Spring is a time for gift giving in my family: birthdays, holidays, hostess thank you’s, and Mother’s Day gifts all enter into the equation. This is a perfect time to consider the bounty of choices in stores and online. Museum gift shops have been a particularly good source during my gift hunts.
Jane Austen playing cards with instructions on how to play regency card games. Find the item on Amazon, Walmart, and online gift stores. Amazon provides detailed photos of the cards and instructional booklet by John Mullan.
A major benefit for adults who color in coloring books or who draw their own images is that those acts switch our brains from a state of anxiety or stress to creativity and calm. Those Zen moments provide our minds with a mini-vacation from our daily concerns to focus on a pleasurable skill.
Jane Austen: Wit & Wisdom to Color and Display, illustrated by Kimma Parish, is a such an example. (Click on images for closeup and comments). Her fanciful outlines represent flowers, landscapes, feathers, tea cups – those objects that evoke Austen’s novels. Each image is printed on one side of the page to allow the colorist to work on a single page and give the finished product to a friend or loved one. I found this book at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, but it is also available online and in book stores. (Note: Children are encouraged to draw and color on blank pages to improve their fine motor skills and nurture their creativity. Coloring books have a place in their development, but should not be the sole means of expressing their creativity. In contrast, adult coloring books are more intricate and are made for a different purpose.)
Jane Odiwe describes her delightful Effusions of Fancy in an article for the Jane Austen Centre online. I have cherished this book, generously sprinkled with Odiwe’s watercolors, since it was first published in 2003. (Click on the images for detail.) The bag, made from a sturdy denim and lined with orange cotton, is the product of The Unemployed Philosophers Guild. This 9″x6″ bag can be used for many purposes, but I kept Cassandra Austen in mind when filling it and have used it for those moments when I want to quickly sketch an idea or thought.
This gorgeously illustrated coloring book entitled Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice: A coloring classic portrays scenes from P&P as well as fanciful drawings of gloves, jewelry, fans, and feathers.
Drawn in lush detail by Chellie Carroll, this Pride & Prejudice coloring book is larger than Wit & Wisdom. The drawings are printed on both sides of each page, however, so the pages cannot be dismantled without ruining the pairing of saying and illustrations. But the pages are thick and can absorb the application of gouache or watercolor with a brush if applied with a not-too wet technique. An added benefit at the end of the book is a three-page spread entitled “The Language of Flowers.”
Ball scene spread over two pages.
In conclusion, one does not need to scour museum, gift, or book shops to find these lovely items, for they are all available online (although I do like the physical journey). Enjoy sketching painting, playing, and coloring!
Jane Austen's World 
What beautiful items you’ve found!
denise
Thank you, Denise. I am anxious to learn some of the Regency card games described by John Mullan in the booklet. He also who wrote ‘What Matters in Jane Austen,” a book I cherish.
These look like a lot of fun, Vic. We’re still spending a lot of time at home and my I’ve gone cross eyed from watching Netflix.
My granddaughter will be 7 this summer and she’d enjoy doing them together.
I also use museum visits to shop for Christmas and birthdays. When we travel it’s hard to bring back large souvenirs, so I always buy cute Easy Reader glasses from museums for myself. There is no greater pleasure than reading a book, except to read a book wearing glasses that hold happy memories.