The Christmas decorations covering central London have managed two things – the first has been to trick me into believing it is December (leading to several embarrassing phone calls and a hastily produced Christmas wish list ). Secondly, and related, I’ve actually gotten into the Christmas spirit a bit. I may even send some cards this year.

That feeling has generated a solid search for interesting cards. Those with a little wit, or solid graphic design, typically working best in my mind. House Industries does a good job providing the latter. While they’ve not got cards explicitly, they have produced two pieces from Marilyn & John Newhart from their 1969 Santa Print. Initially conceived as a massive card, the print on both paper and maple is quite nice indeed.

See both after the jump and head to the House Industries Pop Up Shop at the Type Collectors Club, 347 W. 36th Street, New York if your interested. If you’d rather stay home, you can also simply go online, where there are a number of other cool new House things too (like bike shorts, Jeff).

Founded in 1783 by Welsh Born Evan Williams, the Evan Williams brand is notable for being Kentucky’s first distiller. Williams moved to the area while it was still officially part of Virginia, in 1780, and became an integral member of the local political scene. He was an early member of the board of trustees of Louisville and later served as Harbor Master for the City (which is located on the Ohio River.

For us, the most important part of Williams’ life history is the discovery that converting excess corn and grain into whiskey would avoid waste. The small distillery he set up on 5th Street in Lousiville has grown exponentially, now bottles labeled Evan Williams are the 2nd most purchased Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in the United States.

History has been a part of the Evan Williams identity for some time. Searching through the company website recently, I was tickled by the “What Evan Williams did for Bourbon” campaign of the 1970s. Linking the Welshman to other (perhaps more important) inventors, the advertisements employ a really winning method of heritage construction. Can’t help but think a similar approach would be welcome today.

A few more examples of “What Evan Williams did for Bourbon” after the jump.

Mark this as a great way to kill time on a Friday. LPcover Lover exposes some of the world’s forgotten music graphics. While we’ve previously mentioned a few books highlighting exception work in this field, LPcover Lover grants an opportunity to basically just have a good laugh… usually at the expense of those depicted on the LPs. Good times. (via It’s Nice That).

A few favorites after the jump.

Fell upon the Disstonian Institute over the weekend, and subsequently spent much of next few days trolling through its pages. Few websites are so dedicated and comprehensive in their coverage of a single manufacturer, in this case Disston Saws. Disston’s history begins in the 1840s, when Henry Disston was freed at age 21 from his apprenticeship to saw makers William and Charles Johnson (by way of bankruptcy). The following years found Henry suffering set backs (like being swindled by a fraudulent landlord), but did not deter the man. Fires burned down his factories three times before 1850. Still, in 1855 he became the only saw manufacturer to make his own steel.

The resolve of its founder and superior quality of product made Disston the largest selling saw in America during the first half of the 20th-century. Success leads to a good story, all of which is contained in the Disstonian Institute, covering saws, stamps, and even advertising. A great American tale, and one worth spending time working through.

Some selected advertisements and examples of Disston backsaws after the jump.

Karl Lagerfeld and Philippe Starck act as guest editors for the October issue of Wallpaper*. Their duties extend to designing covers for the magazine – one each respectively. Lagerfeld’s is shown above, Starck’s after the jump.

Using three layers of tracing paper, Starck devised a cover that is at once a single image, but when layers are pulled way reveals standalone looks. The new issue is on shelves now. (via db).

In the summer of 1999 I was working at a publishing company, spending days flipping through their image archive to come up with ideas for a children’s picture dictionary. At one point, I submitted a picture of myself, swiftly dismissed on the grounds of “bad skin.”

Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities doesn’t suffer that fate. Rather than work with a spotty faced youth, the book employs historic engravings from Webster’s Dictionaries of the 19th-century. The result is a fine reference point for artists, designers, and the generally curious.

Available now from Amazon.

A few pages from Pictorial Webster’s after the jump.

Although magazines are falling at an alarming rate, there are still new magazines being launched. Take File magazine for example. The London based magazine focuses on graphic design and art. The magazine’s USP is that it comes with an accompanying DVD and is designed to be watched and read at the same time. Usually this would be a turn-off to us – we’ve seen far too many magazines with tacked on DVD’s – but this time they’ve clearly been designed in tandem and it makes for a very interesting way of doing things. At a time when men’s general interest magazines are dying out, maybe it’s time for magazines to really focus on doing something unique.

Take a look at more pictures of the magazine after the jump.

Based in Atlanta, graphic designer Mark Weaver makes something cool everyday. Or at least, that is the title of his (“Make Something Cool Everyday”) project. Well worth spending some time looking over. (Via It’s Nice That).