#jaro hess

[adarkrainbow]

I was recently reminded of the existence of this artwork, so I'll make a quick post about it. I had a very large version of the picture allowing t scrutinize little details - but unfortunately the size limit of Tumblr shrunk the picture.

This is the map known as "The Land of Make Believe", the most famous work of Jaro Hess - a collection of more than sixty references to various fairy tales, nursery rhymes, pieces of children literature and European legends, collected together in the shape of one fantastical and magical land. It was published in the early 1930s.

I will leave under the cut a complete list of all the places described and named on this map (a bit more than sixty in total):

Here the North Wind lives

Bluebeard's Castle

Here lives Peter Pan

Rip Van Winkle

Do not go in here

Here Little Miss Muffett was terribly frightened

Red Riding Hood's Grandmother's house

Jack Sprat - His house

The dilatory ship that never comes in

The Water Babies live here

Here the old man caught the golden fish

Dapple Gray Poney she rode him through the mire

Little Boy Blue fast asleep

The city of many towers where the beautiful princess lives

The castle of the giants

This is the cow that jumped over the moon

The city of brass

Jack the giant killer's house

Simple Simon met the Pieman here

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Crooked Man lives in his Crooked House

Mary and her Little Lamb

The black hen who laid eggs for gentlemen

Old Mother Hubbard's place

Bo-Peep's sheep

Contrary Mary's garden

Jack and Jill went up this hill

Here fairies dance in the moonlight

Here the Old King Col lives and the fiddlers three occasionally fiddle

Enchanted woods

Bottomless lake

Here is a desert

High tower where the little lame prince was locked

This house belongs to Grandfather-know-all

Magic carpet

The glass mountain

The wonderful Moo-Moo bird

The Emerald City of Oz

Long, Broad and Swift Glance

Do not walk near the edge!

Hansel and Gretel find the gingerbread house

Here the black bird picked off the maid's nose

Peter Rabbit lives in this hole

Here are the Babes in the Woods, covered in leaves

The shoe here the old woman lives

Little Bo Peep is looking for her sheep

The Wandering Jew

Tom-Tom the piper's son ran this way

Here the mermaids play

The Squall Fish

In this place there are peculiar fishes

The mysterious island

The path that leaves to no place eventually

The house that Jack built

Cinderella lives here

The castle where the Sleeping Beauty sleeps

Humpty Dumpty had that great fall here

The talking bird

The old witch lives here

West of the moon

East of the sun

[adarkrainbow]

I love this map so much, and yet I never actually considered this dark side of it...

... makes it even cooler.

"The Land of Make Believe" by Jaro Hess

Created by Prague-born Jaro Hess in 1930, this map depicts a fantasy world populated by the most popular childhood characters of all time.

Don't be fooled by the cheerfulness of the place, considering the plot of their original stories, some characters here are about to find a grim end.

The Land of Make Believe is not as peaceful as it may first appear.

[oracle-fae]

The Land Of Make Believe // Jaro Hess, 1930

[taxi-davis]

The Land of Make Believe by Jaro Hess

[bluesinmyveins]

jaro hess

[visualpoett]

The Land of Make Believe (1930)

Artist: Jaro Hess

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY The Symbol of Christian Charity and Patron of Hungary Feast Day: November 17

"As in heaven, Your will is punctually performed, so may it be done on earth by all creatures, particularly in me and by me."

Elizabeth of Thuringia, a symbol of Christian charity, an early member of the Third Order of St. Francis and is today honored as its patroness, the patroness of Hungary, the Archdiocese of Bogotá in Colombia, and of the Archdiocese of Jaro in Iloilo, was born on July 7, 1207 in Pozsony, Kingdom of Hungary (modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia), and is the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary (Andrew of Jerusalem) and Gertrude of Merania, who was killed at the hands of the nobles led by Peter, son of Töre. Her mother's sister was Hedwig of Andechs, the wife of Duke Heinrich I of Silesia. Her ancestry included many notable figures of European royalty, going back as far as Vladimir the Great of the Kievan Rus'.

According to a different tradition, Elizabeth lived in the Castle of Posonium until the age of four. After she was brought to the court of the rulers of Thuringia in central Germany, Elizabeth was married at a young age in 1221 to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia (Ludwig IV), the son of Hermann I, giving birth to three children, and a future union which would reinforce political alliances between the two families. She was raised by the Thuringian court and would have been familiar with the local language and culture. That same year, Louis was enthroned as landgrave. Their marriage appears to have been happy.

Her husband was fascinated by her charm and holiness. Whenever he went back from an official trip, he would always give her a present; and used to say that he would rather cast away a mountain of gold than give her up. In 1223, Franciscan friars arrived, and the teenage Elizabeth not only learned about the ideals of Francis of Assisi, but started to live them. Louis was not upset by his wife's charitable efforts, believing that the distribution of his wealth to the poor would bring eternal reward; he is venerated in Thuringia as a saint, though he was never canonized by the church.

It was also about this time that the priest and later inquisitor Konrad von Marburg gained considerable influence over Elizabeth when he was appointed as her confessor and later, spiritual father. When floods, famine and plague wrought havoc in Thuringia in the spring of 1226, Louis, a staunch supporter of the Hohenstaufen Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, represented Frederick II at the Imperial Diet held in Cremona. Elizabeth assumed control of affairs at home and distributed alms in all parts of their territory, even giving away state robes and ornaments to the poor.

A few years later, Elizabeth's life begins to irrevocably changed forever. On September 11, 1227, when her husband Louis, en route to join the Sixth Crusade, died of a fever in Otranto at the age of just 26 years old, just a few weeks before the birth of her daughter Gertrude. 

Upon hearing the news of her husband's death and Louis' body returned to Germany, she reportedly said and cried: 'He is dead. He is dead. It is to me as if the whole world died today!'

His remains were returned to Elizabeth in 1228 and entombed at the abbey of Reinhardsbrunn. After Louis' death, his brother, Henry Raspe, assumed the regency during the minority of Elizabeth's eldest child, Hermann. After bitter arguments over the disposal of her dowry—a conflict in which Konrad was appointed as the official Defender of her case by Pope Gregory IX—Elizabeth left the court at Wartburg and moved to Marburg in Hesse.

Following her husband's death, Elizabeth made solemn vows to Konrad similar to those of a nun. These vows included celibacy, as well as complete obedience to Konrad as her confessor and spiritual director. Konrad's treatment of Elizabeth was extremely harsh, and he held her to standards of behavior which were almost impossible to meet. Among the punishments he is alleged to have ordered were physical beatings; he also ordered her to send away her three children. Her pledge to celibacy proved a hindrance to her family's political ambitions. Elizabeth was more or less held hostage at Pottenstein, the castle of her uncle, Bishop Ekbert of Bamberg, in an effort to force her to remarry. Elizabeth, however, held fast to her vow, even threatening to cut off her own nose so that no man would find her attractive enough to marry.

Sophie of Thuringia, Elizabeth's second child who will later on becoming one of the figures in the War of the Thuringian Succession and founder of the Brabant dynasty of Hesse, married Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and was the ancestress of the Landgraves of Hesse. Elizabeth's third and youngest child, Gertrude of Altenberg, was born several weeks after the death of her father; she became abbess of the monastery of Altenberg Abbey, Hesse near Wetzlar.

Thereafter, Elizabeth entered the Third Order of St. Francis (Secular Franciscan Order) in 1228, and promised never to marry again. Elizabeth spent her final years attending to the sick at the hospital of Marburg, which she had built, and supporting hundreds of poor people.

Perhaps Elizabeth is best known for her miracle of the roses. While taking bread to the poor in secret, she met her husband Ludwig on a hunting party. Ludwig, to quell suspicions of the gentry that she was stealing treasure from the castle, asked her to reveal what was hidden under her cloak. In that moment, her cloak fell open and a vision of white and red roses could be seen, which proved to Ludwig that God's protecting hand was at work. According to the Vitae, Louis was never troubled by her charity and always supported it. In some versions of this story, her brother-in-law, Heinrich Raspe, questions her. Hers is one of many miracles that associate Christian saints with roses.

Her health started to declined, and died on November 17, 1231 in Marburg, Landgraviate of Thuringia, Holy Roman Empire (modern-day Hesse, Germany). She was just only 24 years old. Elizabeth's popularity and legacy on caring of the poor was so great resulted in her canonization as a saint on May 27, 1235 in Perugia, Italy by Pope Gregory IX. There are two major shrines in her honor - in Košice, Slovakia and in Marburg, Germany.

Konrad commented these words: 'In spite of her many active works for the sick and the poor. I have seldom seen a more contemplative woman.'

[maddie-grove]

Little Book Review: The Witch

Author: Jean Thompson.

Publication Date: 2014.

Genre: Literary fiction/fairy tale retellings.

Premise: In eight short stories, Thompson offers a mundane yet disturbing take on classic fairy tales.

Thoughts: When I began reading this book, which I selected almost at random from the library, I worried that I was getting burned out on fairy tale retellings. Since 2010, I've read eleven novels or short stories based on or inspired by "Rumpelstiltskin" alone, and that's an objectively weird story. (Please don't accuse me of using Vivian Van Velde to inflate my stats.) A few stories in, though, I found myself getting really into Thompson's gritty, sardonic style. Aside from a probable hallucination and a "curse" that's likely a coincidence, there's no magic in these stories. I'd read mundane versions of fairy tales before--"Cinderella" retellings can function perfectly well without fairy godmothers or magic trees, and sometimes the Beast is just a grumpy scarred recluse--but a whole collection in this vein was a nice change.

Now for the stories:

"The Witch": a "Hansel and Gretel" retelling, this was a solid but not stunning story about two neglected kids who are sent to live with a cruel yet pitiful foster mother.

"Inamorata": this "Cinderella" story involves a frat boy with memory issues trying to find the girl he connected with at a party. It was cute, and I thought it was cool to do the story from the "prince's" perspective, but it sometimes felt a little mean-spirited towards the hero, who has lingering brain damage from a childhood bike accident.

"Candy": young teen Janice deals with a cranky mom, a crankier grandma, a treacherous best friend, dirtbag teen boys, creepy guys online, and creepy guys in the street. This wasn't as grim a story as I feared, but it does perfectly capture the infuriating discomfort of being an adolescent girl and having to deal with everyone's opinion on your sexuality. Oh, and it's "Little Red Riding Hood," of course.

"Faith": now this is bleak. The one historical story in the collection, it speculates on what really happened in "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." It's both well-constructed and heartbreaking.

"Three": I think this is a retelling of "The Golden Goose," but it might be one of those other fairy tales where the youngest of three brothers is seemingly stupid but prevails through his kindness. Here, the three adult brothers try to get in touch with their long-lost mother. This was a sweet story, but it didn't really stick in my mind.

"The Curse": This is perhaps the nastiest story of all, and it's my favorite. Paranoid that his past deeds will come back to haunt him, a father makes his whole family miserable in attempting to "protect" his teenage daughter. A "Sleeping Beauty" retelling is hard to pull off, so I'm especially impressed.

"Your Secret's Safe with Me": an insecure adjunct professor marries a well-respected older author, but he's not what he seems. This is a relatively light-hearted, very satisfying version of "Bluebeard."

"Prince": I think this is a loose retelling of "Beauty and the Beast"? It's about a middle-aged woman, seemingly schizophrenic and handling things pretty well, who adopts a dog and has to deal with her overbearing sister. This also felt vaguely condescending towards people with mental disabilities/illnesses.

Overall, a good showing. I also liked the introduction, where Jean Thompson talked about the delightful Jaro Hess illustration "The Land of Make-Believe." My childhood pediatrician had a print hanging in the "sick kids" waiting room, and it always made me regret not having bronchitis or whatever.

Hot Goodreads Take: "I felt excluded not knowing [what fairy tales the stories were based on], embarrassed almost. Thompson is a part of a deeper fairy tale club that I wasn't invited to," says one reviewer. That genuinely sounds like a bummer, but one can learn more about fairy tales, from books or the internet. It's not the Naughty Hellfire Club.

[mossierart]

Jaro Hess ‘the Land of Make Believe’ (1930)

[toskrinio]

Jaro Hess' "The Land of Make Believe" (1930)

Sidney Sime “Land of dreams” (1978)

[hjbantiquemaps-blog]

Featured Map of the Day! 7/16/17

Featured Map of the Day! 7/16/17

High Resolution Image By: Jaro Hess Date: 1930 (dated) Grand Rapids, Michigan Dimensions: 25 x 37 (63.5 cm x 94 cm) This is an authentic example of a most imaginative and wonderful original map by Jaro Hess. His work depicts a marvelous wonderland including castles from every culture, and from his very own imagination. We see such familiar figures as the cow jumping over the moon, Jack climbing…

[alienbabyeli]

My most prized possession. My dad got this from his gramma when she passed away and I got it when my dad passed away. I grew up staring at this in my hallway and my dad and I would find all our favorite stories. Then I'd pretend I lived in this picture. I can't wait to do the same things with Eli

[msflamingo]

"The Land of Make Believe" by Czech artist Jaro Hess, 1930.

I had a print of this on my wall in the 70s growing up and am still fascinated by it. All those fairy tales and fables you heard as a child are pictured here, and some that I still know nothing about (The Wonderful Moo-Moo Bird). It absolutely ignited my imagination.

[sorcerersskull]

Map by Jaro Hess

"The Land of Make Believe"

[fictionandmore]

Homes Part 17

Homes Part 17: three big surprises packed into one episode.

Homes Part 17 Beautiful Homes Copyright © 2013 by Michael Litzky

Story So Far — Table of Contents Previous Episode — Next Episode posts 11/4/13 — First Episode

On the other side of the gate, in a lamplit green twilight which seemed vaguely familiar to…

View Post

[maddie-grove]

I think I drew this picture/map in fifth grade, after planning a story about an evil witch (pictured above the lake), her goodhearted niece Julianna (also a witch, pictured by the well southeast of town), and the good witch's adopted son Matthew (pictured below town with his friend Rosalie). I don't remember much about the plot (I think it involved the evil witch and Matthew fighting over a long-lost treasure? Which seems like more of a pirate thing than a witch thing), but I distinctly recall that the evil witch's name was Waynella Zealon, a name that came to me in a dream.

Anyway, I wasn't much for perspective, then or now, but I still like those kids bowing and curtsying to each other on the village green. I probably drew this after my mom got me The Fairy Tale Map Book, or after seeing the poster of Jaro Hess's The Land of Make-Believe that hung in my pediatrician's waiting room.