ORIGINAL WOOD CAUTION WET RIDE carnival sign collection Jim Linderman. Original Paint. Circa 1940

This is my ORIGINAL WOODEN "Caution Wet Ride" carnival sign, circa 1940, which has been widely reproduced without my permission by unscrupulous eBay scammers who now sell cheap knock-offs printed on METAL. This despite the obvious wood grain on my piece. I posted it originally years ago. eBay is basically a platform for people who should not be in business. Alas. There are actually two sellers shilling cheap copies of my sign. No credit, no reward. Shameful. From my experience, the sellers may take it down when I complain to them, but they seem to come back in the next cycle. There have been other examples of things I own being reproduced. Unfortunate and screw them. Shameless. At least they haven’t figured out yet to print it on a wooden board or how to age the paint. Original hand painted carnival sign reading CAUTION WET RIDE c. 1940. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb.

Primitive handmade Victorian Table Mat Folk Art

Primitive handmade Victorian Table Mat Folk Art. Vibrant (and unusual) colors and hand stitching on this velour mat. 20" x 20" with curious stichings surrounding the center. Collection Jim Linderman c. 1900

Figures at Rochers Sculptés in Rothéneuf, France. Real Photo Postcard collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Figures at Rochers Sculptés in Rothéneuf, France. Real Photo Postcard collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Tramp Art folded Paper two part Frame with Heart

Tramp Art folded Paper two part Frame with Heart. Collection jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Human Fly. Pair of real photo postcards of a Human Fly scaling buildings collection Jim Linderman

Human Fly. Pair of real photo postcards of a Human Fly scaling buildings. Early 20th Century, both shown in detail

Primitive Box in Blue Paint Michigan Origin late 19th, early 20th c. Collection Jim Linderman

Primitive Box in Blue Paint Michigan Origin late 19th, early 20th c. 20 inches long Collection Jim Linderman

Large Antique Native American Woodlands Storage Basket

A VERY large Native American storage basket from the Great Lakes region. 28 inches tall and over 50 inches around. Found in Michigan and possibly of Chippewa origin. Natural dye splints with “Potato” stamped decoration. The Chippewa (also known as the Ojibwe) are traditionally considered a Woodland Native American tribe. Their culture and lifestyle developed in the Great Lakes regions. I believe this dates from the late 19th or early 20th century. The basket lid has a considerable dark patina.There are a few splint breaks around the rim and some chips on the sides but is well-persevered overall. One of the largest Antique Woodlands basket I have seen. Large Woodlands Tribe storage basket with handles, lid and potato-stamped decoration. Late 19th, Early 20th Century. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Collection of Ball in Cage Folk Art Whimsey Carvings

Folk Art Whimsey Carvings AKA Ball in Cage wood carvings. Dull Tool Dim Bulb Archives.

Emil Gerke Folk Art Whirligig Field Near the Grand Coulee Dam Two Views

I do not know if Emil Gehrke, above, imagined his whirligigs turned into color and moved to a new property near the Grand Coulee Dam, but they were. Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Blog

Happy New Year airbrushed, embossed and diverse

An airbrushed and embossed HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL! Each one is a little bit different, but then diversity is our strength. I have my shoulder to the wheel for the mid-terms. Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Blog.

Dick Dillon's Mechanical City in Real Photo Postcards

I had a cheap promo RPPC of “Dillon’s Mechanical City” years ago but didn’t post it as the piece, or city was apparently from Denmark and I was concentrating on domestic folk art environments. Plus the photo was unclear. Over the holidays I was reminded by Natalie Curley who sent me a real photo postcard of the place. I found the rest! Enlarge these, it’s remarkable. I also found a few ads from Billboard Magazine, then covering the “amusements” market as well as music. There is little useful information on promoter Dick Dillon, who paid to move this mechanical masterpiece from Denmark to East Liverpool, OH in the early 1950s. He also TOURED it around some…it took three giant trucks to move it! The cards hardly show the size. Dillon took it around the midwest in a caravan and parked the trucks in a semi-circle for tours. I consulted the writings of Amazing A.C. Stencell, whose book is the only source I can find. “…Dick Dillon from Youngstown, OH…had acquired a miniature village made in Denmark that consisted of 251 animated characters, 30,000 working parts and 50 European scenes. He told people that the builder took eight years to carve it with a pocket knife.” Dillon covered it in canvas with a few carvings in front but charged for the full tour. I do not know where the thing ended up! When these RPPC images were produced the thing was called the “defenseless” mechanical city, which leads me it may have been a World War 2 reference (?) Group of Dillon’s Working Mechanical city real photo postcards c. 1950 collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb #folkartenvironment #DickDillon. #carnival. #sideshow.

Unusual Sewer Pipe Pottery Monkey hand painted.

There were several dozen Sewer Pipe factories in the area around Ullrichsville Ohio. J.W. Moore comes to mind. This piece is incised with the company stamp "Superior Clay Corp. from Ullrichsville. Interestingly, the company stamp often indicated the maker! This piece appears to have been "Handcrafted by Phillip (Patterson)?. PAINTED Sewer Pipe Pottery is uncommon, but this piece looks to have been an "inventory" item, so there may be more with paint. The paint isn't just "slopped" on, it's well done. The date is unknown but is old. Mid to early 20th Century. Sewer Tile Monkey painted by hand. Collection Jim Linderman

Bettie Page Wood Carving Folk Art c. 1960 collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Bettie Page Wood Carving Folk Art c. 1960 collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Jim Linderman collection of Antique Wooden Folk Art Figures shown mid 1990s Articulated Figures and Whirligigs

Jim Linderman collection of Antique Wooden Folk Art Figures shown mid 1990s. Articulated figures and whirligigs

Our Curious World Sideshow

It’s Our Curious World! Cheap carnival midway booth circa 1960? Original glossy press photo by Larry Epstein Philadelphia, Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb. Thanks to Lauren Leja of FACEBOOK on eBay

Pair of Homemade Santa Claus Figures

Both these fellas obviously from the same template (or traced) and taken from the same scrapbook! Let's play the old game "spot the difference" and start with the buttons. Happy Holidays. DRIVE SAFE. Two Santas circa 1930 Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb.

Original 19th century Photograph of a folk art sculpture group of carved dogs birds and more.

I was challenged to identify the maker but have failed so far. Lots of birds and a pair of dogs. Excellent carved folk art from 1890 to 1910 maybe. I would have had the dogs face each other, but that’s just my sense of balance. A detail scan shows the menagerie, the other shows the garden. Early photograph of folk art carvings in the garden. Circa 1890 - 1910. The photo is 5” x 7” in an 8” x 10” mount. Collection Jim Linderman Dull Tool Dim Bulb The Blog.

Group of Three Folk Art Articulated Figure Carvings

Small Articulated figure folk art figures. Circa 1920 - 1940 Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Folk Art Sewer Tile Miniature Shoe c. 1900 - 1920

Miniature Sewer Tile Shoe circa 1900 - 1920. A shoe formed in a mold for commercial sale made by Sewer Tile workers in their off-time. Length 5 inches, 2 1/2 inches tall at heel. Signed on base “JG” Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb the blog.

The Bettie Page Scrapbook found in Virginia Robert Harrison and his Cheescake

Over on my Facebook "Rare Bettie Page" page I’ve been posting from a 1950s Scrapbook found in a dumpster in Virginia. These magazine photos appear to have come mostly from Robert Harrison magazines of the era which featured gossip and cheesecake. He employed an army of pinup photographers. One page is significant as it shows Bettie Page with her famous Bettie Bangs and without! African American NYC policeman / photographer Jerry Tibbs suggested she would look better with them and he sure was right. I used some of these in a book years ago without identifying the model. Original pages from the vintage scrapbook Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb #bettiepage. #scrapbook #robertharrison #1950s. #pinup #pinups