with my grandson and to ensure that the world of fairies and fantasy lives on.
This whole post gave me (Mother) Goose bumps!
No lie. I am insanely jealous that you were at her estate sale, that she has interacted with Hailey and just everything. She was a phenomenal person, and I was truly sad when she passed.
I love going down rabbit holes with you!
This was a joy to read 📚 💕
Brian Froud is my favorite artist of all time. I’ve often said that most pictures of faeries are little girls in dresses with wings, but his faeries are REAL faeries. And his wife, Wendy, designed Yoda!
Love everything about this post, Jenny! I also love when you go down the rabbit hole because you find such interesting information. Not a well-known movie now but Time Bandits is one of our favourites. We just love Terry Gilliam movies – not to forget Monty Python!
Love this whole post! I think Shelly would be so pleased that you are the next careful caretaker of her treasures!!
Totally the same crown. YAY, Victor! Loved this post.
Just admitting I have only read the first half of your post and then skimmed to the post script because for some reason I have to be honest even if it really doesn’t matter. Now to the point, regarding hidden children’s book jokes – in Kevin Henkes’ “Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse,” there is a page where she is talking to her dad and he is hiding either a wine glass or a bottle of wine behind his back. Favorite illustration in the book.
“A spider web into the past.” How absolutely lovely! I’m so elated that you found all these things that you cherish and connected you to your past and to Shelley!
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I love this whole story. But my favorite was Victor finding that crown of flowers for you. (Tears!)That is true love and a deep understanding of who you are and what you struggle with. I have my own Victor but his name is Kyle. I couldn’t do life without him.
I think you need to change the category of this post from “random crap” to something like “My Amazing Magical Life.” I’m so glad Victor found the flower crown for you, and that you were able to get all those lovely books, and I love that you do all this research on things and write about them. I also love the backstories about things, and that they gather stories as they’re passed on, and I’m sure Shelley would love the fact that you are caring for some of her treasures. 💗
The part about the book that all the women signed is amazing (side note: I also love geneaology – I spent hours one day researching the line between me and Kyra Sedgwick because I was bored and wanted to see how many degrees of separation there were between me and Kevin Bacon and it turns out Kyra and I are 10th cousins! And that’s even better than being related to Kevin).
Jenny, you’ve given me a new appreciation for Shelley Duvall. I remember her as Olive Oil in the Robin Williams Popeye film. How delightful she commented on Hailey’s outfit. Recognizing that a Princess wears galoshes.
I’m not familiar with Shelley Duvall except from The Shining, but reading this genuinely made me tear up. I absolutely love that there are people out there who cherish things others leave behind, things that otherwise might not have value or meaning but they are connected to someone no longer here and instead of them just disappearing there are others who care for them… Okay that was a rambly sentence but I’m sure you understand.
I had a hard time finishing reading this, my eyes kept welling up. Nobody is cutting onions so it must just be the joy I felt for you! We should all be fortunate enough to have days that replenish us in ways that are hard to explain.
I am familiar with almost none of what you mentioned here, but I have read the post multiple times because the sheer joy of it comes through bright a clear. Thank you for sharing!
Were Hailey’s anything like these galoshes? https://www.ebay.com/shop/frog-rain-boots
Mad Magazine played a similar role for my child self, with hints and obscure references luring me to learn more about some mysterious, more-grown-up subjects. Tips that came in handy over the years.
Similar, I meant to write, to Graham Oakley’s The Church Cat Abroad.
That’s absolutely the same flower crown as in the picture, Jenny! The flowers are the same type and in the same order.
I love that you loved her enough to buy her books, her remnants, and to keep her memory alive
I loved this post so much, Jenny! What a wild thing the Universe is, how she can lift the curtain back now and then, to give us a peek into her magic! Books saved me when I was very little, and they still do.
This post was truly lovely on so many levels. Thank you for your words!
This is possibly the most beautiful blog you (or anyone else, for that matter) have ever written. Thank you for making me smile, laugh, and cry all at the same time. You are a goddess.
“Ephemera is so fleeting.” I love this. Please put this on a shirt. Or a mug, though mugs are not fleeting. Still, I would lift my mug moratorium for such a thing.
I remember as a kid discovering the Church Cat and Church Mice books at my local library. They were hilarious and wonderful. We read those books to death. The Church Mice and the Moon was a particular favorite.
“in the end we are all just stories…” oh that so resonates. Perfect, perfect.
“I was here. I was real” Chills. This post is entirely amazing. As a fellow San Antonio resident, I am bummed that I missed this.
Just love every word of this post and wanted to let you know.
O Jenny, this is a wonderful post! Thank you.
I, myself, have no want to ever be famous, BUT this entire story is what I imagine someone who was famous would want for themselves. Your adoration and care for her things as if you knew her is the kind of post death handing we would all want.
I have hidden my love for childrens books for a long time – I guess I thought it was silly to look at them and collect them now that our son is all grown up. But I loved reading to him and being read to as a child. You have inspired me to bring that hidden love into the light. I will collect and read and enjoy and continue to be inspired by you. Love you!
No words describe how precious this post was for me!
Fabulous! Thank you for sharing!
LOVED this!!!
I saved this to read until I had time to go down all of the rabbit holes and now I have so many open tabs that I know I won’t be getting anything done today! ❤️❤️❤️
Please print copies of this blog post on acid free paper and slip them into the books you mention. The provenance is beautiful!
I encourage women I know to put their names on their art even if they think “it’s just crochet.” (I have some inherited pieces I’m going to add names to this winter.)
And I long ago decided to view every “Anonymous” poet & artist as a woman–try it and see how the perspective changes.
–MaryHS
I loved Faerie Tale Theater. Our location video rental store in Albuquerque, NM used to have those on VHS tape and I watched many of them in the late 80s.
I’ve loved you for years, don’t think I’ve ever posted…but this overlap with Graham Oakley and ‘weird minds’ requires me to comment. My Mom bought all of Graham’s books and I now have the complete church mice series in addition to his fox force books. I hate that people think satirical and hidden references in childrens books are to their detriment. As a kid I loved them deeply, my children love them deeply and all of those who understand life is darker and more complicated than the disney-fied versions need these stories.
When I think of Shelley Duvall, I always think of the live action Popeye movie. She was such an amazing Olive Oyl! I remember my mom watching it with me and marveling that anyone could move so convincingly like a cartoon character.
I’m so happy you got to meet her and save some of the priceless items of her life. Maybe someday there will be a chance to have the screenplays officially preserved in a museum. Perhaps the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle could help with suggestions.
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