ephemera – Page 4 – red paper boat

Altes Haus, Bacharach, Germany

January 10, 2007October 27, 2015 Shelly

The half-timbered Altes Haus (old house) is from the Medieval period. Built in 1368, it is the oldest extant building in the Rhine Valley town of Bacharach. The town itself was named after the Roman god Bacchus (who was based on the Greek god, Dionysos), so it is only fitting that the Altes Haus now houses a Weinhaus. (Literally “wine house,” a Weinhaus is a restaurant specializing in wines.)

This image is part of the set of sepia tone photos of German landmarks that I found in an old book. The photo was likely taken between 1880 and 1890, based on dates from other pictures in the group.

Title: Bacharach-Altes haus / C. Pfaff.
Date Created/Published: Heidelberg : Verlag von Edm. von König, [between 1890 and 1920]
Summary: Half-timber house, Bacharach, Germany.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-2034 (color film copy transparency)
Call Number: FOREIGN GEOG FILE – Germany–Bacharach … [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92522706/

Photography

Deutz Ship Bridge

January 9, 2007October 27, 2015 Shelly

I did a little investigating, and found that the above image, which is inscribed on the verso with the ever so helpful “Cologne — General view with Bridges of Boats — 3328,” is actually a photograph of the Deutz Ship Bridge. The Deutz Ship Bridge spanned the Rhine at Cologne. The Library of congress images are dated c. 1890-1900, but I’m going to assume that “my” photo is contemporary with the Katz Castle photo, which would make it at the earlier end of the range.

Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany
Title: [Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany]
Date Created/Published: [between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900].
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-00804 (digital file from original)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Call Number: LOT 13411, no. 0804 [item] [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002714080/

Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany
Title: [Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany]
Date Created/Published: [between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900].
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-00805 (digital file from original)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Call Number: LOT 13411, no. 0805 [item] [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002714081/

Blogiversary

January 9, 2007January 16, 2016 Shelly

I forget my birthday half the time, so I guess it’s no surprise that I totally and completely missed my two-year blogiversary. Two whole years! So, as my little gift to y’all, before I go park my ass in front of the television (where has this day gone?!), I thought I’d share a little glimpse of summer far away and past.

Postcard: Cannes, La Playa

Crankypantsing

More Old Photos

January 8, 2007October 27, 2015 Shelly

Mr. Upstairs, bless his heart, woke me up at 7:00 this morning–the one day I usually sleep in, mind you–by blasting his television. Or maybe it was talk radio. I don’t know, and I don’t care. It was loud and obnoxious, and that’s all that matters to me. So, since I was reluctantly awake, I decided to go through some of the junk I sorted yesterday. I ended up with a stack of ephemera that needed to be scanned. I’m not done yet, but I made a dent in the pile. They mostly consisted of postcards from France and the Caribbean–perfect for a January day, except it’s sunny and warm on account of NO WINTER IN INDIANA! There were also some postcards of race horses and a set of what I think are 1880-1890 sepia tone photos of Germany, mostly of castles and villages along the Rhine.

St. Goar and Ruins of Castle Katz, circa 1880-1895
Verso: inscribed in pencil, “St. Goar and the Cat 3383

Napoleon had the castle demolished in 1806, and it was restored between 1896 and 1899. Therefore, this photo–which clearly shows the castle in its ruined state–had to have been taken prior to the restoration.

The rest of the postcards and photos can be seen here.

Crankypantsing

Grammar Rant o’ the Day

January 5, 2007October 27, 2015 Shelly

On a few of my favorite blogs, I have noticed the same form of hyphen abuse. It is normally accepted practice to place a hyphen between two words to create a compound word. This is especially common when the two words precede a noun which they describe. For example, “a well-timed kick upside the head.” What is not acceptable is to hyphenate an adverb-adjective combo if the adverb ends in -ly. If you want to write about your “recently elected congresswoman” or your “freshly brewed coffee,” then please to be omitting the extraneous hyphen!

Thank you. Class dismissed.

(And, of course, every grammar rant is required to include numerous grammar mistakes. C’est la blogging.)

Postcard: Cannes, Un Coin de la Croisette (from my ephemera stash)

Uncategorized

Pablum

January 2, 2007October 26, 2015 Shelly

I found these in a 1951 copy of Better Homes and Gardens Baby Book: a child care and training guide. I’m always on the look-out for old books that I can cannibalize for collage, and especially for those that have ephemera in them. I’ve found money, pressed leaves and flowers, name tags, post cards, letters and notes, and photos.

I think this batch of papers is interesting because of the dietary advice included. If you look at the dates, Dr. Wallace prescribed “pablum mixed cereal” diluted with formula for David when he was only a little over a month old. That’s awfully young to be starting a baby on cereal. Apparently it was common advice given at the time, but not anymore.

(I’ve pixelated the last name, because David and Billy are probably still alive. It looks like their father died in 1955, and their mother remarried in 1959. A third son, Ted, was born in 1961. As always, click on the images to view larger copies.)

Photography

Found

July 3, 2006October 20, 2015 Shelly

I found these two photos in an old book I bought at a thrift shop. There’s a detail of the flags, here.

Based on the star pattern, I’m guessing that the left-hand flag is a 49 star “Alaska” flag (7 rows of 7 stars). The 49th star, for Alaska, was added on July 4, 1959 and the 50th, for Hawaii, was added on July 4, 1960.

Art, Journals, Ladybusiness

Femme de Chambre

January 25, 2006October 12, 2015 Shelly

acrylic, oil pastel, and collage in composition book

I finished another spread in my composition book, this one in the Vessels theme. It started with blue paint that was left over from one of the Soul Mapping exercises. I couldn’t let it go to waste, so I did some finger painting in my composition book. The checkerboard stamp–made from an eraser–came from the same place. The pattern is supposed to represent institutional floor tiles–the sort found in many US schools–but I’m not sure it translates well, given the color scheme. I like it, though, and I think the concept of pattern fits well with the general theme.

The theme and title come from the fragment of dictionary page. I was struck by the juxtaposition of femur with female, and the inclusion of “femme de chambre” (chamber maid). There was certainly a lot to work with there: vessels, chambers, women’s work; the idea that women are empty receptacles, awaiting the indoctrination and training that will allow them to conform to the traditional female role (mother, wife, living loving maid, if you will).

And, just because I can, I thought I’d include a current photo of my work space. It’s actually pretty clean, here. Usually, I leave piles of stuff sitting out, which Pandora sleeps all over and shoves off the edge of the table.

Also, because I can, I scanned and uploaded a real photo postcard I found at a yard sale last summer. It’s not in very good shape (creases, and some pencil marks on the front, and the corners are all bent), but it was really cheap, so I bought it. The back is inscribed in pencil with several names. It also bears the inscription “Norfolk Neb.”

Recto

Verso

Uncategorized

Lost and Found

December 6, 2005October 5, 2015 Shelly

I love kids’ books–especially old ones–and pick up lots of them at yard sales and thrift stores. Sometimes, there are interesting bits of ephemera tucked into the books. This was the case with a copy of Jane Abbott’s The Barberry Gate that I got from the public library’s book sale. The book itself wasn’t anything terribly special–a romantic young adult mystery from the 1920s, in a library binding–but inside it I found a 4H name tag from 1940. What was written on the back was interesting. I assume, this being 1940 and it being 4H camp, that La Vaughn is a girl, and the reference is simply to she and Anita being cabin- or bunk-mates.

Recto: “Hello! I am Anita Strasburger. Who are you?”

Verso: “1940 club camp at Battle Ground South Bend cottage La Vaughn & I sleep to gether”