Charles Dickens T-Shirt

We're not sure why it took so long to get around to doing a Charles Dickens shirt. Perhaps it's because some of his stories are a bit sentimental. Still, we loved "A Tale of Two Cities", especially the ending.

Whatever his flaws, Dickens drew an amazing portrait of his times and the working classes of Victorian England. His empathy with the poor stemmed from his own difficult upbringing. After his father was sent to debtor's prison, he was forced to work long hours at a shoe polish factory to pay for his room and board with a family friend. While there he met a boy, Bob Fagin, whose name he later immortalized in Oliver Twist. These early experiences led him to call for social reform and his funding of the Urania Cottage, a home for 'fallen women'.

Dickens enjoyed great success with the publication of his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. He remains among the best known English novelists and has never gone out of print. Bravo, we say.

Charles Dickens by words_plus_paper
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High Tech Chinese Internet T-shirt

Here's a great design from Beijing Central. Even if you don't read Chinese, you can tell what this shirt says: I love the Internet. It has great graphics, too, of a satellite dish, a satellite, two laptops and right smack dab in the middle, a globe with China at the center.

We think it would be pretty hard to find a t-shirt more futuristic than this one. And it comes in a variety of colors, all decidedly monochromatic. Isn't choice a wonderful thing?

I Love the Internet by Beijing_Central
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Supreme Court Humor

Our sister store, Rising Tide Tees, has posted a couple of funny t-shirt designs at the expense of the Supreme Court. Inspired by the recent Citizen's United ruling granting "personhood" to corporations in the form of unlimited spending on candidate advertisements, these are sure to tickle your funny bone. If we didn't laugh, we'd have to cry.

Corporations by rising_tide_tees
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SCOTUS by rising_tide_tees
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Three by James Baldwin

We've always admired James Baldwin's honest, compassionate writing, from Go Tell It on the Mountain to The Evidence of Things Not Seen. Raised in Harlem, he became a pentecostal preacher at age 14, but a few years later, he abandoned religion and moved to Greenwich Village. He attended The New School which proved to be an intellectual haven, and there he began writing short stories, essays and book reviews. He also began to come to terms with his homosexuality and quickly realized that America was not a welcoming place for either blacks or gays. At the tender age of 24, James Baldwin moved to France to live as an expatriate.

Now we've put three of our favorite quotes by him on t-shirts and other items. You can find these and more at our Zazzle store, Words Plus Paper. Feel free to drop by and browse!

Baldwin on God

Baldwin on History

Baldwin on Poverty

Baudelaire T-shirt Now Available

Our first post of the new year (TGI2010) concerns the inimitable poet, Charles Baudelaire. An inspiration to Arthur Rimbaud and truly one of the first decadent writers, Baudelaire had an intense gaze that separates the artist from the average citizen. We also love his Frenchiness and his ability to help continue this French theme. Get your t-shirt now at our Words Plus Paper store and you'll never have to stare anyone down again. Your t-shirt can do it for you. Available in keychains and other items as well. Enjoy and happy new year!

Charles Baudelaire by words_plus_paper
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Jules Verne: Father of Science Fiction

We're back from our extended vacation with this great new Jules Verne design. This is a continuation of our French writer theme begun back in June with Voltaire because we think France is really cool and we wish we lived there even if we don't speak the language. If it's good enough for David Sedaris, it's good enough for us.

Anyhoo, we've always loved Verne and science fiction in general, as long as it isn't too technical because then it is engineering fiction which is a specialized subset of science fiction. Verne had a great sense of adventure and although science fiction isn't about predicting the future, he did predict the internet, fax machines, and gasoline-powered automobiles. If you haven't read "Paris in the 20th Century", we urge you to do so. This is his lost manuscript that wasn't published until 1994. It's a fascinating read.

Jules Verne by words_plus_paper
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Vive le Voltaire T-Shirt

It's been awhile since we last posted to the blog, but once you see our new Voltaire t-shirt, we think that you'll agree that it is worth the wait. As befits this French Enlightenment author, we're offering two different versions for this famous writer. You can have the design printed in black or white. On the dark t-shirts, the black design will print in both black and white.

Zazzle has a huge selection of t-shirts and other products so head on over to our store, Words Plus Paper, and customize something for yourself today.