Nyla Gladine Thompson (1927-1969) Texas Outsider Art by a Polio Victim The Landscape Paintings Collection Jim Linderman

Nyla Gladine Thompson was 9 years old when began to suffer infantile paralysis. She began painting at age 13 with a brush held in her mouth. She painted this way for 20 years, becoming well known in the several Texas towns she lived in. Among her fans was first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. These works date to 1955 or so. Nyla Gladine Thompson works in oil, circa 1955 Collection Jim Linderman

Handmade Antique Book in Cyanotype Prussian Blue ! Westinghouse Bowling League 1919 has the Blues

Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. Here the technique is employed to celebrate (and lampoon) the members of the Westinghouse Bowling League 14th annual meeting. The anonymous artist names each member being drawn, and the names are each found on a page reporting their scores. Not so good! While being one of the very first photographic techniques, the cyanotype has a secret skill. Shield them from light, and the color regenerates! These pages are nice and dark! Cyanotype Handmade Book 1919. Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Make-Do Handmade Working Folk Art Duck Decoys with Original Paint c. 1940

A skein, a flock, a gaggle,a raft, a brace...all names for a bunch of ducks. These I call a group of make-do, handemade duck decoys. Cut by hand from tin or actually galvanized steel. Tecnically a group of folk art silhouette decoys with original paint. Make-Do Handmade Working Folk Art Duck Decoys with Original Paint c. 1940 Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb / Jim Linderman

Antique Drawings made from Stencils. Art Education Schoolgirl Art, Children's art Stencil Tracings c. 1910 Collection Jim Linderman

Antique Drawings made from Stencils. Art Education Schoolgirl Art, Children's art Stencil Tracings Anonymous c. 1910 Collection Jim Linderman

Untitled (Man with a Beef) original 35mm photograph c. 1990 by Jim Linderman

Untitled (Man with a Beef) original 35mm photograph c. 1990 by Jim Linderman

19th Century Folk Art Outsider Art Drawing on Flattened Prang Christmas Card Box Man, Woman, Horse

A sketch on a c.1890 flattened box reeking of age and creativity! Drawn on a Prang Christmas card box. Any school art teacher knows of Prang. They are still in business "providing children with the freedom to create without boundries" which means crayons, markers, chalks and modeling clay. The company was founded in 1882. I do not now if Mr. Prang intended to inspire a drawing of a man with a gun and a woman without a head. 19th Century Folk Art Outsider Art Drawing on Flattened Prang Christmas Card Box Man, Woman, Horse Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb. Thanks to Box Lot on Facebook

Pair of Folk Art Portraits on an envelope mailed with Pennsylvania House of Representatives Franking Privilege ? Civil War era

A pair of pencil portaits dated 1861,likely by a young woman, which were drawn on an envelope which appears to have been mailed using Congressional franking privileges. Franking gives Members of Congress free postage. The "scrap paper" drawings have an embossed Commonwealth of Pennsylvania House of Representatives stamp and was mailed in April 1861. Pair of Folk Art portraits 1861 Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

19th Century Calligraphy by Laura Trimble

Looks like Laura had to sqeeze her last name in here. An afterthought? Miniature Calligraphic drawing, c. 1890 Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb / Jim Linderman

Rare Photographs of Justin McCarthy and Elijah Pierce 1972 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Two Man Show

I was surprised to come across a group of photographs of the outsider art masters Justin McCarthy and Elijah Pierce taken at their two-man show in 1972. At the time, there had been very few institutional exhibitions of this kind. Pierce had been "discovered" only a year earlier. McCarthy had been included in the "Seventeen Naive Painters" traveling show from the Museum of Modern Art in 1966. Along with the artists, the set shows my mentor Sterling Strauser with Elijah Pierce. I believe others at the show could be indentified by any old timers reading this...and it is interesting to see who turned up for the opening. These pictures actually come from contact prints taken by an as yet unidentified photographer. The whole set is posted on the digital archive of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts along with numerous installation views. Beautiful and historic pictures! See the entire set on the PFAFA Archives page at the following LINK

Antique Folk Art Hearts on a String. Lucile Effie Morse and the Colors of Love

Poignant folk art showing the hearts and colors of love. Six hearts, each a different color representing a different kind of love. Hopefully the image is large enough to read the text. "This is mine, warm with for you. This is one fellow's heart green like himself. This is the heart of a blue person without a mate!" and more. Titled "Hearts drawn by Lucile Effie Morse." Folk Art Hearts, 1911. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb. BOOKS AND EBOOKS ON FOLK ART AND POPULAR CULTURE BY JIM LINDERMAN ARE AVAILABLE FROM BLURB.COM

Early Photograph of a Cross Dresser

Well, I think this snapshot qualifies as an early photo of a cross-dresser...even if it was posed in jest. Still an unusual vernacular photograph. Untitled (Man in Women's lingerie) anonymous Dated on reverse 1935. Collection Jim Linderman

Primitive Vintage Embroidered Bible Crib Quilt collection Jim Linderman

Bible Crib Quilt with Embroidered Primitive Biblical stories. 24 individual numbered events. 32" x 48" Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

19th Century Folk Art Drawing "Group of Birds" by J.W. (Job Wagner) Pencil on Ruled Paper collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb

19th Century Folk Art Drawing "Group of Birds" by J.W (likely Job Wagner) Pencil on Ruled Paper collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb Thanks to Natalie Curley Antiques

Art Brut from Detroit Michigan Sam Mackey

The little known work of Sam Mackey is shown here from several institutional collections. Mr. Macky was the grandfather of Tyree Guyton, creator of Heidelberg Project, a long standing (and constantly changing) folk art environment in Detroit. Mr. Guyton has said his grandfather was an inspriation on his own work. I am not sure how widely Sam Mackey's work has been publicly shown, if at all. Some 25 years ago I was fortunate to see of number of originals in New York courtesy of a friend who had the work sent to him for approval. Great work, and work which I believe is quite scarce. The art here is dated circa 1987 - 1992. Crayon and pencil on paper. Images of Sam Mackey work from the following sources: Knight Foundation The Wayne State University Collection For art and artists(blog) University of Michigan Museum of Art

The Jordan line of Dreamed up Automobiles from the 1950s. Vintage Scrapbook with original drawings

Dream Automobiles! Robert Jordan creates his own line of imaginary automobiles in the 1950s. A 6" x 8" handmade booklet with cutouts from popular magazines on the front and back covers...but the real interest here is the wacky transportation vehicles Young deamed up. "Droom" is Dutch for Dream, and "Tekeningen Cahier" seems to translate to "booklet of techinical drawings" and that's what we have. Even a few amphipbious hot rods! Robert Jordan Handmade book of drawings c. 1950 collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Antique American Folk Art Drawing of a Wild Turkey

An early folk art drawing of a wild turkey. Signature appears to read "S.G. Fry" with no date. C. 1890 - 1910. Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Original Carnival Photographs by Larry Epstein

What we have is a group of interesting carnival and sideshow photographs taken by Larry Epstein (Laurence David Epstein) likely of Philadelphia. Not too much about the photographer, alas...who was active in the Philadelphia area in the 1960s. Know more about the artist? Add a comment. Thanks! Lot of Carvival and sideshow photographs c. 1965. Collection Jim Linderman Thanks to BOXLot of Facebook

Anderson Johnson Preacher, Artist, Performer. Henry Stone records and Vernon Carter writes a Book

I'm pleased to have learned the website of Legendary Independent Music Producer Henry Stone from Florida is using my photo of the Reverend Anderson Johnson. Stone ruled Florida dance and soul music for decades. He is also the person who recorded Johnson in the 1950s! It is good to have Johnson's early busking days and gospel recording career finally connected to his art producing years. A great story now apparently published in two books. The Henry Stone connected project is HERE and another book on the artist is HERE along with work at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center HERE. LOTS of pictures.

Blanch Ackers African-American Artist from Arkansas, Michigan.

Blanch Ackers moved from Arkansas to near Detroit, Michigan in 1943. In 1985 she found employment in a Foster Grandparent program and was introduced to art by Christine Hennessay, an art teacher. She was over 70 years of age when her first drawings were produced. Essentially "memory paintings" the work reflects strongly the African-American experience in the Southern United States where she spent her childhood. Blanch Ackers passed in 2003 at the age of 88. Ms. Ackers has a wikipedia entry, and her works are held by the University of Michigan Art Museum Blanch Ackers. Five untitled drawings, c.1990 Collection Jim Linderman

True Crime Dull Tool Dim Bulb. Lurid Drawings by a Young Woman Underworld True Crime Stories

Two lurid drawings by a young woman in 1947. These come from an album of original art (and a few tracings?) with the initials M.R. Lets assume these two weren't drawn from life. There were dozens of true crime pulps during the era, although most confused "true" with "fiction." Dad must have had these issues around, but Mom surely read them.