Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Musicianers Blues Musicians from the 1940s Original Photograph collection Jim Linderman

We'll never know who these guys are, but original period snapshots of performing blues musicians from this period, likely 1940 to 1950, are scarce.

I'm way behind schedule, but THIS is coming one day.

Anonymous Snapshot, circa 1940 - 1950? Collection Jim Linderman

Rubble in Kennebunk Press Photograph of Religious Intolerance Enhanced by Hand

An anonymous artist has touched up the rubble before publication in this original 1940 press photograph of a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall which was attacked by a mob in Kennebunk, Maine. I guess the photograph wasn't rubbly enough. The mugs standing around are. The photo editor has touched up a few creased pants too...pictures DO lie.

That year, the Supreme Court ruled a school district could require students to salute the flag. The Jehovah's had a problem with that…and numerous mobs had a problem with the Jehovah's. The ruling unleashed a torrent of attacks on those who practiced the religion.

According to Wiki, the case "... resulted in a wave of persecution against Jehovah's Witnesses. Lillian Gobitas later characterized the violence as "open season on Jehovah’s Witnesses." The American Civil Liberties Union recorded 1,488 attacks on Witnesses in over 300 communities between May and October 1940. Angry mobs assaulted Witnesses, destroyed their property, boycotted their businesses and vandalized their places of worship. Less than a week after the court decision, a Kingdom Hall in Kennebunk, Maine was burnt down."

Well, it's still standing, so it wasn't "burnt down" but it certainly looks like there wasn't a whole lot of religious tolerance going on.

Original Press photograph, Anonymous, enhanced by hand for publication 1940 Collection Jim Linderman

Gasoline Powered Ice Racer from the 1930s. Frozen Daredevils

Looks like a contraption from a 1930s Popular Mechanics cover. Check the engine on this contraption. Most ice vehicles, or skimmers, or ice mobiles, or I have no idea what, are made with sails and operate on wind power. These hopped up speedster guys made a real ice machine. Ice Racing or snowmobile prototype? Summer sport in Michigan!
Snapshots of an Ice Vehicle No Date (1930s?) Collection Jim Linderman

Carved Folk Art Dancing Man on a Stick with Bowtie Articulated Figure collection Jim Linderman

Carved Folk Art Dancing Man on a Stick with Bowtie

Articulated Figure circa 1940 collection Jim Linderman

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS AND EBOOKS BY THE AUTHOR HERE

Bible Beehive Dexterity Game Bonus Post (from the old time religion blog)

Bible Beehive Dexterity Game! (Idle hands are the Devil's playground)
Bonus Post (from the old time religion blog by the same author)

Busy Hands Bible Game (no date) Collection Jim Linderman

BOOKS AND AFFORDABLE EBOOKS BY THE AUTHOR ARE HERE

Soldier's Pin Up Foot Locker World War Two Collection Victor Minx

Hot as Coal

Anyone east of Big Muddy will understand this today.

Salesman Sample for Matchbook cover circa 1940 Collection Jim Linderman

Art and Photography books and ebooks by Jim Linderman available HERE

Amateur Hour Contortionist? Show Business Philadelphia 1950 by Robert Jones

Looks like a television studio with a well balanced performer. Amateur Hour?

Pair of photographs by Robert L. Jones Philadelphia PA 1950 Collection Jim Linderman

BOOKS AND $5.99 ebooks on Art and Photography by Jim Linderman HERE

OH MIN! Hand Painted Folk Art Sign Oh Min ?

The seller and I at an outdoor antique show debated over the meaning of this hand-painted sign. A bad OMEN? A preacher exclaiming AMEN? It cost ten bucks and I bought it just to figure it out, which is usually the case with objects I post here.

It turns out OH MIN was the exclamation cartoon character Andy Gump used when complaining to his wife Minerva. The Marriott? I have no idea. Family name for this sign which may have identified a residence? Along the beaches in Michigan, it is not unusual for families to hang goofy signs in the woods to help folks find the place. That's my guess.

"Oh Min" Hand-painted sign. Circa 1930. Collection Jim Linderman

BOOKS AND $5.99 EBOOKS BY JIM LINDERMAN AVAILABLE FOR PREVIEW OR PURCHASE HERE

Say it Five Times Fast Toy Gun

Folk Art Carved Gangster Gun Circa 1930 Collection Jim Linderman

Christian Preacher and Evangelist W. V. Grant Mortal Conduit for God

Christian Preacher and Evangelist W. V. Grant uses a selection of sepia stock photos to help fill his pockets. According to Wiki, the ex-con has claimed he isn't a faith healer, but IS a "mortal conduit" for same. One of God's chosen ambassadors, I guess. Grant's father was in the same game. His "religious service" is an act aimed at anyone suffering from the worst affliction: Blind faith. A nice video of the fraudster follows.

I have assembled a nice little collection of Grant's tracts (thousands of which have sold for $1.00 each) which will be featured in a series of miracles of my OWN on the old time religion site.

CLICK HERE to send a Prayer Request directly through electronic conduit to Reverend Grant! He is waiting for your mail.

My OWN books, which I am afraid cost more than a dollar, are available HERE

Buy the eBooks, they are cheaper.

A Well Dressed Wood Carving Folk Art collection Jim Linderman

Well-dressed Well-carved Folk Art Man, 19th Century. Collection Jim Linderman

In Honor of the Roswell Anniversary, My Personal Collection of ACTUAL UFO PHOTOGRAPHS

Every serious photography collection should have a few original snapshots of Unidentified Flying Objects. These are original Kodachrome photos from a set dated 1964. I believe, I believe!

All above DATED and AUTHENTICATED by my own alien contacts.

Five color Kodachrome Print Snapshots 1964 Collection Jim Linderman

Kopeefun Fun!

It's Kopeefun fun! Early copyright violating "storage systems" for copying your favorite characters. Here is a group of obsolete cartoon critters I can't identify...Let's ask the blog's oldest follower to contribute the answer. They look like one of those "If you can draw THIS" ads from the 1950s, but submitting a Kopeefun drawing as your attempt would be cheating.

It is a double delight on Dull Tool Dm Bulb today. The sister blog shows some risque versions of kopeefun! Have fun!

Original Kopeefun Magic Sheets (Used) circa 1945 Collection Jim Linderman

BOOKS AND EBOOKS BY JIM LINDERMAN AVAILABLE HERE

Courtship from The Birth of Rock and Roll Book available NOW by Jim Linderman

"Courtship" (or The Birth of Rock and Roll) Vintage snapshot c. 1960.
FROM THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL BOOK by Jim Linderman
AVAILABLE FROM THE PUBLISHER DUST-TO-DIGITAL OR AMAZON.

Original Snapshot circa 1950 collection Jim Linderman

July 4th 1939 Lou Gehrig Day The Luckiest... Anonymous Painting of 1939

Yes, it is July 4th, Independence day, but it is also Lou Gehrig Day. July 4, 1939, one of our greatest baseball players took to the field and Yankee Stadium to acknowledge the crowds. Movietone was there to record it, and it obviously moved the young artist here.

The…The…The
Luckiest…Luckiest…Luckiest…
Man…Man…Man.
Lou was sick when he stood before the microphone. No one had even heard of hockey then, and basketball was still a joke. We had one sport and Lou was the epitome of it. Of all his accomplishments, the greatest was that he played 2,130 games in a row. From 1925 to 1939. Have YOU ever called in sick? Lou didn't. Not once. And all they had back then was aspirin.

The anonymous painting here, too large for my scanner, was found folded in a "one dollar" basket at the end of a table at a garage sale. Who would throw this out?

Anonymous Child's Painting of Lou Gehrig Day. Date, possible, 1939 Collection Jim Linderman

Preview and purchase Art and Photography books (paper or $5.99 ebook) by Jim Linderman HERE.

Antique Sailor Whirligig Folk Art

Large crusty sailor whirligig wearing bell bottoms and doing a jig. Collection Jim Linderman

Snapshooter Snapshot taken by another Snapshooter

A perfectly centered snapshot of a snapshooter. What? Google doesn't recognize the word snapshooter and wants me to check my spelling? The first use was in 1896 according to Meriam-Webster dictionary. Get with it Google. Looks like Meriam Webster is kicking your robot's butt.

Orignal Anonymous Snapshot (Dated on Reverse 1950) Collecton Jim Linderman

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS BY JIM LINDERMAN ARE HERE

Antique Folk Art Rooster Weathervane collection Jim Linderman

Folk Art Weathervane Rooster Sheet tin circa 1930? Collection Jim Linderman

Painting a Little Wooden Folk Art Dog for the Garden

Painting a Wooden Cutout Dog. At least I think it's a dog. It has a collar...cat?

Original Snapshot circa 1950? Collection Jim Linderman

The Day I Spoke to Captain Kangaroo

The Day I Spoke to Captain Kangaroo

My first real, paying job in Manhattan was working at CBS News, and at the time the Captain was still around. Way at the end of the building (a converted Milk Factory on West 57th Street) Captain Kangaroo was still being broadcast, though the year I started they had just shorted him to a half- hour a day…to concentrate on the CBS Morning News rather than educating the kids. The Captain didn't like it and eventually quit. Still the props were around and it was pretty cool to see them.

Bob Keeshan was certainly a part of my life, as were the libelous dirty jokes we told about Mr. Green Jeans behind the barn when I was older. We were being mean, as I don't think "Lumpy" Brannum, who played the barnyard buddy, would do the things we described. Other regulars on the show, which you have forgotten, were Dr. Bill Cosby, Dr. Joyce Brothers and Dr. Cosmo Allegertti as Mr. Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Moose, Miss Frog, Mr. Whispers, Dancing Bear, Grandfather Clock, Uncle Ralph AND the Magic Drawing Board!

Anyway, I was working in the library fielding calls like "How do you spell Hosni Mubarak's first name" and "Did anyone ever cross the Pacific in a balloon" when to my surprise the next call didn't ask a question, didn't say hello…it just said "This is the Captain" in a soothing voice which put me right back on the couch before school in the second grade. He really called himself the Captain! I can't remember what he wanted…but I'll never forget hearing his voice.

Bob Keeshaw marketed the "googly eyes" drinking cup here himself. The eyes are "lenticular" which means they follow you as put the milk carton carefully back into the fridge all by yourself. "Captain Kangaroo" is a trademark of "The Cashin Comedy Company" which he did. The cup on the base has "Robert Keeshaw Associates" scrolled around the center.

Captain Kangaroo "Sip" Cup. Collection Jim Linderman

Browse and Order books by Jim Linderman HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jim Linderman

"...Linderman is widely regarded as one of the foremost figures in a field of vernacular art collectors working beyond the margins of most institutional axioms and impulses, in what is essentially it's own self-taught art form."
Ursula Magazine Hauser & Wirth 2019

"Linderman produces the most sublime books on dreamy, arcane subjects, sexy stuff, too, all with rare one-of-a-kind images." Craig Yoe 2017

"...disclosing an underground history of American popular culture one oddball tale at a time"
John Strausbaugh in The New York Times

"...one of the blog writers to watch for"
ARTSlant

"...wonderful, extraordinary, fascinating, remarkable and profound" Fans in a Flashbulb International Center of Photography Museum 2016

"Brilliantly Astute, Acerbic and Aesthetic Jim Linderman"
The Museum of Everything 2014

"Dull Tool Dim Bulb is always worth a visit" THINGS Magazine 2016

"...grumpy..." The Austin Chronicle 2014

"Perpetually ahead of the collecting curve...a one man Taschen. An authentically curious individual...diligently archiving the forgotten curiosities of American History"

Emma Higgins in Art Hack May 2012

"Jim Linderman likes Art, Antiques and Photography and his collection of Vernacular Photography, Folk Art, Ephemera and Curiosities is a wonderful place..."
LifeElsewhere with Norman B. 2014

"...collected over the years by Jim Linderman, a character who seems the perfect subject for a Harvey Pekar comic. Linderman treats collecting like a calling, and his finds have a resulting air of authority, stunning in their capture of bygone picturesque moments."
Derek Taylor Dusted

"The pictures, discarded artifacts of ecstatic Americana, come from the stash of Jim Linderman, who in his introduction recalls advice he’s plainly taken to heart: “Collect the heck” out of whatever you find interesting."
Drew Jubera Paste Magazine

"His interest in art is rivaled only by his interest in music, and one expression informs the other. He pursues objects with thoroughness and an innate sense of curiosity..."
Tanya Heinrich Folk Art Magazine

"Linderman acknowledges the obscure at the same time that he elevates it.... His collections tell vast stories in sotto voce, allowing curios and objects shadowed by mainstream culture and ideology to converse and be heard. What we hear is an enormous American sub-culture speaking in forbidden, marginalized languages: stuff discovered boxed in the attic out of embarrassment or zealotry, smutty ash trays crowing next to religious pamphlets, each claiming a part of the complex, sometimes contradictory, always conflicted American imagination, a chaos of memories that will one day vanish."
Joe Bonomo Author of Conversations With Greil Marcus, Jerry Lewis Lost and Found and No Such Thing As Was

"...he's one of the world's greatest pickers."
Brian Wallis in The New York Times

"Documenting--one clipping at a time--the scrapbook of a leg and garter aficionado that was dumpster-dived in Virginia in the 60s" "...an outstanding image-archaeologist who has compiled a shelf-ful of worthy and unique photographic histories."
William Smith Hang Fire Books

"Linderman has a knack for discovering untold stories and introducing them to a wider audience"
Joey Lin Anonymous Works

"Jim Linderman...makes us all look a little puny"
Could it be Madness-this?

"...insatiable collector of ephemera and ringleader behind an incredible circus of blogs — including the treasure trove dull tool dim bulb"
The Cynephile

"Yo no sé ustedes pero creo que es uno de los mejores sitios que he visitado en mucho tiemp"
Color Me in Blog

"...there's something beyond the endless photos and postcards and weird propaganda from another time that he lovingly documents - I think it's the collection as a whole, the portrait of a person fascinated with culture and communication. I have met people like this before, and in reading Dull Tool Dim Bulb I feel I have been lucky enough to meet one more. This site is a goldmine in terms of links..."
The Hyggelic Life October 2009

"Linderman is always on the lookout for the new and exciting"
Chuck and Jan Rosenak Contemporary American Folk Art

"...an amazing collection..."
Revel in New York October 2009

"Jim Linderman has a nice little colllection of interesting books and blogs...But every so often he just loses it."
American Digest March 2010

"FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE, COLLECTOR JIM LINDERMAN has searched high and low for authentic things--unique and special objects that define the artistic culture of the American experience. From folk art to popular culture, from pulp fiction to Delta Blues-- Jim is a walking authority on so many things American they are too numerous to mention. One thing is certain-- his collecting interests are for things that have fallen through the cracks, those things lost and forgotten--the box of material under the table at the flea market booth. If it wasn't for dedicated collectors like Jim Linderman-- so many important objects about our culture would have surely been lost to time and indifference."

"Jim Linderman maintains a most interesting blog about the most amazing things from his collection—a site he calls “Dull Tool Dim Bulb,” the only curse words his father ever uttered. I love it, and read it everyday."
"...an excellent writer and I devour your blog daily. I am impressed at your deep knowledge of things within your niche..."
John Foster Accidental Mysteries

"I am grateful to Jim Linderman for first alerting me to the existence of the 1930s Spiritualist hymn "Jesus is My Air-o-plane."
William Fagaly New Orleans Museum of Art, Author Tools of her Ministry: The art of Sister Gertrude Morgan

"Linderman describes a long gone world...(he) claims not to be a writer but he is most certainly an excellent researcher..."
BOOKSTEVE

"Jim Linderman, King of the Internet Ephemeral Arts"
Spaniel Rage

"Jim is a fantastic historian...show him some love"
Astrid Daley Fringe Pop / Sin-A-Rama

"Almost an experimental narrative"
Idiopath

"He came to us with hundreds of jaw-dropping baptism photos that he'd been collecting for 25 years," Ledbetter explains. "By the time he found us, he'd already done half a lifetime's works, and he trusted us to handle it properly." Lance Ledbetter in Creative Loafing 10/13/11

Fair Use

Though the images, which I have myself largely scanned from my personal collection of photographs and ephemera, some are subject to © by the artist, syndicate that distributed them or otherwise the individual artists. The use here is regardless covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:
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The copyright for some images are most likely owned by either the publisher, the writer(s) and/or artist(s) which produced them originally.

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Although most of the images here are original photography and objects owned by the author and in the author's personal collection, we cannot absolutely guarantee the exact copyright status of the items or offer written assurance that every or any aspect of this work is completely cleared for all usages. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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