Vintage Folk Art Pig made of Galvanized Steel circa 1930 - 1940

Life size folk art head of a pig fashioned from galvanized steel.  Galvanized steel began being used in Farms around the 1930s, and since the material was designed not to rust, yet this piggy has, I'm going to guess it was an early make-do use.  More common are figures like the tin-man...I am even going to guess this was utilitarian, and made to be mounted on a building raising hogs.  

Galvanized "Tin Pig" circa 1930 - 1940 Collection Jim Linderman

Pole Sitting Tragedy ? Did one fall! Real Photo Postcard Mystery

Pole sitting as a means of demonstration, and during the Great Depression a way to raise money...but does this RPPC depict a tragedy?  It looks like someone is being carted away on a stretcher.  The two sitters on top watch the action with seemingly sloped shoulders of despair.  Any thought?

RPPC Pole sitters Real Photo Postcard turn of the century.  Collection Jim Linderman

Folk Art Handmade Ventriloquist / Puppet Head

Folk Art Handmade Ventriloquist / Puppet Head circa 1950? Collection Jim Linderman

Double Santa

Double Santa Crayon on Manila Paper 
Anonymous No Date (Likely two of 28 or so...)
Schoolroom Project

Old Hand Carved Articulated Woman Folk Art Christmas Ornament

Old Hand Carved Articulated Woman Folk Art Christmas Ornament Original Paint  Collection Jim Linderman

The first Polaroid Instant Photograph : Was it Sexist ?

Was the very first Polaroid photograph sexist?  Well, clubbing a mate is not generally thought of as proper dating etiquette these days, and certainly knocking your dinner date  companion out is taboo, and topical.

As you can see, this early sample Polaroid was distributed to shill the invention of Dr. Land, a goofy backdrop instant photo produced by his technique in a mere 60 seconds!  It is, of course, no better than the early Polaroid cameras.  Fuzzy, and a bit like looking into a polluted studio.  Still, the product revolutionized photography, including that done in the bedroom and rented hotel "no-tells".  Numerous examples are shown in the book SHY SHAMED SECRET SHADOWED HIDDEN of bold wives, lovers and dates now capable of making a secret erotic momento for their lover or john instantly.

Shy Shamed Secret Shadowed Hidden is now available as an instant PDF download for $8.99 HERE

Early Promotional Photograph / Salesman Sample for Polaroid Corporation circa 1948 Collection Jim Linderman

Launched Human Cannonball circa 1930 Stunt 8 x 10 photograph used for a Real Photo Postcard order

Launched!  Human Cannonball circa 1930  (8 x 10 original print used to fill an order for 500 Real Photo Post Cards) Van Fossen Photo Collection Jim Linderman

A Folk Art Collection of Wee Men

A Folk Art Collection of Wee Men with a penny to illustrate size...of the men.

The Clark Brothers of Chautaugua County Present a "Washer Woman" on Parade

For a time, the Clark Brothers pharmacy was the largest drug store in Chautaugua County.  Needless to say, according to the History of Chautaugua County by John Phillips Downs, "Politically, Mr. Clark is a staunch Republican..."  Who is playing the part of the washer woman is unknown.

Real Photo Postcard circa 1900 collection Jim Linderman

Antique Folk Art FREE AIR Sign circa 1930? Petroliana and gasbag comments from Fox News

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An antique folk art FREE AIR sign, original paint, 30 inches long.  Inflating your tires correctly, it is generally agreed, can same some 3% of the gasoline used by your car, not to mention helping your automobile to run properly.  Multiply that by the number of cars.  Simple, right?

Not when it comes to the President of the United States, who the gas bags of wind at Fox News have told lies about ever since he took office.   Why?  Big Petroleum, Big Business and Big Deceit.  Above clip from Fox News website 2008.  

Antique Sign collection Jim Linderman

Nine Mysterious 19th Century Folk Art Pin Prick Hands on Paper with Orange Rubbings

Strange folk art pin prick rubbings of hands, both notable figures and fictional characters.  Bizarre parlor game?  Collection Jim Linderman

Puppet Family Antique Folk Art Sculpture

Folk Art hand carved puppet family.  Circa 1930?  Collection Jim Linderman
Books, ebooks and instant PDF downloads by the author available HERE

Antique Bowling Game Sideshow Carnival Made by Hand Folk Art

Someone threw the ball too hard, but this is the only example I have seen.  A make-shift carnival bowling game.  Plywood with complicated workings...I am going to guess this comes from the transitional days of the sideshow, when handmade gaming objects and targets were changing from somewhat primitive contraptions to more modern.  The mechanism might have been sold from a catalog, then assembled by the recipient...who knows.  Sold with a template to cut and install the works?  Ten pins and six llights.  Seriously, who knows?  The object, good from both sides, is 21" tall and 21" across.  I'm guessing 1940ish?  

Early Carnival Bowling Game collection Jim Linderman
NOTE:  Friend and follower Harold Gaines found the answer!
Since pinball machines and the like were made in very small quantities, the old ones look pretty sketchy once you pop them open and look beyond the fancy glass and cool art to see how they were put together.  They were basically hand-made, one at a time.  However, being professionals at the coin-op compaines, they did things like countersink lightbulb recesses that even a good amateur wouldn't.  Further, although your piece is in pretty bad shape, the quality is too high for a 1940's amateur job.  They just didn't have the specialized stuff like routers to make the professional looking cutout sections, soldered ring connectors with multiple colors of wire, etc.  It looks like the wiring is a combination of cloth and plastic insulated.  Plastic insulated wire wasn't introduced until the 1950's.  Finally, the rusty marks on the back side look way too symmetrical for an amatuer (especially a carny).  It looks like it was mated almost perfectly to something metallic, which was also very precisely made.  It just looks too well made to me even in it's (very) rough condition.  The guys at link could probably take one look at your pics and tell you, though. 

Snake Handler Original RPPC dated 1932

An unidentified Snake Handler stretches his arms as far as he can, but the serpent still has slack!  An original Real Photo Postcard dated on the reverse 1932.  Thanks to a fan and follower.

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Giant Mid-Century Modern Paint Sales Incentive Store Display for Kem Tone Paint

Giant Mid-Century Modern Paint Sales Incentive Store Display for Kem Tone Paint
8 feet long.  A whole room for a room!
Collection Jim Linderman Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Radiator Paint Baby Shoes

A lovely pair of baby shoes preserved in silver paint
Collection Jim Linderman

19th Century Folk Art Portrait Painting of a Man with a Beard

19th Century Folk Art Portrait Painting of a Man with a Beard Collection Jim Linderman

Hero Dog Born in Antarctica Tom Pratt (and his buddy Charles Lofgren) Rppc

A Real Photo Post Card circa 1935 of Charles E. Lofgren personnel officer of the Byrd expedition to  Antarctica in 1928. 

I found numerous mentions of C. E. Lofgren, but I was really interested in the dog.  Not only because I used to have a dog named Crispus who looked quite a bit like the husky here, but also because the dog obviously did the real work! 

It appears the dog was one Tom Pratt!  He WAS a hero, and was retired after his super dog achievement to tour the country in a rumble seat!   The Byrd exhibition set up camp at "Little America"  and stayed at the South Pole a while, long enough for Tom Pratt to be born there.  Which would mean Tom Pratt only pulled a sled out, not in. 

Did I say Tom Pratt retired?  Um…nope.  in 1937 it is reported Tom was pulling Santa in a Christmas parade in Lawrence, Kansas!  How embarrassing. They still made him work?  Well, my Malamute loved to pull, so I guess it was alright.  In 1933 Tom  was reported not only to weigh 170 pounds (!) but to be on the road entertaining school children in Pittsburgh.

When Tom Pratt "…was a pup he played with the penguins" according to the Pittsburgh Press of March 15, 1933.  He tugged supplies from a boat 800 miles to the camp.  I've made plenty of 800 mile drives.  It takes two days, and in the hotel room halfway through I'm exhausted.  Tom had to do the whole trip, more than once, with his paws!

Lofgren kept Tom on the road a long time.  They toured the country for years by automobile, covering some 100,000 miles. All I can say is "GOOD dog!"  My dog had the same grin.  

As you can see here, Lofgren liked his dogs…he was breeding them ten years before the exhibition according to the Field Dog Stud Book.

C.E. Lofgren and his hero dog Tom Pratt Real Photo Postcard circa 1935 
collection Jim Linderman

Vintage Erotic Folk Art Carving

Vintage Erotic Folk Art Sculpture Wood Carving 1940s?

Folk Art Sculpture Vintage Red-Headed Woodpecker

Folk Art Sculpture Vintage Red-Headed Woodpecker Collection Jim Linderman
Books and Ebooks by the author HERE