Osterreichische Monatsbilder by Heinrich Lefler
Heinrich Lefler's Osterreichische Monatsbilder (roughly translated Austria in pictures by months) is our today's treat. It's a beautifully designed book in Art Nouveau style where Heinrich Lefler (1863-1919) who created the book with his brother-in-law Joseph Urban (1872-1933) used two facing pages for each month of the year.
There are no numbers or days of the week in these designs, just a decorative border for the month on the left with an empty space for the owner to insert whatever he or she wants. The right page is reserved for a scene typical for the month in question. January, for instance, presents the coming of Three Wise Men, (Three Magi or simply Three Kings) bearing gifts after Jesus' birth.
Decorative borders also depict scenes related to the specific month but we won't rob you of the pleasure of discovering them by yourself. Let's just dive into the material.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
As you can see, Osterreichische Monatsbilder ends with the birth of Jesus Christ, so in a way, it closes the cycle by inviting us to visit the month of January again, where the Three Magi bear gifts to the baby Jesus.
Such books are meant for gifts to keep, not just mere products as calendars essentially are. We are giving you a chance to use the borders for your own projects, maybe to insert the monthly calendar of this year (the book was published in 1898 and reprinted in 1900 but without dates), and print your very own personalized calendar for your wall.
Here is a huge selection of calendars, including blank ones for each month of the year:
https://mycalendarland.com/calendar/
If you want to learn more about Heinrich Lefler and his work, your starting point may be:
https://vintagecalendars.mystrikingly.com/blog/heinrich-lefler
Don't forget to share this special article with your friends who might be interested. Enjoy the beauty of vintage calendars and use your precious time well.