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Saturday, September 24, 2011

 

RANDOM PRETTY/YARD

 

RANDOM BOBBERS

 

RANDOM LANDS & PEOPLES

 

RANDOM HISTORY

 

RANDOM 341 OBJECT

Antique INDUSTRIAL ART: Iron & Brass WHEELWRIGHT’S TRAVELER, Fine Condition, 24"-$36

Let’s say you were a wheelwright, and you were all finished making a wagon wheel except for putting the iron around the outside. Whether you were building an old wooden spoke wheel for a Conestoga wagon, a doctor’s buggy or even a surrey with the fringe on top, you’d need to know the exact circumference of the wheel before you cut the flat iron to length. I reckon you could just guess and keep cutting it shorter and shorter until it was too short. That’s the method I use for home carpentry.

 

So anyhow; you’d run the wheel of this tool around the outside of the wooden wheel, counting the revolutions, and then you’d know the length. It is divided into 24 inches, which is typical for a wheelwright’s traveler.

 

Let me amend the above just a little. This fine old piece is more “art” than “tool” nowadays. It’s just begging to be hung on the wall. It is an excellent example of Machine Age / Industrial Design.

 


The pointer is solid brass. Someone has painted the iron parts black a long, long time ago. I don’t know why. There doesn’t appear to be any serious rust beneath the paint, from what I can tell. If I were going to keep it, I’d take that black off there and keep it oiled. But that’s up to you.

 

The marks at the 1”, ¼” and 8th inches are still easily seen – very little wear, in other words. So are the numbers: 1 through 24.

 


Except for the labor intensive parts, I think I’d have made a good wheelwright, so long as I didn’t have to lift anything or use a big hammer.

 


RANDOM EBAY OBJECT

 
RANDOM ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

EYE- science. NO WANT. graphs. illustrations. 816-828

EZEKIAL- bible. NO WANT!

EZRA-eek. more bible.

EZRA + NEHAMIAH- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

end of E!

F- 6th letter of the greek alphabet, the sound of our w. didn't like sound + went out of use, but letter used blah blah. claudius improvements to alphabet. upsidedown f=V soft v.

FABER, BASIL (1520-1576)- german schoolmaster + theologian. his opinion got him tossed from his school + pulpit. big lutheran.

FABER, CELILIA BOHL VON (1797 -1877)- great woman novelist of spain. better known by pseudonym fernan caballero. b morges. father johann nikolas bohl, son of hamburg merchant, moved to cadiz, became catholic + married francisca de larres, spanish aristiocrat. educated in germany, near one of an estate of her dad. knw grman + spanish, plus latin, english, french, + italian. 1813 returned to cadiz + 1814 married captain planello + they went to america for years + then he died. soon after, she married the marques de arco hermoso + visited the court of madrid, where she was admired for beauty, vivacity + wit. 1837 arco died. she married senor de arrom, a member of the bar, not happy, separated. writings to remedy sorrow. met washington irving, who read her work + praised it(not published) most publishe after 50. works translated. 1859 appt goveress to royal spawn. 1863-at palace of alcazar revolution. nursery rhymes book. 50 works.

 

RANDOM ANTHROPOLOGY

 

RANDOM AUGUST ESTATE SALE TOUR

 

RANDOM EBAY OBJECT

 

RANDOM SQUIRL

 

RANDOM SEARS

 

RANDOM PHOTO ALBUM

 

RANDOM LANDS & PEOPLES

 

RANDOM KITTY PRON

 

RANDOM HISTORY

 


RANDOM 341 OBJECT

Big ANTIQUE FOLK ART Wood Carving, ANGEL Madonna HAND PAINTED, GOLD GILT & Gesso-$292

I came home with cobwebs hanging from my hair and so dirty I looked more like a coal miner than a seeker of antique treasures. I’d known I was in for a miserable day the moment the old lady told me her attic was probably full of old things, but that she hadn’t been up there in years.
She stayed in her parlor in front of a rotating fan and gave me directions to the attic access door located in the upstairs hallway. It was 96 degrees outside and probably over 100 degrees on her second floor. I found the pull-rope and opened the trapdoor to the attic, then pulled down and unfolded the stairway/ladder. A half bushel of dust and a box of old shoes fell on me immediately.

 

Her eyes reflect a sadness of concern and loss, but she’s a beautiful woman. Maybe she’s a Madonna. The image above reveals the antiquated technique with which she was decorated. After the carving and sanding, a skim coat of gesso was added. It was allowed to dry for several days, and then the piece was gilded. After that, colors were applied.

 

In spite of the age, the colors remain striking and bright. Her garment is red, gold, green, blue and yellow. Naturally, there are some surface losses but nothing of real concern at all. The carving is likely mid 19th Century and it has earned every single blemish. The look and feel of the real thing cannot be accurately duplicated in Asia and sold at those appalling “big box” stores that have blighted our nation and devastated our economy, but don’t get me started on that.

 

From wingtip to tippy-toe she’s a pure antiquer’s joy.

 

I love the face, of course, and the decorations or her robes is fantastic, but I believe my favorite part of the piece is the way the hands are carved – palms facing outward, and, although carved in deep relief, they still remind me of early Byzantine paintings when perspective and depth were only beginning to be understood. (Uh-oh. I’m starting to gush. Sorry, but that happens when I really, really love something. You’ll just have to get over it.)

 

That’s just the back, but it does speak to you also. Imagine you were the carver about to begin carving. That blank ¾” rough sawn board is what you’d be pondering.

 





I’ll show you more pictures, but you’ll just have to trust me when I say you’ll only fully appreciated this piece when you have it in your own hands.

 




RANDOM EBAY OBJECT

 

RANDOM PIMPED CAR

58 packard hawk

 

RANDOM MARCO

austria

 

RANDOM ARNE

 

SATURN'S DAY SUGAR-SIFTER BLOGGING

 

SATURDAY OUTHOUSE BLOGGING

Friday, September 23, 2011

 

RANDOM NU NEW HOARD

 






RANDOM VOLCANO CAM

okmok

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