Tin Strawberry Sign circa 1950 Collection Jim Linderman
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Welcome to Big Rock Studio Cabinet Card Jim Linderman
"Go ahead...just set your hat right there on the big rock. Smile!
Cabinet card with absurd prop circa 1890 Collection Jim Linderman
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Ladies and Gentleman! THE WORLD'S GREATEST WRESTLERS! GORGEOUS GEORGE IN A GORGEOUS SCRAPBOOK
A drag my puny scanner can't handle these giant wrasslers from the past, but then the ring couldn't hold them either. It is nice that Junior built this colorful collection, as he most certainly was watching them perform in black and white.
Of course Gorgeous George is here, down in the lower right corner of one page with blond hair but black eyebrows. The star of the Golden age of Wrestling and the first to use music to mark his entrance. Before the fight, George would have the ring sprayed with Chanel number 10 ("why be half safe?") he said. His first TV appearance was in 1947. He sadly died at age 48, a turkey farmer and lounge owner at the time, of liver problems.
The others, which you can see part of, include The Great Moto, Farmer Don, Ivan Rasputin, Nanjo Singh and his Cobra Deathlock, Max Marek, Poffo, Lord Blears, Drake, Ruff, Cyclone Anaya, and two pictures of Tarzan White!
Large Homemade Wrestlers Scrapbook, circa 1950 Collection Jim Linderman
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Vintage African-American Magazines Hot Black Romance
Black romance! Other than the dynamite duo of Jet and Ebony from Johnson Publications in Chicago, African-American magazines are surprisingly scarce, which is why the examples I pick to show here likely will not look familiar. Smaller circulations, segregated neighborhoods, institutional racism (did YOUR public library subscribe to Jive?) and other reasons account for their rarity. Plus, museums and serious collectors are now purchasing them to compensate for their earlier neglect. Unless you find a box somewhere, you might expect to pay 25 to 50 bucks apiece and more for a mint condition black romance magazine from the 1950s and 1960s...if and when you can find one.
Group of vintage African-American Romance magazines collection Jim Linderman
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Atomic Ranch Magazine PRINTS MY LETTER (!) Mid-Century Chair with Amateur Design Mastery
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Having abandoned Manhattan for Michigan three years ago, and having been fortunate enough to purchase a 1963-built ranch house in beautiful condition, ATOMIC RANCH has become one of my favorite magazines. Which is why I sent them a few photographs and a question about the child-sized mid-century design chair I found in an antique mall. I thought it a most sculptural homemade piece with superb design...a tiny Calder in my living room! But it had no manufacturer listed, it is clearly a homemade or, hopefully, a prototype.
Two years went by and I never heard back from the magazine. Much to my surprise, here it is in the Summer 2011 issue with my photos, my chair, my question and my bananas! They seem as puzzled as I was, but the effort sure is appreciated.
Now what Atomic Ranch doesn't know is that in the intervening two years, I FOUND THE ANSWER! I'm not printing it here, who wants to spoil the fun? I'm going to wait and see what kind of guesses come in and send them the answer after.
It is a beautiful little chair...and since I now live less than a gallon of gas from Herman Miller, My eye is increasingly shifting from folk art to retro modern whatever. Plus, I have a house to fill!
Thanks to Atomic Ranch. It is a superb magazine, I recommend it highly, and their website HERE provides a generous sample of what they do. I only wish it was a monthly instead of a quarterly.
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Folk Art Dancing Dan Limberjack Jig Doll Jiggerman Limberjim Dancin' Dan the Yankee Doodle Dancer Articulated Figure
A limberjack, AKA jig doll, slapjack, jiggerman, limberjim, dancin' dan, paddle puppet and yankee-doodle dancer (and articulated figure if it is mounted on a museum base) is actually a wooden musical instrument which consists of a doll with loose joints on the end of a long stick, the legs of which the human performer causes to tap rhythmically on a thin wooden board like a clog dancer. The one here happens to be tied to a ruler, thus giving a measure of the man while he dances. The photograph of a REAL limberjack is an original snapshot from the 1930s.
Clog Dances ARE like songs...trace them to Ireland or Africa, take your pick. Wiki says clogging may even be traced to the Cherokee. John Lee Hooker did it sitting down like a stationary tap-dancer. "Buck dancer" is probably the most common term, or flat-dancing, foot-stomping and like the whittled doll it is also known as jigging, hence the jig doll name. Whatever, it is the percussive sound made by clogging which is important and also why the dance itself looks ridiculous. Stay loose!
Original photograph and carved wooden figure, both circa 1930, both collection Jim Linderman
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A Photographer who could MAKE YOU A STAR Girls Girls Girls
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14th Annual 4-H Girls Convention Iowa State College by George W. Cushman 1941 Collection Jim Linderman
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Early Paintbox Set Fraktur Pigment in Bottles Art History Early 19th Century Paint Set
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COLLECTION JIM LINDERMAN / DULL TOOL DIM BULB
The collapsible tin paint tube was invented in 1841, and by 1860 or so they were in general use. Early watercolor paint sets with powered cakes are seen on occasion, but sets like the one above with corked and bottled colors to be mixed by the artist are scarce indeed. In around 1827 (?) the British company Ackermann sold a paint box, but an auction catalog indicates "early marked pigment bottles are almost unheard of to be found..." so certainly an entire set such as this is scarce indeed.
"PIGMENT ANALYSIS OF EARLY AMERICAN WATERCOLORS AND FRAKTUR" by Janice H. Carlson, & John Krill is an analysis of the composition of early American Fraktur paints published in the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation in 1978. It concluded fraktur painters used commercially available pigments and illustrates a similar kit (without bottles) HERE, a paint set from the Mercer Museum of The Bucks County Historical Society. It is called a Fraktur Painter's Box. The article has been cited frequently, but I find few other examples of sets this early either illustrated or discussed.
Certainly the earliest painters had to mix their own pigments with oil, and some materials were even stored in bladders. It was apparently dangerous work...the chemicals were toxic when inhaled. Considerable study has been done on British painter J.M.W. Turner's paint box HERE which also includes analysis of dry pigments found in test tube like bottles after his death.
The box itself, which I presume is original (?) has hinges and flat head screws which were in common use around 1900 or so.
I welcome comments or contributions to the history of a set like this. Could this be one of the earliest commercial paint sets existing?
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Stars Stripes Cabinet Card Dull Tool Dim Bulb collection Jim Linderman
Anonymous Cabinet Card Photograph circa 1900? Collection Jim Linderman
Buffalo Coat Tintype Man Buffalo Bill and the Clothing of the West
A fine gent in his stylish Buffalo Coat. Actually, I am going to guess the coat is a photography studio prop to help tenderfoots look like they've been to the Wild West. And I should know, being a distant relative of Buffalo Bill. True. William F. Cody and I are related. Now that does not mean I am proud of him...in fact I can't really tell you anything at all about him!
Tintype Photograph Anonymous circa 1870 Collection Jim Linderman
(See The Painted Backdrop Book HERE) Available for Purchase from BLURB.COM
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I Listen to the Wind Music in Vernacular Photographs from Dust to Digital Steve Roden Changing the Way one Looks at Sound
I am pleased to try conjuring up the first review of Steve Roden's music and photography project with Dust to Digital, "...I listen to the wind that obliterates my traces: music in vernacular photographs 1888-1955"
Sight and sound meet in perfect balance here. Roden discovers, acquires and appreciates audible ghosts. It matters little whether they are heard or seen, the beauty is in between. Objects of wonder float in the air, and in certain photographs you will literally see physical notes surround a band, amateur performers with non-existent audiences their only friends, elephant ear trumpets, harmony in half-filled glasses and an orchestra in the Ozarks. A real monkey-grinder of a book/CD. All collected by the artist and designed by another artist, John Hubbard.
The sounds included on the discs are pictures as well, home recordings and musical obscurities etched with stylus tools, spinning lathes, somehow lifted from fog now dispersed. It is hard to describe the antique photographs and sounds here, but I certainly can not quibble in any way, it is an astounding collection. The book/cd will literally do the impossible: Change the way you look at sound. That is something.
The project is not available until August, but I would put in an order early if they will let you. Suffice to say, this is an essential purchase for ANY musician, musical archive, institution or library, and likewise any photography collector or organization. 51 recordings on two CDs and 150 photographs.
Steven Roden has also been producing a beautiful blog.
Dust to Digital has also announced their ambitious upcoming projects, as well as some brief notes about previous releases reproduced below. Make sure to browse!
I Listen to the Wind That Obliterates My Traces: Music in Vernacular Photographs 1880-1955 (DTD-20): Compiled and edited by acclaimed artist Steve Roden, this hardback book/2 CD set is slated for an August 2, 2011 release date. We will have more details available very soon. Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM (DTD-22): Compiled and edited by Jonathan Ward, of Excavated Shellac fame, this 4 CD box set showcases 100 recordings made between the 1920s and '60s, all of which are available on CD for the first time. A release date has not been set, but expect the compilation in stores by November. John Fahey "Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You" (DTD-21): A co-production with Revenant Records, this 5 CD box set features 115 tracks, most of which are available on CD for the very first time. We expect this set to be released in late September or early October. Never a Pal Like Mother (DTD-19): Check out what The L.A. Times and The New Yorker had to say about our latest offering. Rev. Johnny L. Jones "The Hurricane That Hit Atlanta" (DTD-17): Wire Magazine recently featured several unreleased tracks from Rev. Johnny L. Jones' massive reel-to-reel archive. The recordings, some of which date back to the 1960s, can be heard here. Ain't No Grave: The Life and Legacy of Brother Claude Ely (DTD-15): We produced a video featuring vintage Brother Claude Ely film footage that can be seen here. Goodbye, Babylon (DTD-01): Last month, we got to meet Paul Simon and had a lot of fun talking about old-time music and different reissues. On his latest record, Simon samples a sermon by Rev. J.M. Gates that appears on our first release, Goodbye, Babylon. Simon confirmed our suspicions that it was in fact legendary record producer Brian Eno who gave him a copy of the box set. Last year, Eno threw all the rules aside and declared our 2003 release his 2010 Record of the Year.
Disclaimer: Dust to Digital also published my book, so I am biased.
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19th Century Folk Art Portrait of a Young Woman Tintype Photograph collection Jim Linderman
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A splendid, half-plate tintype photograph of an even earlier folk art portrait of a young woman. My fashion expert dates 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.
This particular photograph was preserved in an album. I would like to hope the painting remains as well, but chances are probably slim. Look closely and you will see it had water spots on it already. 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...maybe I got double-lucky!
Charming in either medium.
Half-plate Tintype of a Folk Art Portrait Circa 1860 Collection Jim Linderman
See also The Painted Backdrop: Behind the Sitter in American Tintype Photography 1860-1920
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THE BANK GAME Spin and Save (or withdraw) Financial Thrills!
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The Bank Game Spinner No Date or manufacturer. (1929?) Collection Jim Linderman
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