Nice Sherlock Profile

Saw this in job posting by the Sherlock Holmes Museum, one of my favorites, in London.  The caption says its the Paget Bust.  This of course refers to the illustrator of the original stories published in the Strand Magazine, Sydney Paget.  It is popularly believed that Paget based his concept of Holmes on his brother Walter (although Paget denied this).  In any event, it is curious that Basil Rathbone, who later played Holmes in film, bore a remarkable resemblance to Paget's creation.

Basil Rathbone

Slides - objects of visual beautiful

Last December, the world's last remaining Kodachrome lab (in Parsons, Kansas) closed down.  Here is a small tribute.  

Photos courtesy of Live From the Surface of the Moon.

Arthur's Seat Coffins

These are awesome!  And as you will see, they are possibly related to the subjects of an earlier post on grave robbers Burke and Hare (two postings down).

From the site of the National Museum of Scotland:

JAWS

This (above) is one of my favorite models.  It shows one of the last scenes in Jaws  where the shark (nicknamed Bruce by the film makers) gets up on to the Orca and swallows the unfortunate Mr. Quint.  The best part is the little Quint figure that comes apart at the hip and exposes some guts.  It allows one to place the upper portion in the shark's mouth.

More models:

Scratch built model of the Orca.  Unknown source.

Esteemed Grave Robbers

Burke and Hare (two infamous Victorian era grave robbers) as portrayed by Scottish toy soldier maker Charles Hall.

The Burke and Hare murders (also known as the West Port murders) were serial murders perpetrated in Edinburgh, Scotland, from November 1827 to October 31, 1828. The killings were attributed to Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses of their 17 victims to provide material for dissection. Their purchaser was Doctor Robert Knox, a private anatomy lecturer whose students were drawn from Edinburgh Medical College. Their accomplices included Burke's mistress, Helen McDougal, and Hare's wife, Margaret Laird. From their infamous method of killing their victims has come the word "burking", meaning to purposefully smother and compress the chest of a victim, and a derived meaning, to quietly suppress.  (from Wikipedia).

These are believed to be the life and death masks of Hare and Burke.  Hare's cast is thought to have been made during his trial, and Burke's after his death by hanging.  These are on display at the Inveraray Jail, which looks like an interesting place.  From reading what the museum posts on its site, it is unclear how authentic these particular masks are, although it does not seem to be disputed that masks were made. 

Inveraray Jail, Scotland

In 2010 a movie was made about the pair, called, unsurprisingly, Burke and Hare.  It is described as a black comedy and was well received.  It's on my list of rentals. 

JFK Funeral diorama

JFK  funeral diorama

Source:  fotolibra

Source: Corbis Images

A sad day for the country, November 24, the day of the funeral porcession which carried JFK's body to the Capital to lie in state.  The president was assiasinated two days earlier on Friday, November 22nd.  More information on the state funeral.

Vintage Cut & Assmble Dioramas (with unhappy kid)

I wouldn't mind having a few of these.  They are cut and assemble dioramas with art work from  Matthew Kalmenoff who worked at the American Museum of Natural History as a diorama background painter from the 1950s through the 1970s.

 It looks like there were several versions of these books which were published by Courier Dover Publications in the 1980s.   I've presented a few of them here, including the one immediately below, The African Wildlife Diorama, which has a picture of a young child who does not seem very happy at all with his diorama.  They couldn't find a more excited kid?! Or slipped him some candy for a smile?

Others in the series:

Comments? Discussion? Submissions?

Hello Good People.  I'm having a lot of fun doing this blog and a lot of people have been communicating with me by email.  I appreciate receiving them but it occurred to me that it would be nice if people posted in the comments section too, so others can see what they're writing about.  As a matter of fact, even if we haven't been in touch, feel free to post comments if you have something to say.  Maybe we will have some good discussions.

Also, if you know of content that would make for good posts, please point me in the right direction or   submit something.  It will be very appreciated.

Finally, I make very little effort to promote the blog as I do it for the enjoyment, but if you know someone who might like this send them a link so we can build a little community.

Thanks!

Tom

Curiousities in the West Village

This is why I love my neighborhood, the West Village of Manhattan, New York.  It's always been a place for artists, writers and free spirits.  There are all kinds of little surprises.  For instance, someone on West 11th street (between Waverly Place and West 4th Street) displays a series of curiosities in his window which is mostly below street level.   You have to look for it as it can easily be missed.  He apparently has a large collection (he used to have a sign indicating that) and shows only a portion in the window, which he changes up every now and then.

  

I took these earlier days.  Be sure to click so you can see the large images and look at the objects in greater detail. 

Antique Toy Soldier Dioramas

Another beautiful pair from Old Tin Soldier Shoppe.   They are "Boer War Ballon" and "Battle of Rorkes Drift".

French Dioramas

These dioramas, Three Musketeers and Boy Scounts, are for sale on The Old Tin Soldier Shoppe.  ($695 each).  The figures are by Mignot.

Vintage Smokey

I found this in my mom's house.  It was mine in the 1970s and I'm happy to have it back.  From googling the topic I found that there's been a ton of Smokey the Bear merchandise through the years.   As a child I liked this one because you could pull the head off the body quite easily (I stored quarters and half dollars in the head - don't ask me why).    This bank was made by R. Dakin Company, of San Francisco.  I see that it is listed on Ebay for $50.   

When brand new STB was holding a shovel.  It apparetnly broke off at some point in my illustrious childhood.  However, it broke at just the right spot, so it looks like he has a walking stick.

Photogrpahs: Tom Casesa

Smokey was based on a real bear.

Brilliant product design: Balsa Gliders

American Junior 74.

What great toys these were.  Simple design, low cost, lots of fun.  They were introduced in around 1910, and most companies were out of business by the 1970s.  The first one to be mass produced was the Guillow Jetflier, introduced in 1953.   The photos and information are from collector Dave Pecota who wrote a good article for Old Wood Toys.  

American Junior:

This one's a one of a kind prototype.  It has a veneer prop.

 Guilllow:

Miami Wood:

North Pacific:

Testors:

Promo Planes (company unknown): 

 Hi-Flier:

Abbo-Craft:

This model has a dart-gun type of suction cup at the tip so it can be shot onto a window or flat surface.