collecting dust

Chris and I were talking the other day about ideas for different types of blog posts here on DF. One idea we had was to post a few more little things about us, because we like to think of ourselves as interesting, well-read, aesthetically adept individuals who have some neat things to share with the internet world at large. So we thought it would be fun to post about our personal collections of certain objects, which we, being treasure-hoarding artist-types, seem to acquire a large wealth of. So here are three of mine:

#1
Very old, well-loved stuffed animal toys. Clean museum-quality specimens need not apply. I like them dirty, with the mohair pulled off in spots, filled stiffly with straw or sawdust, and roughly charming. The bunny pictured is so old and faded you can't even tell he used to be blue, and his one glass eye being lower than the other is the result of a home repair. The lamb and his rusted little bell are so endearing, and that bear kinda, sorta does something when you turn the crank. I just realized I forgot to put my straw-stuffed rocking horse in the picture. Sorry horse!

They're sitting on a rusted and tattered old doll stroller...because I also have amassed a nice little collection of toy accoutrements for them.


#2 Antique medical, pharmaceutical, and science bottles. My collection spans the early 1900s to the 1950s, and includes some lovely gilded "under glass" labeled bottles (one is for Spirit of Ether), as well as some lovely hand-written science chemical labels, and a series of crazy old dental medications, such as Arsenic Discs and Silver Nitrate. There are still Arsenic disks in the bottle...supposedly they also contained Asbestos, Opium, and Cocaine, according to the label.




#3 Human Teeth. The molars in the foreground as well as the baby teeth in the vials are real. The antique Nuform tray and mason jar hold a bevy of porcelain teeth for denture-making. The ones in the jar are frequently put into my artwork, but the others will not be removed, save for the molars which have been cast into silicone molds to become an army of resin teeth.

Donations are welcome.

Darker Forest

What began as cottage industry catering to wealthy Victorian tourists in the Swiss town of Brienz in the early 1800's, Black Forest wood carvings escalated to a highly respected and sought after art form being exhibited in many great international exhibitions in the late 19th and early 20th century.

While the style is undeniably the inspiration for many new products in home decor as well as the driving force behind many an artisan, it's difficult to find a central resource on the web. That being said, I am more than happy to showcase some of our favorite carvings to save you the surfing. Enjoy.

there in spirit

The late part of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th saw the fervent, some would say faddish, rise of Spiritualism. Out of that movement, some truly wonderful photography was born, with a definite artistry, and a type of mystery and off-kilter sensibility that modern "spiritual" images often lack.






These images and more can be found in the book "The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult", which can be previewed here.

just my type

I am a fan and enthusiast of "regular, everyday" antiques. Tapestries, gaudy wall hangings, jewelry, and porcelain statuettes rarely engage my attention, but the trappings of every day life in eras gone by is absolutely fascinating.

At The Virtual Typewriter Museum, you will find an exhaustive and informative gallery of all kinds of amazing mechanical writing devices. From the upstroke-hammer models that we are all familiar with, to different, more experimental, or less widely known models:



Of course, most of them also fall into the glorious "polished wood and old metal" aesthetic that attracts me like bees to honey...

the silence moves the hand

If antiquated metaphysical ephemera interests you (and realistically, how could it not?), you will want to visit The Museum of Talking Boards.

It's an online gallery with a fascinating history of spirit-writing, and many of the fascinating designs and gimmicks of talking boards through the first half of last century. The design alone on some of these boards is just marvelous, and they range from the simple and beautiful, to the utterly ridiculous.

You'll also find enough theories, stories, and superstitions here to keep you reading well into the night, though the page designer's choice of text-to-background color combinations isn't always forgiving to the eyeballs.

just dirty enough

Some really nice photos can be found on the Flickr page of a photographer who goes by the name Soozika. The "Old and Antique" set is really nice, excellently close macro shots with textures of old books, paper, printing, and other objects. Occasionally there is some jarring and unnecessary Photoshoppery, but for the most part the photos are well-composed and the colors look wonderful.

SCIENCE!!!

It's not often that I'm insanely jealous of someone's collection of frightening nightmarish antiques, but with RADIO GUY, I will make an exception. He's amassed a number of finely aged items that range from dental mannequins to hat sizers. Some of the items are also for sale as it seems.

flimsy sheets of history

If you're looking for a nice gift for somebody, or yourself, head over to Panteek Antique Prints and check out their selection. Head straight for the "clearance" area, there are a lot of lovely prints there in the 45-dollar range, like this shell print from 1849 .



It's also a great place to go for artistic reference purposes, and I will be the first to admit that I have downloaded just about every image on the website, to catalog it for future usage. The website itself is a far cry from being aesthetically stimulating, but it's easy to navigate.