omnia omnibus ubique

Having first encountered the massive catalogue on Things Magazine (with more on the theme mail-order shopping), we were quite intrigued and a bit frustrated that Project Gutenberg where the 1912 tome in its entirety is archive (an undertaking it took thirteen years to scan) is unironically blocked in Deutschland, and so appreciated the curation by Open Culture of some of the limitless wares on offer by ringing up “Western One” (true to the motto above) for anything at any time day or night.
Some of the particularly Victorian goods and services available included an on-call taxidermist, engage a band of musicians for an occasion, cocaine infused throat lozenges all shipped anywhere in the Empire. The flagship store of course still exists though now under the ownership of the state of Qatar. Much more to explore at the links above.

hanging chad

Prior to the introduction of paper balloting, polities in the United States cast their vote in a variety of fashions including standing on opposite sides of the road during a roll-call or signifying one’s support with kernels of corn, and as we learn from this review from Hyperallergic prior to the advent of secret voting straight party ballots were dispatched by political parties to the faithful of Alicia Yin Cheng’s study This What Democracy Looked Like and the evolution of the enduring, ephemeral tools of voting from the perspective of history and graphic design. It is interesting how typography and format can be used to nudge and obfuscate and how the dazzle and economy of space reveals the complexities of the law and hierarchy of elected office. Much more to explore at the link above.

mittelmosel

Again passing through the Calmont, we got a chance to inspect one of the monorail cars that climb the steep hillside so pickers can collect grapes and tend the vines on some of the sheerest arable cliffs in the world—I couldn’t say I’d enjoy the ride, seeing the track tapering off vertically in the distance.
Taking a slow, meandering drive along the many curves and turns, we stopped at the village of Lösnich (Losuniacum), a typical wine-growing town with this beautiful 1906 Jungendstil (Art Deco) Winzervilla by representative architect Bruno Möhring, who also designed many of the outstanding buildings of Traben-Trarbach.
Next we proceeded to the main town of the Central Moselle, Bernkastel-Kues.
There H and I explored the market square—with an ensemble of medieval Fachwerk (half-timbered) buildings including the Spitzhäuschen and the abutting vineyards partially enclosed by the old town walls and learned about the local wine’s reported restorative properties (see also) that gained the town prominence enough to get trade privileges and a defensive castle—the partially ruined Burg Landshut dominating the town from above, the stronghold overseeing trade in the region traded between France and Prussia over the course of several skirmishes before finally sustaining damage due to a fire that could not be brought under control during a plague outbreak in 1692.

bodice-ripping

In order to keep up with the pace of publication of pulp fiction paperbacks and special interest magazines cover artists and illustrators often turned formulaic, perhaps becoming generic and predictable.
Active from the mid-1950s through the late 1970s and under contract to Man’s Life and True Men Stories, no one embraced and mastered the model and method better than Wilbur (Wil) Hulsey (*1925 – †2015), we learn thanks to Miss Cellania, whose commissions almost invariably consisted of virile man (the gallery’s curator sees a resemblance to David Bowie) defending a distressed damsel (present or implied) from exotic animals, the protagonist himself sustaining bodily damage whilst trying to rebuff the attack. The subgenre of illustrated narrative that Hulsey propagated is sometimes referred to as “Weasels Ripped My Flesh”—though Cannibal Crabs or “Chewed to Bits by Giant Turtles” would do as well, albeit that none other are Frank Zappa song titles.  See more cover art at the links above.

jetway 707

Having a cameo in no less than All the President’s Men featuring Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein and clocking in at an impressive eight-and-a-half metre length, via Things Magazine, we’re pleased to be acquainted with the wonderfully outlandish airport stretch limousine (produced from 1968 to 1970) from Oldsmobile and its subsidiary American Quality Coach designed to shuttle VIPs (seating twelve to fifteen) and their luggage from the terminal to the tarmac (see previously). Much more to explore at the links above.

#lastnormalphoto

Via Kottke’s Quick Links with more to explore on social media under the titular hashtag, BBC asked readers to submit the last image on their phones taken before their world was radically changed with lockdown, teleworking and social distancing measures imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives and to share the stories behind them, scenes that seem nearly inconceivable and unconscionable just a few months later. One of the last normal activities I took part in was on 1 March, going to a local flea market—I miss those—and showing off a couple of finds in this stoneware pitcher and brass relief etched sculpture of a sailboat. I remember the virus being discussed among vendors and visitors at the multipurpose hall where the sale was being held. What is your last documented moment before this upheaval and pause?

typatune

From the venerable bon viveur Card House, we are presented with another novel approach to teaching those aspiring touch typists in the form of this melodious marvel from 1945 whose notes correspond to keystrokes (see previously) which surely must have resulted in a discordant cacophony with the prescribed exercises. No font specimen is available as the contraption instead operated like an accordion and though it seems rather counter-productive to play a QWERTY keyboard like that of a clavier, perhaps there was some method to this music box.

analytical analyser of harmonics

From Pasa Bon! we are acquainted with the with the 1959 breakthrough computing advancement from engineer and scientist Jacek Karpiński (*1927 – †2010) in collaboration with Janusz Tomaszewski, the transistor-powered AKAT-1.
Constructed to solve differential equations for better modelling of heat dissipation in motors and shock absorption in brakes and building off the success of an earlier prototype used to make more precise weather forecasts, Karpiński gave his latest analogue unit a space-age housing and interface that looks like something out of science-fiction. Later achievements in the industry include standardising coding language and a machine called the Perceptron that could distinguish objects by shape and was one of the pioneering examples of algorithmic learning through supervised learning. Normally the AKAT-1 can be visited at the Muzeum Techniki in Warsaw.

pachyderm

The incredibly prolific design duo of Ray and Charles Eames (see previously here and here) had great affection for elephants and prototyped a moulded plywood multipurpose piece of furniture for children in 1945—which never went into production until 2007. Our friends over at Pasa Bon! (don’t be intimidated by the language difference) give a bit more background and history on the design and present several scalable tutorials to create one yourself out of paper or sturdier media as a fun and engaging project for any one.

plaster of paris

Our faithful antiquarian and bibliophile, JF Ptak Science Books, is always uncovering interesting historical passages and ephemera and lately directs us to an 1834 invention by M. Richard Rettford to take casts mechanically by recording the impression of the object to be modelled by the indent on a matrix of tiny needles through a mesh. Though we all might be familiar with the pin art screens that are the domain of executive toys, back in the nineteenth century proposing such a solution as this physiognotype for non-intrusive three-dimensional sampling and replication was a really innovative idea.

winsor mccay: the famous cartoonist of the ny herald and his moving comic

Better known by its short title, Little Nemo, by the eponymous illustrator (previously here and here) debuted his silent, mixed live-action and animated short—one of the first of its kind and certainly counted as the most influential—based on and extending the story first framed by a full-page Sunday strip in the Herald in October 1905 on this day in New York theatres. Over four thousand drawings on rice-paper were sketched out—notably not cels due to the lack of background, and assigned series numbers for easier collation and a good portion of the film covers the foibles of production and the technical struggles of putting together the cartoon.
Little Nemo

qwerty or 🦆🐈🐄🐿️🦃🐢

To our delight we discover that in the mid-1930s—in order to raise qualified typists Smith Corona introduced a portable unit with animals on the keys to make the exercise more kid-friendly plus a set of nine rings—one for each finger and the right thumb to drum the space bar, to teach touch-typing and reinforce and associate letters with their rows through muscle-memory—knowing that one should use the birdie finger, doggie finger, etc, rather than by hunting and pecking. The most ambitious tutorial toy of its age, the typewriter looked to have promising Christmas sales the year it premiered but the Great Depression rather put a damper on further production and idea was abandoned to be championed later in other forms.

stemmario

Once again Present /&/ Correct directs us to a brilliant curated collection in the 1938 redesigns of municipal crests and regional coats of arms executed by futurist sculptor and graphic designer Fortunato Depero (*1892 – †1960)—whom founded a utopian, reinventionist art movement similar, parallel to Bauhaus after World War I in Rovereto.
We especially liked the blazons for Como and Pisa but all have the same visually striking effect. Depero unfortunately is not accorded the same level of attention as some of his peers but enjoys a legacy nonetheless, including the unique and ubiquitous design of the bottle that Campari soda comes in.

in my merry oldsmobile

Not to be confused with the mass-produced Model-C from competitor Ford Motors that debuted the following year and marketed as a “doctors’ car,” the 1903 variant Model-6, curved dash runabout prototype called the Doctors’ Coupe unfortunately never went into production with only one ever made.
This incredibly steam-punk podium of a vehicle had two gears plus could be thrown in reverse. Though at this early point in history, the cars were named after company founder Ransom Eli Olds (and hence R.E.O. Speedwagon, another musical connection), a popular tune by vaudevillian Gus Edwards with an enduring chorus and refrain was a powerful marketing jingle:

Come away with me, Lucille
In my merry Oldsmobile
Down the road of life we’ll fly
Automobubbling, you and I

To the church we’ll swiftly steal
Then our wedding bells will peal
You can go as far as you like with me
In my merry Oldsmobile

bed, bath and beyond

We are quite pleased with the way our interior design came together and one of the more pleasant aspect was visiting showrooms and browsing through catalogues to select faucets and fixtures.
Not looking to redecorate any time soon mind you, we enjoyed quite a bit leafing through this American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation (today the rather sedate Trane Inc., having divested itself of its bathroom division) brochure from 1940 with some fantastic period pastels and palettes to choose from. Much more to explore from Present /&/ Correct at the link above.

all sales final

Via the inestimable Nag on the Lake (and a lot more to sample there), we were pleased to pour over and study this collection of ephemera of antique receipts, bills of sale and company letterhead from Whitechapel. Not only are the illustrations and typography and the use of pre-printed stock brilliant, it is amazing to note what detail and narrative is captured in these varied transactions, from the conventions of assigning telephone numbers and telegraphic addresses to book to wares purveyed.

and in flew enza

Via the always interesting Nag on the Lake, we’re directed towards a hauntingly resonant gallery of images from over a century ago that speaks to current times.
These people don face masks to, per instruction of public health authorities, as a first line defence against contagion and spreading the particularly deadly strain of influenza of 1918. We had known that it was spread in an especially pernicious manner by the reintegration of millions of soldiers and displaced populations but hadn’t before questioned why it was popularly known as the Spanish Flu. Neutral Spain (epidemiological records of the time were insufficient to geographically source the outbreak) had no troops fighting in the Great War and therefore no morale to maintain, and unlike British, French, German, Canadian or US outlets, the Spanish press was free to report on the pandemic and the unsuppressed news from Spain forged the connection in the public’s mind (relatedly) since the prevalence seemed especially bad there. Much more at the links above.

‘lil proportional globes import/export map

Musing for Medium, geographer Tim Wallace takes us, courtesy of tmn, on a disorientating windshield tour of superannuated mapping and chart styles. Many of these data visualisations, in the same vein as persuasive, political maps, are sobering reminders that we did not invent obfuscation but are rather heirs to a long tradition of it and many of these representations are rightly consigned as forgotten but also serve to make one appreciate excellence in interpreting and communicating trends, facts and figures. Check out the whole collection including the “air mass potato,” “oversized presidential lollipop” and “swoopy arrow planet” maps at the link up top.

9x9

royal gift: George Washington’s convoluted scheme to set the new Republic (see also) on course through mule breeding, via Miss Cellania

fiddle-free: a functional mobile phone with a rotary dial to cut down on distractions

we’ll fire his identical twin, too: Tom the Dancing Bug takes on Trump’s impeachment acquittal

no man is an island: an exploration into the most isolated individuals through history

bird’s eye view: travel around the globe through some of the superlative telemetry captured by Google Earth, via Maps Mania 

 🈁: the lost and found bureau (see previously) of Japan, via The Morning News

pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun: minimalistic advertising

double helix: a look at the remarkable Bramante Staircase (previously) of the Vatican museum

 💌: a look into how the heart symbol (see also) came to represent love

express limited

Also known as headboards (on the engine) or drumboards (on the caboose), we appreciated learning about head masters, roundels mounted to advertise the name of a locomotive or special service—an excursion or commemorative journey. Peruse a whole gallery of vintage Japanese rail emblems at Present /&/ Correct at the link above.