I wish I knew more about this photo.
Antique clocks have such charm, and some truly unique ones do exist (though for all I know, this one could be a recent sculpture project). If anyone knows the origin of this clock, or has photos/suggestions for other interesting ones, please let me know!
This great article features an 1840’s miniature butcher shop, complete with a series of strung-up meats.
A few different theories surround this incredible creation. Some believe it was intended for presumably less squeamish children of the Victorian era, while others call attention to the popular trend of miniatures for adults at the time. Either way, it’s an intriguing artifact.
This 1900 model, on the other hand, was made by esteemed German toymaker Christian Hacker (definitely intended for children):
See more (including doll houses and a pet shop) at Collector’s Weekly.
Sometimes I just have to swoon over things I cannot afford on a grad student budget. Case in point: Magnolia Hall.
I can’t even venture back into the fireplace section of the site (it’s all just…too stunningly painful). So let’s just look at some lamps, shall we?
Gorgeous (dare I say luscious?) Victorian style lamps and lamp fixtures…
What an amazing accent in a study, library, den, or what have you.
Pink and black, ooh-la-la!
See more here (this post will get an “antiques” tag even though these are only reproductions because these items have such an antique feel).
Whether or not you like spiders…this is rather special.
Thank you, Headless Hearseman for this one:
A first edition of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal.
What a beautiful process book binding/cover crafting used to be…
Amazing…
One of my all time favorites:
Old Hollywood has a wonderful collection of public service images, projected to instruct proper film etiquette in the 1910’s.
This next one inspires questions in my mind. What…else…could…hmmmm?
I have some things to do this week that will prevent spending time on this blog (oh, LIFE!). However, since there are always hundreds of things lurking on my desktop at any given time, I’ve decided to do a little “micro-blogging” instead of my usual posting style.
Expect the usual daily fare, in bite sized pieces (I won’t call them “fun sized” because fun sized candy would actually be more fun if it were bigger…we all know it).
More detailed posts will return ASAP.
The Pictoral Arts has a nice little post about early 20th Century costumes for musical revues. Here are my favorites among them.
Look at this flamingo!
And an ostrich (for some reason Seinfeld quotes are flooding my head “They say ostrich has less fat, but you eat more of it.”):
Tea time!
See a few more here.
Oh my goodness…this incredible automaton is up for auction.
When a coin is inserted: doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables, the morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief.
Absolutely incredible…
From the item description:
Lot 207
“St. Dennistoun Mortuary” Coin-Operated Automaton, attributed to Leonard Lee, c. 1900, the mahogany cabinet and glazed viewing area displays a Greek Revival mortuary building with double doors and grieving mourners out front, when a coin is inserted, doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables, the morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief, ht. 30 1/2, wd. 24, dp. 17 1/4 in.
Estimate $4,000-6,000
[EDIT] The fine folks at Skinner Inc. were kind enough to post this video in the comments. Check it out in action!
Before I proceed, let me marvel at the fact that I’m able to string together the words “medieval unicorn cookbook”…and actually refer to a real thing (supposedly dating back to the 1300’s).
A long-lost medieval cookbook, containing recipes for hedgehogs, blackbirds and even unicorns, has been discovered at the British Library.
Ah, the full roasting process. Click to enlarge a bit…
And the bucket of unicorn remains (always a disposal issue, you know?):
Read more at the source.
SheWalksSoftly 