Material Salvation - Second Hand Stories

SKATE ART & BINGO BALLS

2009-05-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

SKATE ART
Despite the fact that this deck has been thoroughly shredded the custom skull graphics have been perfectly preserved. This is as fine a piece of American folk art as anything else. The best dollar I've ever spent. It hangs proudly.

BINGO BALLS!
Found this for free outside a local firestation. The basket has a nice wooden handle and when you spin it a cup catches the next bingo ball and drops it into a slide delivering the ball to the number caller; not unlike a kinetic sculpture. O 70

Street Finds, Herb Retires, African Radio & The Pianorgan

2009-04-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Things have been slow in the world of consumer archaeology. As the volume in my barn increases so do my standards. Lately I've been more in the mood to get rid of than to acquire. Here's a few new things I couldn't leave alone.

The Pianorgan by Farfisa was a kind gift from a friend who found it on the curb in his neighborhood. The build quality is really fantastic, far better than the typical plastic chord organ. Because the build quality is so much higher the actual sound is far superior. I guess that's why Farfisa chose to call it a Pianorgan rather than a chord organ.
The chair was found at a group shop. It's solid wood and rather heavy. The triangle shape of it is visually pleasing and it's a comfortable seat for jamming on the Pianorgan. There were actually two of these chairs at the shop but I'm practicing self control and I only bought one.

Solemn wooden prayer statue:
Again, there were two of them and I chose to exercise a bit of self control and only purchase one. Plus, having just one makes it that much more precious.

African Wire Radio:

I've always admired the Boston Sand & Gravel company for sticking it out and never moving. They're located at North Station where Route 93, Route One & Storrow Drive all intersect. There are multiple levels of highway ramps wrapping around their ghost town gravel elevator and the big dig had to be built around them. I'd guess that the city would have offered them a small fortune for their small piece of land but their beautiful building has stayed put. Apparently, Herb recently retired (either from the company or from breathing) and I'll be representing for him.

Join the club.
I bought this as a joke birthday gift for a friend and while I was waiting to give it to him I realised that this black Members Only jacket was actually pretty slick looking. For people who want to wear leather jackets but aren't quite tough enough this should do the trick. Still, there's something generically K Car about the Members Only jacket and this will probably sit in a closet until I can find someone else to regift it to.

Another jacket I wouldn't wear but had to buy. I'd imagine that the sassy fellow who owned this would have been a great guy to have a beer with. Quite a relic for the National Museum Of Personalities.

Casio Jams, Drippy, Chinese Abacus, Reel 2 Reel 4 Realz & Paper Airplanes

2009-01-26T08:23:00.000-08:00

I first cast a foggy glare on Drippy when he was sitting on the floor of a group shop without a price. I immediately inquired and as a price had not been established I was unable to bring him home. I couldn't get him out of my head and the next time I was at the store he was on the wall and priced almost three times higher than any other painting they had hanging - likely because someone (me) had shown some interest in him.

There are two ways to look at Drippy:
1. Totally amazing dreary melancholy washout.
2. Paiting of a boy that was damaged when the pipe burst in Nana's basement.

I assumed that the seller would see it the latter I'd walk out with a crazy deal on Drippy. No dice. However, I did manage to talk them down nearly $20 and now he hangs next to my Vinette Varvard painting (scroll down for Drippy's sister) where he belongs. The family is finally reunited.

By the way, he's signed McRady incase you have any biographical information for me.

Who needs a Chinese Abacus? Not me, that's for sure. However, it was in the original packaging and for some compulsive reason I can't leave anything in it's original packaging at the Salvation Army. Well, almost anything....

Really? Yes, really. I was as surprised as the dude at the Starbuck's drive-through who asked if I'd be circuit bending this beauty (I was in the passenger seat minding my own business and he spotted it on my lap.). My response was something like "No, I'm going to make fart sounds with it like I did in jr. high school." I was totally shocked to find this in it's original packaging. The keyboard is untouched and still inside the inner plastic lining.
I've already got a Realistic knock off of this. Ultimately, they're identical in every way save for the brand names. This brings up a question I've been asking for years but never really cared too much to research:
Why/how was Radio Shack manufacturing already available products and putting their brand name on it? Why would a company license their existing product to Radio Shack for manufacture? I just don't get it. I'd ask Mr. Zzyzzx but since it's not a yes or no type question I probably won't get a very good answer.

I don't have an engineering degree, the coordination of a surgeon, or an entire day to waste so I probably won't be putting together Dr. Yasuaki Ninomiya's complex paper airplanes any time soon. I'd never heard of him until I picked this pack up for a dollar and apparently he's a fascinating guy. Here's some info on him that I lifted off of the interwebs:

Born in 1926, Dr. Yasuaki Ninomiya has been fascinated by airplanes since childhood -- an interest which later developed into his lifetime passion of designing and building paper airplanes. He has designed well over 1000 different models.
In 1962, Dr. Ninomiya received his Ph.D. in the field of microwave measurement theory. He is recognized as a pioneer in microwave communications engineering from his work as a leading researcher for the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). He retired in 1984.
Drawing on his background and expertise, Dr. Ninomiya designs aerodynamically sound and sleek high performance paper planes based on the principles of flight. He won grand prizes in both the Duration Flight and Distance Flight competitions of the 1st International Paper Plane Contest in San Francisco in 1967. In 1985, he served as a judge in the 2nd Great International Paper Plane Contest in Seattle.
When Dr. Ninomiya is not designing paper gliders, he actively pursues his other interests. Also known as a photographer, he published an remarkable book of paper plane photos in 1993. He also has his own pilot license and flies his Cessna 182 whenever his busy schedule permits.

Last but certainly not the least is this reel to reel/speaker set made by Voice Of Music. It included a box of reels: some blank and some really lousy soundtracks. Though I haven't set it up to listen yet I'm guessing that the dubbed real titled "Playmate & Love Letters. Property Of The Showmen" is going to be the real score. Included is a second unit which acts as the speaker, interconnects, microphones and a bunch of tools for working on the reel to reel.

Double Jacket Winter Chill

2009-01-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

Things are calm in the world of used-goods consumerism. Numerous trips through numerous stacks, racks, shelves and open floorspace have yielded few treasures and none quite worthy of reflection or even a quick photograph.
I have managed to score a couple of sweet winter jackets, though. These are the sort a male, unmarried 4th grade teacher (or a priest) would have worn in the early eighties. I think they came standard with Dodge Omni's the first year of production. One of them, from Sears, even mentions on the label that it was designed specifically for the fashionable teen male - which I am.
The fact that I was compelled to purchase two similar vintage winter jackets has been especially troubling for me. After finding one why could I not resist buying a second? In my defense, the second one is a better shade of blue and the red liner is pretty ace. The only problem is that when the temperature is below 32 degrees, as it frequently is when you'd need such an article, the arms make a plasticky scraping sound as they rub against the jacket. I'm now accustomed to this sound; a sound very much unlike the typcal sound normal winter jacket material would make; a sound not unlike a tarp rubbing against itself on a chilly winter afternoon. Maybe I should have just taken a photo of them....

Recent Aquisitions: Poetry & a brand new Atari 2600

2008-12-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

Charles Simic was a professor at the college I attended and though I passed him many times in the building I never had the opportunity to take a class with him. At the time I was going through the standard late teens/early twenties beat/Bukowski obsession and the thought of investigating Simic further never occurred to me even as my classmates and friends were raving about him.
Recently a friend loaned me "A Fly In My Soup;" Simic's memoir's of his childhood in Serbia, his family's immigration to America & his twenties as a young poet and a military officer. I have refused to read the last page for fear of finishing the book which I've enjoyed so enormously.
Simic's poetry is a lot like the art of Joseph Cornell - whose work Simic admires and has written for. Both are locked up tight in symbolism yet the preciousness of each figure and the personal meaning held within is apparent. The layered depth of his work yields immense detail and meaning.

So, what's better than a Salvation Army that separates its books like a real bookstore would? The poetry section yielded these two gems. The design for the Cummings cover is amazing & I had a feeling that the Simic would be signed and it was:

In the early eighties Atari branded these "The Best Christmas Gift Ever" but apparently someone didn't think so because this one was never removed from the box.

Recent acquisitions

2008-12-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

$6.99 and I walked out with a lifetime's worth of sewing supplies. The sad thing about this perfect little time capsule is that someone had to die for me to acquire it. Someone assembled this stuff and kept it in an attractive tackle box only for me to purchase it, stare at it and then give it as a Christmas gift. There's so much personality in a little box like this; a perfect tribute to its anonymous ex-owner. I'm pretty sure I could put together a vague personality composite based on the content of the box and the way it's arranged.
I love the thread in the Cool Whip.
Keeping stuff in Cool Whip containers is sooooooo 80's.

The last word in home security or a good place to keep "stuff."

Looking back at a material past (3)

2008-12-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

This generic Dutch credenza came from a two floor junk shop in upstate NY. I think I paid about $40 for it and it fit perfectly into the back of my Volvo 245. What is most significant about it is the ex-con fantasy airbrusher who sold and worked out of the basement of the junk shop that the credenza came from. Proudly displayed and available for purchase were bikini ladies with contorted bodies, unnatural skin & machine guns. He airbrushed giant saw blades with tigers bathing in waterfalls and mounted the blades to table legs making the ugliest and most dangerous table you've ever seen. My favorite might have been the Budweiser lab coat.

For a couple weeks I was finding everything I wanted. First I found the Albers print which was too good to be true - as if someone had donated it just so I could find it. Then this set......
Broyhill makes exclusively ugly furniture - with the exception of this Raymony Loewy dresser and side table set. I'm not sure if they licensed the plastic drawer fronts from Loewy or if they just ripped them off and hoped for the best. Either way, when I saw this from across the furniture section of the store I loudly proclaimed my excitement and sprinted as if everyone in the store had their eye on it too. I was almost breathless when I brought the tag to the counter.

I can hardly remember where this chair came from. I suspect it was free on the side of the road and since then I've seen a couple more of them. There's even one at a local gas station sitting out in the rain. I'm pretty sure that these were standard office furniture at some point in time and probably inexpensive furniture at that. However, it's design rivals the best of them. On par w/ the Aluminum Group in terms of style though this one has a unique Bauhaus look to it (or maybe that Gerrit Rietveld chair) with its perfectly square frame and floating back seat. The wood adds a nice natural touch to the arms.
This guy has a company tag from Air Traffic Control Systems in Ohio.

This etching was $10 or $15 at a local group shop. It's hard to tell if it was used to print or not but it's been painted to give it some depth. Who knows. Etched into it is the year 1966 and the initials T.T.

Mr. Zzyzzx has long been the overlord of our household. This Hal-like omniscient robo-man will answer your "yes or no type questions" if you pass your hand over his head a couple of times after asking. He's got about 10 or 20 responses but then every few months you'll hear one that you've never heard before. He even predicted the birth of our first child. In a lot of ways he is my first child, or maybe my father. Either way, I totally fear and respect him. As should you.

Looking back at a material past (2)

2008-12-22T08:14:00.001-08:00

Vinette Varvard painted this treasure in 1951. In 2003 I noticed her peeking out of a dumpster in the driveway of a house that was being renovated. The woman in the painting has a ghostly bend as she rises up from the frame and the deep look of melancholy in her eyes is both stirring and soothing. Vinette really nailed the bangs.
Who was Vinette Varvard? I'd love to know.

Silver Dollar by Margaret F. Ludwig. Artists Proof.
Purchased for $3 this was found at an amazing Salvation Army that has since closed because they couldn't afford the rent. I'm pretty sure that the ladies who ran the place were skimming off the register since they never closed the drawer and would rarely punch in a transaction.
This is a heavy duty wood block print.

I'm still shocked at this basement bin Salvation Army discovery. A brilliant early sixties French collection of Concrete Music.
A:
Iannis Xenakis "Diamorphoses"
Luc Ferrari "Etude Aux Sons Tedus"
Michel Philippot "Ambiance I"
B:
Henri Sauguet "Aspect Sentimental"
Pierre Schaeffer "Etude Aux Sons Animes"
Luc Ferrari "Edute Aux Accidents"
Pierre Schaeffer "Etude Aux Allures"

Don Armando's Second Street Rumba Band
"I'm An Indian Too"
Signed original Ze pressing.
Another thrift shop bin shocker. Signed with a note to Danny & Shelly by Fonda Rae
1979 release
of an Erving Berlin track originally sung by Ethel Merman.

Check out this sweet jam on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZEZPs06Sgw

Looking back at a material past:

2008-12-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

This vibrant orange fiberglass shell chair Herman Miller knock off still has a Haverhill Gas Company tag indicating that the Haverhill Gas Company was too cheap to purchase an actual Eames chair. Despite it's lack of brand name appeal it is every bit as firm and of moderate comfort as the chair it so splendidly emulates.

Signed WD and purchased for $2 at a Jr. High School indoor yardsale. After endless tables of roller blades, video games and various generic middle class detritus this gem appeared hovering on the wall by the exit (which I was hurrying towards) like a Rockwell Kent oil in a Thomas Kinkade gallery. With only WD to go by it's unlikely that the painter will ever be determined. As a drunken houseguest recently exclaimed "It's got at least $30 worth of paint on it."

Polaroid, at least in the Land Camera, had absolutely stunning graphic design. The Land Camera manuals, cameras & packaging were a perfect example of the total beauty of simplicity. Though Land Camera's are as common as Sing Along With Mitch Mitchell records I can't resist buying every single one I find and this one was unloaded from a mini-van while hoards of early morning vultures swarmed the boxes at a local flea market. I paid $5 and it's probably worth even less - but a stunning artifact of design and a great camera. Thankfully Fuji is making film for it now that Polaroid is no longer.

Do you know anything about Amy Brenton or a company called Danalco? Ebay searches for Danalco typically yield socks but I've managed to find a couple of these locally for $1 each. Amy Brenton painted these killer butterflies that were then printed translucently on glass. Of course, butterflies totally rule but typically anything you see with a butterfly on it is the pinnacle of ugly made for the puffy print sweatshirt set. The translucentness of these give the wonderfully scientific illustrations life and depth.

For the longest time I had no idea who painted this framed Glacier Bay print that came out of a crowded group shop though I spent a lot of time staring at it and trying to find info on the interwebs. Recently a friend noticed it and recalled seeing something about the artist on idiot box. Turns out, it's Charles Harper and his rate of productivity is only rivaled by Merbow - a good thing of course. Haper passed away in 2007 but there are so many signed screen prints in circulation that one can be easily purchased for under $300.
His subjects were exclusively natural though his approach has the vectored firmness of digital with the depth of the human hand. Harper called his style "minimal realism" and like Amy Brenton (above) he combined taste and style with a deep love for the natural world. Sorry for the glare.

More proof that packaging design these days is, ultimately, tasteless. This nice bold print with it's minimal approach is inviting and makes me want to practice my swing. If this was a modern product there'd probably be photographs of various tennis players in intense positions with tons of text randomly placed around the package making vague promises in regards to your skill. It's even still got a Lechemere price tag of $6.99 on it. I can't resist something in original packaging from the sixties and seventies regardless of how little I need the product inside.

Sweet packaging + holiday decorations half off = fire hazard purchased.
Often I toil with the duality of buying treasures like these. On one hand there's absolutely no rational reason why I need to take them home. On the other hand, it's kind of a treasure since most of these are long gone - let alone in their original packaging. Typically I'm overwhelmed by the enchanting item and compelled to make the purchase. The gems are marvelled at and some make it while others are cast off into the barn to sit alongside the framed carnival Crue poster, an Elvis mirror and a vast collection of free roadside Schwinns. These may actually get hung outside next year to tell the world that white lights came and went in the nineties.

This is the second set of these I've had. The first set, which didn't include the huge bowl, was slowly smashed over the period of 3 years in various household glass tragedies. When the last one broke I thought I'd seen the last of them. $3 later I had a complete set. Check out the font. It makes me yearn for popcorn. Stove top. Not that microwave garbage that's going to give your greasy fingers cancer. The big bowl doesn't look that big in the photo but trust me, you couldn't finish it even if you were watching Half Baked fully baked.

Who cares if it's lead paint. It's got Pac-Man on it. 50 cents well spent.

I was going to pick up burritos when I spotted this on the side of the road. I was initially attracted to its mid-century Danish modern look (minus the ugly brass footings). When I looked inside the glass top I realised I'd found something even better. This is some sort of chemical manufacturing facility in miniature. Last summer a plant fell on it smashing the glass and much of the model. Out of respect for whoever made it I painstakingly glued it all back together using a photograph I'd taken of it pre-smash. I felt like a Civil War reenactor. Sure I didn't build it but it's close enough.

A bust for a dollar? I'll pay every time.

For $2 I was able to purchase what probably required a few thousand dollar donation to acquire first hand. This bolt is from the original analog PBS tower that broadcast to a young me hours and hours of Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers & 3-2-1 Contact (promptly followed by the ultimate elementary school buzz kill - the McNeil Lehrer News Hour). WGBH replaced the tower with a digital tower and whoever donated enough to get this didn't care enough to keep it.

These tiny little tourist dishes are an exercise in practical uselessness. What are you supposed to put in them? I guess you're not supposed to think so reasonably when your intoxicated by the remarkable nature of Niagara Falls, The Hoover Damn, something to do with Playboy or a meeting of the local Masons. Gift shop uselessness is a bargain at fifty cents.

Owls have been on the edge of extinction lately after total mass hipster consumption. I'm keeping mine safely locked away in my domestic habitat.

This was one of those crazy scores that I could never have anticipated. I saw this behind the counter at a local Salvation Army. The woman who is firmly planted behind the counter spends a lot of her day joking with her horde of helpers (brain injured & incarcerated typically) and picking through the donations hoping for a digital camera. She's got a policy of not selling anything from behind the counter but I flashed a $20 and that was all it took. It appears to be a screen print - maybe an original exhibit print? Totally fated to me by the powers that aren't.