The Original Martha Stewart
She changed her name from Starling Burgess, claimed she was the “reincarnation of a sea captain’s wife” from the 1800s and was often called “a 19th century Martha Stewart,” writes Douglas Martin in a New York Times obituary of Tasha Tudor (6/20/08). You may know Tasha best as the author and illustrator of “Sparrow Post,” a children’s book about “a postal service for dolls with delivery by birds. Birthday parties featuring flotillas of cakes with lighted candles. Mouse Mills catalogs, for ordering dolls clothes made by mice, who take buttons for pay.”
Her lifestyle certainly transcended such comparison, living the very life — a 19th century life — she depicted in her books: “She wore kerchiefs, hand-knitted sweaters, fitted bodices and flowing skirts, and often went barefoot. She reared her four children in a home without electricity or running water until her youngest turned five…” She raised her own farm animals; turned flax she had grown into clothing; and lived by homespun wisdom: sow root crops on a waning moon, above-ground plants on a waxing one.”
Not only that, but Tasha Tudor “could play the dulcimer and handle a gun.” All of which added up to “a cottage industry” based on her artwork, “which has illustrated nearly 100 books,” including “The Secret Garden,” the “Night Before Christmas,” and “Mother Goose.” Her family set up shop, selling “greeting cards, prints, plates, aprons, dolls, quilts and more, all in a sentimental rustic, but still refined style resembling that of Beatrix Potter.” Some suggested that Tasha Tudor was “enthralled by her own creativity,” but she denied it. “That’s nonsense,” she said. “I’m a commercial artist, and I’ve done my books because I needed to earn my living.” She was 92. [Link]
