Last week Dale and I made a trip to the Edward Gorey House Museum in Yarmouthport. We have wanted to go there for a while and I’m so glad we finally made it – it’s a really cool place.
Are you familiar with Edward Gorey? He was an illustrator and writer.
(An early poster for the American Library Association)
He did lots of work for literacy projects and in his later years he fiercely supported animal rights.
(The Gorey House cat weighs 23 lbs!)
He never married and he loved his cats.
(A loop of the various openings to Mystery Theater runs on this tv in Gorey’s living room)
(There is a cemetery for the Gashlycrumb Tinies in Gorey’s backyard)
He is probably most famous for his cartoons in the New Yorker, his opening illustrations for the PBS series Mystery Theater, and (my personal favorite) the Gashlycrumb Tinies alphabet book. His works bordered on the macabre but that’s part of their fascination, I think.
(Dale had fun posing with the Doubtful Guest!)
The museum is small but loaded with lots of Gorey’s illustrations and works and random stuff. A very quirky and rather fascinating place to visit.
Another place to add to our list of neat new england places to visit – thanks!
Looks like a very interesting place to visit. I love the silly picture of Dale 🙂
Quirky is good! Love Dale’s quirky-ness!
Cool!
Are you familiar with the book The Mysterious Benedict Society? I wonder if the illustrations are an homage to Gorey… Definitely in the same style.
I love Gorey!! LOVE. I had no idea he had a museum. Thanks for taking me there.
B and I both love Gorey, and kids would, too … especially Her Ladyship. We’ll have to add this to our Places To Visit.
Looks like a fun place to spend the day. Illustrators are one of my favorite artists.
When I was a younger girl, I thought I was so sophisticated to have “discovered” Gorey. What a fun way to spend a day!
I *love* Gorey and keep meaning to get down to the museum. My favorite of his is the “Curious Sofa” LOL!
Ooooh! Thanks for sharing this. It’s just offbeat enough to make a ‘must see’ list at our house.
I never knew!! How fun.
I love his work! I didn’t realize that there was a museum.
Wow………..that is one fat cat!
I didn’t know there was a museum either — would love to get there sometime! tks for the tip, Thea
There’s a GashlycrumbTinies personality test somewhere out there on the interwebs — though I wanted to be Neville (who died of ennui), my personality is apparently closest to George (smothered under a rug). And alas, poor Basil, assaulted by bears. That Gorey, he was creative, and just “off” enough to be hillarious.
To quote Liz Lemon: “I want to go to there!!”
LOVE that photo of Dale posing….
Looks like you had a great time.
I had no idea this place even existed–now I really want to go there! My introduction to his work was the wonderful Gashlycrumb Tinies, which a friend gave me in college (because, after all, A is for Amy who fell down the stairs). I recently greatly cheered a friend up after surgery by giving her a care package with the Pornographic Sofa. She loved it. What’s not to love??
oh WOW! I didn’t know there WAS an Edward Gorey museum. I’ll have to check it out sometime! 🙂
Ohohoh! So jealous! I love Gorey’s work.
Now, like Susan, I will expire of fits.
I didn’t know there was a Gorey museum either. Neat!
I love the alphabet book. My brother gave it as a gift to my MIL, and we all fell over laughing. Sadly, I missed a recent California exhibit for his work! The museum will definitely be on my list!
That looks quirky in the best way. I totally remember those Mystery openings. Very cool place.
Oh, I love Edward Gorey! Another place to visit when/if we ever tour New England. Another blogger, Jen of Knitters-Knitters, recently made a Doubtful Guest scarf for her autistic daughter’s teacher; here is the first post about it.
http://olivespearls.typepad.com/knittersknitters/2009/05/the-doubtful-scarf.html.
She chronicles the progress in her blog and, iirc, finishes it just in time.
The photo of Dale made me chuckle – funny. The museum looked like a fun place to visit, I did not know who had done the illustrations for Masterpiece Mystery (one of my favorite programs, another new Miss Marple, can’t wait to watch it tonight while I knit).
There’s a Gorey MUSEUM, not too far from here, and you can GO there? Oh boy! Favorite quotes: “What nasty little wilful eyes for anything of such a size,” and “Cat, hoping to deceive,” and, of course, “Basil, eaten by bears.”
That Dale really is a star!
I never knew there was a museum. I love the stuff from PBS. Now I must spend the afternoon googling.
I had never heard of him…thanks for introducing us…
That cat weighs 23 lbs! OMG – doesn’t make me feel so bad knowing Killian weighs 20…
I was friends with Ted’s cousins back in my salad days and spent one Thanksgiving with him. What a character! Was the human skull still in the house? It is such a pretty house and amusing that such wonderful oddities dwell inside. I’ll have to visit next time I’m back on the Cape.
I wish it was closer, as I have always loved his work! Thanks for sharing your travels, Carole.