Things to Make SOCK MONKEY (In Time for CHRISTMAS)

CLICK TO ENLARGE YOUR SOCK MONKEY INSTRUCTIONS

Those of you who follow regularly know from time to time I post "Things to Make" and I am never kidding. It's the new reality folks.. don't think of this as a kitschy little gimmick. You can save a bundle AND give your friends a gift they will love by following these simple instructions, courtesy Nelson Red Heel Rockford Socks, the ONLY official sock of the sock monkey! You can substitute imported socks, but if so plan on the Sock Monkey lasting only a few generations.

Make the Sensational Red Heel Sock Monkey Brochure circa 1950 Collection Jim Linderman
Tweet

Cross Written Correspondence Dull Tool Dim Bulb Greatest Hits

CLICK TO ENLARGE

A 19th Century "cross written" letter. Cross writing was a technique to save paper when paper was scarce. Every scrap mattered at one time (this is dated 1823) so the writer, upon reaching the end of the page, would turn the paper 90 degrees and add a second layer of text. Once it becomes familiar, the mind adapts easily and cross written letters are surprisingly legible. Charles Darwin famously used the technique.

I have a cold, and the bandwidth is so clogged with "stay at home" shoppers, I didn't want to sit here and upload images. This is a repost from a few years ago.

Original Post from Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Daily Blog

Early 19th Century Cross Writing letter, Collection Jim Linderman

Contortionist Helen Paguin of Canada RPPC Jim Linderman Collection

A perfect "V" and an incredible set of real photo postcards of young Helen Paguin of Western Canada, Vaudevillian and child performer. This girl could literally compose words with her body. I have no other information on Helen Paguin or the rest of her extraordinary family, who would have been active 1910-1930 in Canada and likely across the border. Helen Paguin Child Performer

Collection of 5 real photo postcards collection Jim Linderman
Tweet

Cuba Si Real Photo Postcard set of Tropical Paradise RPPC

Tropical paradise Cuba a few decades before Batista, before the mob tried to make the place their own personal Vegas and before Fidel kicked them out.

Set of Real Photo Postcards, Cuba Circa 1920 Collection Jim Linderman
DULL TOOL DIM BULB BOOK CATALOG
Tweet

The Art of Theosophy and Fruity Pebbles Thought Form Paintings of Varley, Prince and Macfarlane

SUDDEN FRIGHT

ANGRY JEALOUSY

ON THE FIRST NIGHT


SUSTAINED ANGER

VAGUE INTELLECTUAL PLEASURE

PEACE AND PROTECTION

I haven't had my coffee yet, so I'm not going to explain Theosophy, a big bag of astral matter and vibrating shenanigans mixed up with strange science and fruity pebbles...but the pictures are wonderful.

Read the foundation (shaky) HERE.

Pictures from THOUGHT FORMS BY ANNIE BESANT AND C.W. LEADBEATER HERE
(Collect them all)

DULL TOOL DIM BULB BOOKS AVAILABLE HERE

Card of Love Willie Strode Women Chaser Victorian Lothario

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Here is a tip for you Lotharios out there. The women do love the little lovely gestures. I imagine Willie Strode here did all right. I don't mind being a cynic, as the times certainly call for one, so let's guess how many Victorian innocents were recipients of Willie's love card. A beautiful little calling card, and I am guessing Strode frequently had company in the calling room.

Yours Truly Please Answer

Victorian Calling (Love) Card of Willie Strode circa 1890 Collection Jim Linderman

DULL TOOL DIM BULB BOOKS AVAILABLE HERE

Tweet

Check Your Hose Day! A Good Hose is a Household Necessity (Hose Humor collection Jim Linderman)

Yes, once again it is "Hose Inspection Day" so let's get to it. A good hose is a household necessity. I check mine even more frequently than necessary just to be sure.

Pair of Harley R. Lugibihl "Look Over Your Garden Hose" advertising cards circa 1930 Collection Jim Linderman

DULL TOOL DIM BULB BOOKS AVAILABLE HERE
Tweet

Wire Mesh Masks for Odd Fellows Lodge Ritual Masks Folk Art

No, the one in the middle isn't Osama in final repose.

A group of Demoulin Masks! Lodge ritual objects. Demoulin was an astounding mail order company in the 1930s. These masks, three from the many they sold, were intended to be used in fraternal organization ceremonies. They are wire mesh, painted, with horse hair on on the "odd fellows" when needed and all originally had cloth straps to hold them in place. So these would date to 1920 or 1930.

As you can see, the company also produced some remarkable paper-mache parade and carnival masks.

One could bend these fellows back into shape, but I have to mow the lawn.

Demoulin was astounding. I am usually full of hyperbole, but their catalog will seriously drop your jaw. Gary Groth recently edited what appears to be a reprint (and more) of the Demoulin catalog titled Catalog No. 439: Burlesque Paraphernalia and Side Degree Specialties and Costumes A generous preview of the book is available on Amazon...I do not know if these images are in the book...I found them on the web while trying to figure out what the hell I brought home. But I can assure you if the book is as good as it looks on Amazon, you'll love it. In fact, it too looks quite astounding.


Group of three Lodge Ritual Fraternal Masks, circa 1920-1930 Collection Jim Linderman

Wooden Clown Folk Art Ring Toss on the Nose Paddle Wild Paint

Carved wood handle ring toss game Hand-painted Circa 1940 Collection Jim Linderman

Dull Tool Dim Bulb BOOKS HERE

Mark Schneider Master Artist of the Pulp Sir! Neglected Hero of Magazine Illustration Sir! Mark Schneider Sir!

As something of a researcher, I am reminded daily the inadequacies of the internet. If you kids out there think you're writing a good paper based on what is available at your fingertips, you have more learning to do. A case in point is Mark Schneider.

Go ahead, look him up.

Lots of fake Mark Schneiders trying to cash in on the master artist's name, right? Pfft!. Let's remedy that right now. Henceforth, when one searches for Mark, hopefully they will find this small tribute to the strange painter of pulp who has eluded webdom until now.

God Bless Taschen books, for they at least gave Schneider his brief brush with fame for his paint brushes instead of the brush-off. A paragraph in their colorful tome True Crime Detective Magazines 1924-1969. Okay, so they besmirch by calling him "...a marginal talent at best" and practically blaming him for the demise of painted covers on magazines...in this case saying SOMETHING is still better than saying nothing at all.

Schneider was the house artist at Volitant Publications, AKA Histrionic Publications, AKA Mr. Magazine Inc. See why I like "true" crime? You can't make it up! When Mr. Magazine Inc. needed the lurid, they turned to Mark. He must have been working on a short deadline too...just look at his work. Let's say the editor needed..oh...I dunno...a freaking atom bomb going off while a couple prepares for coitus or a pondering Yeti considering his cold, lonely plight. Not an easy photo shoot. Call Schneider!

Now in full disclosure, regular followers of this blog know virtually everything I post comes out of a shoe box behind me. In this case, having come to the appreciation of Schneider, it should be confessed I had to crib these images from the very web I chastise. The owners might not know what fine pieces they have, but they do now.


I have a bone to pick here with Pulp Magazine collectors. (A bone to pick not unlike the vultures hope for from the fellow lacking Vitamin E above) For some reason, Pulp collectors seem to like GOOD art. A big mistake. Folks might like and might appreciate your collection, but a LAUGH is worth a thousand "good" covers. I got one at each and every Schneider cover I found here. Now you guys start doing some real work and load the Mark Schneider archives up on here. My neck hurts.


Dull Tool Dim Bulb Book Catalog HERE




Tweet

Death as a Way of Life Post-Mortem Tintype Photograph collection Jim Linderman

I know this hurts. A post-mortem tintype photograph circa 1870 depicts a mother holding her recently passed away child. Infant mortality was high and children were often photographed as a memento before burial. An image to share with family members, and nearly every post-mortem photograph is the only image of a loved child. Then, an all too common practice for young mothers. Today, merely a collectible category for early photography collections.

If a photographer can create art in a scene this sorrowful, then he or she is an artist indeed.


Early in the 18th century, death as a youngster was not as rare as it thankfully is now, at least here in the United States. It was also not uncommon for children to be given miniature coffins as playthings or told stories which placed an emphasis on death. Games children played and the rhymes they recited were gruesome indeed. Inevitable but unfortunate. I call it a failure in the design.

Post-Mortem Tintype photograph Collection Jim Linderman

Link to Dull Tool Dim Bulb Books




Tweet