Rare early folk art drawing of John Brown Abolitionist. Collection Jim Linderman Dull Tool Dim Bulb

An extremely rare early hand drawn portrait of an historical figure. John Brown of Kansas. One seldom finds early drawings of controversial figures like the rebel abolitionist. Said possibly to be a ledger drawing with Native American origin, but I think it more likely A mid to late 19th century drawing made by a child being taught in a schoolroom. The caption reads “I will take the law into my own hands” and he certainly did, This ledger drawing measures 6" X 3.25".  Brown is identified along the right side of the paper. A controversial early piece. Folk Art Drawing of John Brown with caption. Mid to late 19th century. Crayon and pencil on ledger paper. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb. #john Brown. #abolitionist. #slavery. #folkart. #folkartdrawing. #dulltooldim bulb. #collectionjimlinderman

Beautiful restoration of Potter's Field Cemetary

It is an odd benefit, but as a walker it is a lovely benefit. Several years ago a rehabilitation project with dedication plaques appeared on my route. The newly dedicated “Potter’s Field” was beautiful. I’m not revealing the location, as privacy and quiet is to be preserved. I can say when the cemetery first opened, Lot 22, aka Potter's Field, was part of the original cemetery plot. The first burial was a cigar maker named Jeremiah Smith. He was originally buried in Potter's Field, on September 17, 1873. Smith drowned when a ship sank in Lake Michigan off the shores on September 15, 1873. His remains were later moved and currently rest in Block 28. When the relocation of the cemetery began, the city council offered reduced rate lots for "all those bodies removed and reburied by relatives and friends" to incentivize civilians to move loved ones themselves to the new cemetery. In just twelve years, Potter's Field was full. Nevertheless, burials of the unidentified and poor continued in other areas of the Cemetery. Almost all were buried with no fanfare or notice, though the cemetery thankfully kept records of each one. There are now 852 burials in the newly dedicated potter's Field. Although some records were lost in a fire, research suggests there may be as many as 1,400 buried in this plot. Hundreds and identified an /or now with respect, dates and more. Photos Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb #Cemetary #graves. #gravestones

Walter Baetz and his Gas Tank Outstanding Designed Vintage Toys

I tow this behind my car in case I spot any gas deals. So far, no luck. Manoil Brothers manufacturing 1930 - 1940 “pot metal” and made with a “slush” technique with and wooden wheels. Their sculptor was Walter Baetz and He created some amazing automobiles. Walter Baetz, perhaps the most distinctive dime-store toy products. I’ll show a few from the web. Manoil toy Gas tank on wheels. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb #vintagetoys.

Folk Art Carving of a pair of Wagon teams. Real Photo Postcard tinted by hand.

A really nice hand-tinted folk art set of carved figures sent in by follower of the blog Sam Gratton (instagram @distantlovergoods). Nice! #folkart. #woodcarving. #sculpture

Folky, Primitive Curt Teich vintage postcard from 1938

A folky, somewhat primitive old time religion postcard 1938. Surprisingly, this was a curt teich postcard, the company who produced countless colorful and lush postcards of the American scene and landscape. This hardly meets their standards, so I looked it up. Sure enough, anyone could hire curt teich to print submitted images for a cost. This one-man evangelist did, As I have only ever seen two copies, looks like his word didn’t spread much. Original 1938 curt teich postcard collection Jim Linderman / old time religion the blog. #vintagepostcard. #oldtimereligion #curtteich #dulltooldimbulb

Retro Party Napkin with Bad Taste but interesting Adornments

This retro risqué (and sexist) party napkin was sold in a set of eight in 1951. The others in the set weren’t con”figured” the same, but each has some kind of plastic bauble Attached to thin napkin paper. An interesting manufacturing technique. An example of the stuff which cluttered bars and new years parties during the 1950s. Mint cocktail napkin with plastic adornment. Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Blog #partynapkins. #risque. #1950s.

UFO Original Photographs of Flying Saucers 1964

Trump thinks it's a big deal to release some crummy fuzzy photos of flying anonmolies? Here's some real flying saucers! Original photograph 1964 Collection Jim Linderman

Clock Inn Motel.

A Route 66 wonder, the Clock Inn Motel. File under places I would like to stay. It was in Oklahoma but all that is left is the big red sign, in a nearby antiques place. I guess they just stopped mowing the clock in the courtyard. For reservations call Victor. Original postcard from the 1950s- 1960s. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Early Folk Art Painting by Eva Rainville. Collection Jim Linderman

Untitled by Eva Rainville (Girl with Chaise Lounge) c. 1895 Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Comic Book Ads for Child Labor

Those old comic book ads? Sell crap and win prizes using child labor. Hubbard House of Chicago tricked children into selling “religious plaques or mottos” door to door. Putting these fearful graphics on the back of comic books. They also operated as the FUNman company. Once you sold $8.40 world of mottos you could cash in with a $2.40 cent profit, or keep selling for PRIZES! They don’t indicate any prices. The company faded away due to Tightened Regulations in the 1950s.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began cracking down on "sell-to-win" schemes that targeted minors. New laws regarding "child labor" (even for door-to-door sales) and stricter truth-in-advertising standards made their aggressive "The World is on FIRE" marketing more difficult to sustain. Think of all the kids they cheated, scared and disappointed #oldtimereligion. #comicbooks. #scam. #childlabor

Jim Linderman African-American Folk Art Collection New York mid-1990s

Bottom right…Dilmus Hall, Elijah Pierce, William Dawson, next unit bottom (in shadows) African-American smoking Stand with two carved figures, Williie Massey, Anon. Carved box, Leroy Person box of blocks, top Elijah Pierce, Steve Ashby, next unit all Steven Ashby except bottom shelf a homemade carved “Diddley Bow” Next unit all anonymous sculptures. Collection Jim Linderman Mid-1990s NYC. #Africanamericanart. #Blackfolkart

A dark forest with a bridge to nowhere. Set of Anonymous Snapshot photographs

For some reason this set of four family portraits scares me. Four small nightmares. An abandoned stage set creates a terrifying forest setting for these visitors to a lonely theme park scene now closed. What horrible event was portrayed inside the forest with a bridge to nowhere but darker? CLICK TO ENLARGE Set of four anonymous snapshots, circa 1950? Courtesy Boxlot on Facebook. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb #vintagesnapshot

Backyard Totem Pole snapshot c, 1940 Anonymous

Real totem poles were created for various ceremonial reasons by Northwestern tribes. Then there are “backyard” totem poles. I think this Is one of the latter. “Totem Pole” in the backyard original Anonymous snapshot c. 1940 Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Vintage Photography Sign Giant Camera !

I have no idea if this charming film drop is still in business, but it had a great door sign. Atwood’s Camera Shop Newton Centre 59, Mass. The reverse of the postcard allowed them to notify you that your pictures were ready to pick up. Atwood’s Camera Shop Advertising and notification card. No date. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Two Visionaries Harry Lowe Acquires James Hampton's Throne

In 1964 in Washington, D.C., a landlord entered a small house which he had been renting out to be astounded by what he found. 180 pieces consisting of altars, pulpits, crowns, plaques and a seven-foot-tall winged throne, all made from crumpled and shaped tin foil. It had been created by James Hampton, a janitor and former tenant. The media was contacted…and soon the acting director of the Smithsonian Art Museum, Harry Lowe was saying the first time he visited Hampton’s work space “it was like opening Tut’s tomb.” He paid the back rent, and acquired the masterpiece for the collection in 1970. Curator and museum director Harry Lowe was born on April 9, 1922, in Opelika, Alabama. In 1959, he became director of the Tennessee Fine Arts Center, where he organized collections and curated exhibitions. In 1964, Lowe moved to Washington, D.C. to take up a position as head of exhibitions and design at the National Collection of Fine Art. Today it is known as the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Throughout his years at the Smithsonian, Lowe was in charge of numerous exhibitions and events .We have the amazing Black visionary artist James Hampton and the wisdom and vision of curator Harry Lowe to thank today. Original Publicity Photograph of Harry Lowe while in the process of installing Hampton’s throne, AP wire story photograph 1971. 8 x 10 print Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb. There are numerous sources of information about the artist and detailed illustrations of the throne available on the web.

Justin McCarthy Untitled Landscape c. 1950s - 1960s collection Jim Linderman

Justin McCarthy Untitled Landscape c. 1950s 20" x 28" - 1960s collection Jim Linderman Additional works by the artist at Http:justinmccarthyart.blogspot.com

Charles Jessup Radio Preacher and Cock Fighter

CHARLES JESSUP: RADIO PREACHER AND COCK FIGHTER By Jim Linderman Rev. Charles Jessup was a border radio fixture for years on a powerful station operating just across the Mexican border (and just outside U. S. regulations) at the same time as Wolfman Jack. One could hear Jessup beg for money all the way to Wisconsin on a good night, and surely God cleared the heavens so the signal could travel that far. Del Rio radio never sounded as crisp as when Charles Jessup was pitching for dollars in his commanding sacred voice. Reverend Charles Jessup was also married to a 15 year old girl while still married to his third wife, but that was generally left out of his sermons. Things haven’t changed much since Charlie was braying from Mexico. Religious preaching on the airwaves is still big business. A market so large it rivals the size of the snack market during the Superbowl. “Oh? Well guess who thinks they are going to be met by a troop of angels when they die?” The answer? More than believe in Darwin, at least in this country. At the age of 12, young Charles began preaching. There isn’t much more annoying than a child preacher, except one who has a bunch of brothers who can help him. Jessup’s posse was pretty big. Shown here are his peckerwood brothers from Alabama. They were the blessed offspring of Reverend “Daddy” Jessup of Kentucky and Maude Spribling of Mississippi. The states of Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky make up a holy trinity of religious caterwauling. The Jessup’s begat nine children and at least four of them followed in Daddy’s golden slippers to become preachers. There is also a family tradition for circus performers, and sure enough several years later young Charles purchased a used revival tent from the Ringling Brothers. Show Business! Robert Duvall cited Jessup as an influence on his film The Apostle, and others have compared him to Elvis, but then the King was never convicted of mail fraud and using ill-gotten contributions from loyal listeners for cock-fighting. That’s right. The right reverend sorta served time for cock-fighting. Some of God’s creatures apparently wear metal talons. It was part of the dirt dug up on him for his conviction of mail fraud. Jessup barnstormed God’s airways with mountain music, a squeaky voice and an insatiable sexual appetite. Taking in ten million dollars (while claiming was to help the Mexican people) he “llenarse los bolsillos,” which is Spanish for “line your own pockets.” There are folks who worry about Mexicans coming here? Maybe they should close the border to US! Cars, Seaplanes, real estate… whatever supposed pleasures awaited his followers in the afterlife, he was taking full advantage of in the present. Jessup cared not who sent in the money… he preferred it green, but fake Christian beggars can’t be choosers. Not to be outdone by his own brother’s double-neck guitar, shown in a photo here… he ordered a custom made THREE neck guitar from the Mosrite Factory which surfaced a few years ago. Three necks! I am not sure what he used to play it with, but perhaps his young wife can tell us. A scan of their 78 rpm record (which unfortunately I have not heard as God has not yet provided me with a working turntable, but he will, I believe). As music was another of Jessup’s fraud activities, his worst sin may have been stealing rights to the songs of Cajun singer Jimmy Donley. Donley was a naive but fantastic early rocker you likely haven’t heard. One of those “sign here” on the hood of a car in a juke-joint parking lot deals… from which Jimmy never recovered. It is said Jessup implied that as a personal friend of God, he would give the recordings a fast track to the heavens of the pop charts. He did, by way of Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis, both who recorded Jimmy’s songs, but Jessup alone reaped the financial benefits. Donley never recovered, and committed suicide by sucking from an automobile exhaust pipe in 1963, a bible at his side. If Charles Jessup was really a faith healer, maybe he could have soothed Donley’s fevered brow and cured him of depression. His song “Think it Over” is here and the rest are available on the Bear Family compilation cited below. Great stuff and far superior to anything the Jessup brothers came up with on their own. The three most notable dates in the Jessup chronology are 1965, when the crook was indicted for mail fraud, 1968 when he was convicted and 1993 when he died. I hope Jimmy Donley was there to meet him at the gate with a posse of heavenly angels. Amazingly, Jessup continued to appear on other evangelist’s programs after serving his sentence (at least one of which still operates in my home state) and they welcomed him as an inspiration! Now THAT is faith. I am sure there are Jessup offspring around, and perhaps I should be scared. In 1948, Jessup was accused of beating one Mary Reynolds near death as she emerged from a motion picture theater in Gulfport. Her mistake was making the claim Jessup and his ministry was a sham, so he and his posse roughed her up a bit. NOTES: Photo excerpts from “Heaven and Hell” and “A Stirring Message on Death” all circa 1945-1950 by J. Charles Jessup, and “Preach the Word/I’ll Meet you in the Morning” by Jessup Brothers on Jessup Brothers records, 78 rpm. All Collection Jim Linderman. There is a magnificent profile of Jessup written by Peter J. Boyer at The New Yorker. The Find a Grave website always does just that, and the entry which reveals where Charles Jessup eternally rests. “Golden Slippers” is a phrase which derives from the song “Oh Dem Golden Slippers.” While today it is a bluegrass standard (and commercial for Golden Grahams cereal, nothing is sacred here) it was composed as a gospel song by African-American writer James A. Bland and made popular by the African-American gospel group The Fisk Singers. It has also been used in a Pokeman game. The magnificent recordings of the troubled Cajun singer Jimmie Donely (certainly not the first or last naive rock and roll recording artist) available. They are exceptionally composed songs, and the The Bear Folks package is highly recommended. Robert Duvall channels Jessup in a clip from The Apostle on youtube. He is far more convincing in the role than Jessup ever was. Jim Linderman is a collector, popular culture historian and author. His Dull Tool Dim Bulb blog is approaching 6 million page views.

Black Sculptor George Williams in the Museum and in the Field. Black Folk Art in America Exhitibion

Detail of an exhibition of early George Williams of Mississippi wood carvings shown in the touring Black Folk Art in America show in 1983, and a photo I took some ten years later of Mr. Williams making one for me. Original photo (detail of Detroit Institute of Arts staff photo) and original photo by Jim Linderman c. 1990 Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Amateur Femme Fatale Noir Drawings by a Young Woman Scrap book Late 1940s

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Amazing images of Folk Art Environment Ray's Ornamental Garden in Texas.

Two images of Ray’s Ornamental Garden in Texas, or I should say formerly of Texas. The color one is a Jumbo format postcard. The other an 8 x 10 wide shot. The giant Folk art environment was in Stephenville, TX but it is nearly gone now. After George Ray passed in 1957, his wife maintained it for a while but she died ten years later. vandals and juvenile delinquents ruined much of it and the rest was bulldozed in the 1980s. Large postcard and original photograph of Ray’s Ornamental Garden Late 1930s to 1940s. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Mid-century thread spool and canning jar ring toss game American Folk Art collection Jim Linderman

Mid-century thread spool and canning jar ring toss game American Folk Art collection Jim Linderman

Antique Bottle Cap Folk Art Environment Logs

Bottle Cap Tree / Logs. A folk art environment unknown location and date. Original Snapshot Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb #bottlecaps. #art. #folkartenvironment

Handmade Folk Art Puppet Head with hair and a great painted face. c. 1950 folk art collection Jim Linderman

A mid-century handmade folk art puppet head with hair and a great painted face. c. 1950 folk art puppet head Mounted on a base. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Blog

Articulated Figure Man on a Ruler Dancing Wooden Folk Art Carving c. 1930

Man on a Ruler! as shown, 7 inches tall. A beautiful handmade and handcarved dancing toy with original mustard paint on the midsection. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

The Nutshell (!). A charming folk art environment from the wayback past.

Meet me at The Nutshell. I wish I could make out the indistinct writing over the front door. Original Photograph circa 1930 (?) Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

A GIANT duck costume with a man inside from Missouri c. 1930

Man in a Duck costume meeting the train. Why? I dunno. Original snapshot c. 1930 Lee Jellum photo shop Chillicothe. Missouri Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Giant Articulated Figure Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Blog

Giant Articulated Figure. Nearly 5 feet tall with moving arms, legs and joints. It could be a trade figure, but I wonder if it was an industrial tool to show workers how to correctly lift heavy objects? CLICK to see entire figure. C. 1950? Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Folk Art Relief Carving of a Reclining Woman Unknown Artist c. 1950

Folk Art Relief Carving of a reclining woman, no date. 21” long, 10 inches tall. Unknown artist circa 1950. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

How to Get to Heaven and Avoid Hell Original Photogaph of a Religious Banner

How to Get to Heaven and Avoid Hell Original Photogaph of a Religious Banner c. 1920 Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Police Puppet Show for Safety. Undated Press Photograph

Police Puppet Show for Safety Undated Press Photograph ? Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Original Art from “Trace and Color” by Anonymous 1937. Crayon on translucent paper Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Original Art from “Trace and Color” by Anonymous 1937. Crayon on translucent paper Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Tintype Copy of a Folk Art Portrait 19th century art and photography merge

A half-plate tintype photograph of an even earlier folk art portrait of a young woman. We might place the portrait to 1825 or 1830, I'm going to say the tintype was taken thirty or forty years later. Taking photographs of paintings was far more common than one may think. One of the powers of the tintype was their ability to be sent in the mail, and many a family portrait was photographed and shared. Additionally, because of floods, fires and mold, often a PHOTO of a painting is all that remains. I would like to hope the painting remains as well, but chances are probably slim. At the top, directly above the figure, the pin used to hold the piece in place to be photographed is also seen. Art historians and folk art collectors alike prize 19th century photographs of paintings, in particular when it may document a missing piece from an artist's body of work. I have not identified either the original artist or the photographer, certainly, and I suppose I never will. Suggestions as to the identity of the painter are welcome. Charming in either medium. Attempts to merge folk art with photography have occurred over the years, some with success. I personally do not think photographs are folk art, but as my blog often shows, one can take a picture of folk art. Half-plate Tintype of a Folk Art Portrait Circa 1860 Dull Tool Dim Bulb Archives

Time for Laundy and some Debt! Handmade Sign with life-size folk art figures orignal photograph

Time for laundry and debt ! Original Sign with life-sized folk art figures Snapshot photograph. "A Copper Washer for a Silver Dollar" was a popular 1920s advertising slogan for Automatic Electric Washers. The promotion allowed customers to purchase a new copper-tub clothes washer with a $1.00 down payment (the "silver dollar”) followed by monthly installments. Original photograph (cropped) Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb #folkartsign.