"Pease-Porridge Hot,” by Florence Salter

"Pease-Porridge Hot,” by Florence Salter

1939

Chromolithograph

Featuring a delightful interior color lithograph by American children's illustrator Florence Salter, this vintage 1939 book plate is paired with the traditional nursery rhyme "Pease-Porridge Hot." The visual narrative captures a young boy and girl sitting together and playing a clapping game in a brightly lit room. On the left, the boy is seated in a dark wooden ladder-back chair, dressed in a blue tunic suit with a white collar. He faces a rosy-cheeked girl with curly blonde hair who wears an orange-and-white floral dress accented by a black waist sash. A large yellow bonnet trimmed with flowers rests on the teal armchair beside her. In the background, patterned curtains frame a lattice window. Beneath this playful scene, clean block typography displays the classic four-line clapping verse about pease-porridge.

Originally featured within a large-format nursery book published by the Merrill Publishing Company, this plate beautifully captures the commercial aesthetic of late 1930s American children's media. Florence Salter was a highly sought-after mid-century commercial artist who became famous for her distinctively sweet, chubby-cheeked, and wide-eyed character designs that came to define children's books, puzzles, and ephemera during the era. This specific piece holds significant historical value because it reflects the shift away from the stark, didactic moral lessons of earlier Victorian children's literature, moving instead toward bright, purely whimsical entertainment intended to comfort and delight young children during the tail end of the Great Depression.

Dimensions: H 13”x 9 ¾”W

Condition: In very good condition