Mr Jones inspiration

Sun and moon phases

2011-12-11T10:08:00.002Z

Donald and Malcolm Cambell

2011-10-05T08:49:00.000+01:00

Photo from the TC-Auction happening this October.Photo apparently taken at Daytona just before Cambell achieved the 272mph Land Speed Record in 1933.

Cambell snr looks pretty intense (or maybe he just didn't like photographers...)

Pinhole camera photography

2011-10-01T20:05:00.002+01:00

30 second exposure, taken at Zoom-In which was open for the Lambeth Open Studios.

The image was taken at the top of the fire escape looking out towards Oval Church. Paper was in a square tin which is why the perspective does something wierd to the left and right.

flea market photos

2011-09-02T09:34:00.000+01:00

This seems like a magic trick - one man disappearing behind another. I'm not sure if it's just (in)precise timing on the part of the taker, or if they're joking around (there were others with this man and his family that seemed quite playful.

This one I liked just for the sweeping composition

This one is another mystery - they're clearly foreign dignitaries visiting Toyota. But they appear to be dancing(?) It looks a bit like a masonic initiation, or perhaps a still from a horror film (the front man doesn't exactly look like he's happy about the situation, he looks especially anxious about what might come next...)

DAGUERROTYPES

2011-04-15T16:23:00.000+01:00

A pair of degauerrotypes that caught my eye - love the colour especially the blue of the upper one with the red velvet.

Lot No: 87

DAGUERROTYPES

A collection of 11 daguerrotype portraits, 2 framed, the others mounted in contemporary morocco cases, a few hinges and cases broken, one plate cracked, various sizes, [c.1860-1880]

Estimate: £150 - 300

Car mascot

2011-04-06T11:13:00.000+01:00

Kind of beats the Spirit of Ecstasy:

From Bonhams Sale 19280

Lot No: 167

A Jolly Roger motoring mascot by H. Beddoes & Co,

nickel-plated cast bronze, depicting skull & cross-bones motif, unusual calormeter-fitting integral mount, stamped makers name and patent marks, plating tarnished and age-worn condition, English, 1920s.

Estimate: £300 - 350, € 350 - 400

Bridget Riley

2010-12-11T21:33:00.003Z

School painting

2010-07-28T10:51:00.001+01:00

This was a painting on the walls in a school in Ubud in Bali. I like the strangeness of the characters and especially the feral rabbits who are digging up bones (?) one of them even appears to have dirt dripping from her mouth...

Monkey forest

2010-07-28T10:49:00.001+01:00

Shells

2010-07-28T10:39:00.002+01:00

Bali packaging

2010-07-28T10:00:00.004+01:00

A and I have just come back from a holiday in Bali.

A lot of the graphic design on the packaging of everyday goods was quite charming and exuberant. Here are a few things that I liked best:

Pudding rice, not sure what the link to cats is. Incidentally the cat on the right has blue eyes, which I don't think can occur in nature.

Package of nuts, the cardboard outer box is very nice, if quite poorly printed (the red has splattered into the logo). I like the tiny photo next to the logo.

Vanilla packaging (tiny)

Mini pot of glue

Handsome floral gift, I like the colours (perhaps slightly more vivid in real life than the photo).

I like the economy of the packaging - any of five different types of biscuit can be within, all with different barcodes. Incidentally this makes it rather difficult for the cashier to scan it at the checkout - she tried to cover all the other barcodes with her fingers, but ended up having to type the number in manually. There's some sort of lesson there...

There were several pencils that were marked like this ("For Computer") not sure why / how this pencil is for computer...

viktormatic

2010-06-22T21:35:00.003+01:00

Looking at cardboard furniture construction methods for the NYIGF stand, I somehow ended up at viktormatic's site - some super nice graphic design - including these two posters below...

Onslows poster auction

2010-06-15T14:50:00.003+01:00

Onslow's are having their summer poster auction soon, here are some that caught my eye.

This is apparently a safety warning poster for railway workers (not sure if it's to do with the blackout, or perhaps not standing between carriages which are being coupled).
Probably my favourite in the auction

Sotherby's auction

2010-06-08T10:32:00.001+01:00

Sotherby's are auctioning the collection of Henry Wemyss who was head of the British Watercolour Departmenr at Sotherby's from 1983 until his retirement in 2009.

Some amazing things in the auction including quite a number of minatures

LOT 9
ENGLISH SCHOOL
PROBABLY 18TH CENTURY
PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN SAID TO BE GENERAL JOHN LAMBERT (1619-1683)
with a full-bottomed wig, wearing gold-studded silver armour and a lace jabot
inscribed verso: General / Lambert / Anno - / 1659
enamel, held in the original silver filigree frame with pierced, scrolled border
5.5 by 4.5 cm.; 2 1/8 by 1 7/8 in.
ESTIMATE 5,000 - 7,000 GBP

LOT 17
JOHN SMART
1742-1811
PORTRAIT OF GILBERT FORD, ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF JAMAICA (D. 1767)
with powdered hair en queue, wearing a dark blue velvet coat, waistcoat and a lace jabot
signed l.r.: J.S. 1765
watercolour and bodycolour on ivory, held in a gold frame, with glazed reverse
3.1 by 2.7 cm.; 1 1/4 by 1 1/8 in.
ESTIMATE 20,000 - 30,000 GBP

LOT 27
JEAN BAPTISTE JACQUES AUGUSTIN
1759 - 1832
PORTRAIT OF CHARLES FERDINAND D'ARTOIS, DUC DE BERRY (1778-1820)
with curling fair hair, wearing green uniform with red collar and gold lace, with the star of the Order of the St Esprit and other
official badges including the Order of the Legion d'Honneur
watercolour on ivory, held in a stamped gilt-metal frame
9 by 7.1 cm.; 3 1/2 by 2 3/4 in.
ESTIMATE 25,000 - 35,000 GBP

LOT 89
WILLIAM LIONEL WYLLIE R.A.
1851-1931
A THREE-MASTED SHIP MOORED OFF THE COAST WITH ATTENDANT BOATS
Quantity: 8
watercolour; together with five pencil drawings, including a coastal and boat study, study of St. Stephen's Church, London, the
Tower of London, two further studies of London, a study of a battle scene, and an etching of Westminster Hospital.
largest 14.5 by 23.8 cm., 5 3/4 by 9 1/4 in.
ESTIMATE 3,000 - 5,000 GBP

LOT 194
A CHARLES II CARVED BOXWOOD TOBACCO OR SEAL BOX
CIRCA 1680
the oval box carved with the royal arms of Charles II and the cypher 'CR' to the lid, with silver-mounted bands to the rim of the lid
and base
2cm. high, 11cm. by 8 cm.; ¾in., 4 ¼ in., 3 in.
ESTIMATE 3,000 - 5,000 GBP

found photos

2010-05-28T17:50:00.000+01:00

These two images cam from a box of photos in a junk shop in Istanbul.

I think both are pretty amazing compositions. The gentleman in the suit is an enigma - he seems quite out of place in the landscape, he's way too smartly turned out to be hanging out at a mine (there's some sort of slag heap behind him). His body language, the composition with him on the left and the fact that he's looking out of shot just enhances the oddness of the overall.

The second group shows (I assume) a group of medical students. I think the composition is very strong - slightly off centre and the tapering of the heights of the student back to the professor can't be accidental. Only think I wish is that the camera was tilted down a bit - there's a bit too much wall and ceiling.

Skulls

2010-05-26T11:05:00.001+01:00

In Istanbul I found these two great skull and crossbones

Newport velodrome

2010-05-26T10:40:00.000+01:00

found some pictures I took at Newport velodrome in March...

Calshot in the winter

2010-05-26T10:30:00.000+01:00

This was the coldest building on earth when we went in February, more like a wall of death than a track as well because it's so steep.

Electronic rosary prayer catholic

2010-04-29T18:03:00.001+01:00

I came across this quite by accident, gotta love those features (accumulated prayer counter!)

Odd images from my hard drive...

2010-04-19T20:59:00.002+01:00

Scale

2010-04-19T17:31:00.002+01:00

For a while we used to take photos to enter the Guardian's Saturday magazine photo competition. I don't think we ever actually submitted any of them, but I think we'd definitely have won with this one for the "scale" theme.

Kennington sunset

2010-04-08T19:54:00.000+01:00

Milimeter miligram

2010-03-28T23:01:00.000+01:00

MMMG

Korean design company producing stationary / cute stuff (very nice, very simple designs)

Bonhams Sale 17778 - The Space History Sale

2010-03-28T22:55:00.001+01:00

Bonhams are having a sale of Space stuff, some very interesting things, here are a few that caught my eye...

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Lot No: 1166

FLOWN APOLLO 11 LUNAR SURFACE EQUIPMENT WITH LUNAR DUST.

Flown Apollo 11 Data File Clip constructed from two plates of aluminum 2¼ by 1¾ inches. A spring mounted between the plates provides tension to hold the plates closed and the ability to grip flight equipment. A 1 inch square velcro patch is attached above the etched part number which reads: "P/N SEB32100094-301." With a Typed Card Signed by Buzz Aldrin.

The clip was a simple but effective tool to secure equipment such as checklist sheets, flight maps, and any loose articles floating in the weightless conditions while traveling to the moon or in the 1/6 gravity environment on the lunar surface.
BUZZ ALDRIN'S signed note reads: "This is to certify that the enclosed Data File Clip was flown to the moon. The device held charts and checklists in the Lunar Module. Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and I flew the Apollo 11 mission from July 16 to 24, 1969. Neil and I made the first lunar landing on July 20. The clip was stowed in the LM. Part number SEB32100094-301 is listed in the Apollo Stowage List for Mission AS-506 as seen on the copy of page 39 above. The dark material in the velcro most likely is moon dust from our space suits or other equipment."
The page 39 Apollo Stowage List copy dated on July 8, 1969, indicates that four clips of this type were stowed onboard Lunar Module Eagle prior to launch. They were placed in the Data Card Kit of the Flight Data File (FDF) with the approximate weight stated as one tenth of a pound for each.
Any flight equipment taken and used on the first lunar landing then returned is rare, the more so if available to private hands.

Estimate: $30,000 - 40,000

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Lot No: 1117

COOPER'S APOLLO CREW PERSONAL EQUIPMENT BLUEPRINT.

Over ten illustrations identify where Command Module crew members can locate equipment such as flight manuals, maps, sanitary supplies, oxygen masks, and window shades. All have their associated ID numbers listed.

Estimate: $2,500 - 3,500

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Lot No: 1111

APOLLO FDAI COMMAND MODULE MAIN CONTROL PANEL FLIGHT INSTRUMENT.

Flight Director Attitude Indicator (FDAI) instrument contained within a cylindrical metal housing 11 inches long and 7 inches in diameter. A glass front allows viewing of three linear indicator bars along the top (spacecraft roll), bottom (yaw), and right side (pitch). Three yellow needle indicators work in conjunction with two concentric marker rings, the roll index pointing needle, and the pitch/yaw "U" shaped index bar. A small "8 ball" globe inside the unit defines the relative location of the spacecraft in three dimensional space. A metal ID tag reads in part: "Indicator, Attitude, Flight Director. MFG by Honeywell, MFR Part No. DJG264E3, MFR Serial No. 10028DAN1012, MFR Date 19 SEPT 1966." An additional Honeywell tag reads: "Modification Identification, Contract No. NAS9-5269, Accep Date 11 APR 67." A multi-pinned electrical connector port is attached to the rear housing.

The Apollo astronauts were aircraft pilots and wanted a spacecraft instrument similar to an airplane's attitude indicator or "artificial horizon." While an aircraft's attitude indicator provides the pilot with a reference to the Earth's surface below the aircraft, the FDAI needs to indicate relative position information for a vehicle orbiting a planet or moving through open space between the Earth and moon. The FDAI has several modes of operation. It could provide a three dimensional reference relative to star positions which was the most common mode used during realignments of the Command Module's Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). An additional mode was used in conjunction with minor spacecraft mid-course corrections or major burns such as Lunar Orbit Insertion or Trans-Earth Injection. This mode allowed the astronaut to verify that the spacecraft was in the correct position along all three axes before and during the engine burn. Any deflection or drift could be detected during the burn by monitoring any movement by the FDAI indictor needles. The astronaut could then manually correct or terminate the burn.

Left or right movement of the upper and lower outer indicator bars provides the amount of attitude error or angular velocity depending on a Command Module Main Control Panel switch setting. The same is true for the right side pitch indicator, with movement either up or down. Various control panel switch settings allowed the FDAI to display the spacecraft's current attitude/position as defined by the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) or an associated back-up system known as the Gyro Display Coupler (GDC).

Estimate: $25,000 - 35,000

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Lot No: 1084

GEMINI ASTRONAUT MANEUVERING UNIT (AMU) MODEL.

Model of the AMU made of metal, wood, and plastic in one quarter scale. Two arm control units extend 4 inches out from the 8 by 6 by 4 inch "back pack" unit. Details include small thruster jets, astronaut support strap, wire electrical connectors, two large tanks, and instrument gauge decals.

The US Air Force awarded a contract to Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) Aerospace Corporation for development of a system to allow a space-suited astronaut to maneuver untethered in space, totally free from this spacecraft. The AMU consisted of 12 hydrogen peroxide reaction jets to allow three axis movement via hand controls which extended from the unit.

NASA carried the AMU on Gemini 9 during June 1966. Astronaut Gene Cernan performed a spacewalk on this mission traversing out from the crew cabin to the aft spacecraft adapter section and strapped himself into the AMU. This effort caused some fogging of his helmet visor due to heaving breathing which continued to get worse because of difficulty deploying the AMU's control arms. When he connected to the AMU's communications unit, broken and garbled sound was the result. Cernan was nearly blind by this time due to the visor fog which endangered his ability to return safely to the spacecraft cabin. The crew and Mission Control decided to cancel all AMU operations and allow the visor to clear. Cernan was then able to slowly get back to the crew cabin.

The AMU was then schedule to fly on Gemini 12 but NASA decided the risk and unknowns associated with the unit did not warrant the effort involved. Due to the limited flight use of the AMU during the Gemini Program, models of this system are extremely rare.

Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

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Lot No: 1028

FLOWN FORK & CAN OPENER FROM VOSTOK 2.

Child-size aluminum fork, 5¾ inches and a can opener, 1¾ inches, each bored with a small hole and joined with twine. Plus TWO PHOTOGRAPHS SIGNED BY GHERMAN TITOV, one a color portrait, the other an orbital photograph signed with the mission name and date, in Russian. All matted and framed together, with a plaque and a patch, to 16 by 24 inches.

Gherman Titov spent a full day in space, orbiting the Earth 17 times from August 6-7, 1961. While Yuri Gagarin consumed food during his 2-hour space flight he was not likely to have been hungry. Titov was the first cosmonaut to eat a meal in space as a necessity. His utensils are diminutive to keep weight down and attached with twine for ease of use in zero gravity.
Provenance: Russian Space History, Sotheby's, December 1993, lot 26.

Estimate: $2,500 - 3,500

Bonhams - motorcycles

2010-01-31T22:10:00.000Z

Bonhams are having a sale of early motorcycles, some interesting examples below

Lot No: 59

1937 Böhmerland 603cc Langtouren
Engine no. 307

... Models of varying wheelbase lengths were built, the most celebrated of which is the three-seater langtouren (long touring)

Estimate: £35,000 - 45,000

Lot No: 35

1931 Brough Superior 990cc SS100

W E Brough's machines had been innovative and well engineered, and his son's continued the family tradition but with an added ingredient - style. The very first Brough Superior MkI of 1919 featured a saddle tank - an innovation not adopted by the rest of the British industry until 1928 - and the latter's broad-nosed, wedge-profiled outline would be a hallmark of the Nottingham-built machines from then on. Always the perfectionist, Brough bought only the best available components for his bikes, reasoning that if the product was right, a lofty price tag would be no handicap. And in the 'Roaring Twenties' there were sufficient wealthy connoisseurs around to prove him right. One such was T E Lawrence – 'Lawrence of Arabia' – who owned several Broughs and was killed riding an SS100.

Estimate: £120,000 - 150,000

c.1935 Koehler-Escoffier Racing Motorcycle

Estimate: £3,500 - 4,500

Bonhams antiquities auction

2009-10-22T22:13:00.000+01:00

Bonhams are having an auction of antiquities - a couple of unusual items caught my eye:

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Lot No: 251

A large South Arabian alabaster ibex fixture
Circa 1st Century B.C./A.D.
Carved from a block of stone, the roughly hewn back and base forming a thick raised border, the ibex standing on short chunky legs with thick hooves, the broad arching horns curled underneath, with small pointed ears, the long face with large domed eyes and a thick stylised beard under the chin, 16¾ x 11 x 5in (42.6 x 28 x 12.7cm), mounted

Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000

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Lot No: 298

A Roman athlete's ablution set
Circa 1st-2nd Century A.D.
Consisting of a glass aryballos with folded collar rim, the short neck with two thick applied handles complete with bronze suspension loops and double loop-in-loop chain with a bronze oil flask stopper attached, the body of typical spherical form, 2¾in (7cm) high; accompanied by a bronze strigil, with concave slender curving blade, the fluted loop handle with ribbed suspension ring and hook, 5½in (14cm) high, excluding the suspension loop, mounted (2)

Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000

Early Televisions and radios

2009-09-24T09:37:00.000+01:00

Bonhams are having a sale of early technology

There are a lot of wonderful early TVs, radios, computers and the like (they clearly have quite a conservative notion of what constitutes technology) anyway here is a selection of the TVs that they have

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Lot No: 595^W

A Perdio 'Portorama' type 11 mains/battery portable television,

the world's first all-transistor portable, 1962,
8-inch screen, in grey and white moulded plastic case with controls, aerial and carry handle on the top - 10.1/2in. (27cm)

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Lot No: 609^W

A Decca 'bowfront' Decola television wireless and record-player salon suite,

a specially made commission order in bleached birds-eye maple, possibly unique, circa 1954,

Estimate: £3,000 - 5,000

What I especially like about this is the notion of luxury technology that it encapsulates, something which is pretty much completely lost today - we all use the same computers for example (there's no 'luxury" operating system out there that the rich use). In some sense this could be a manifestation of the American sense of democracy - there's a very nice Warhol quote about Coca-cola being an expression of a uniquely American ideal:

"What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it."

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Lot No: 619^W

A GEC type BT2147 table model television,

1952,
8-inch screen with cream mask, vertical bar speaker grille, in brown Bakelite case - 15.1/2in. (39.5cm) wide

A bakerlite TV, wow...

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Lot No: 626^W

An Ambassador type 10CC corner-form television console,

1950,
12-inch screen with white mask, main knobs below with central smaller adjustment controls in Bakelite, in walnut veneered cabinet, with the profile omitting the need for CRT end cover to back panel, on wheels - 37.1/2in. (95cm) high

Estimate: £350 - 550

I love the practicality of this - it fits into the corner of the room (part of a longer tradition of corner side tables for example). It's nice as well in harking back to a time when the TV wasn't the centrepiece of a living room, but just another elements in it.
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Lot No: 59

A Murphy Model 188 'Batman' radio

Estimate: £70 - 100

This is just lovely - such a cute radio (not easy to make such a large block of wood cute!)

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Automobilia

2009-09-10T09:25:00.001+01:00

Bonhams are having a sale of Automobilia as part of the Goodwood Revival. A few items I like:

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Lot No: 85

The British Empire Trophy Race, Donington 1936,

Est £200 - £300

Fantastic graphic design, to me it looks more modern than the 30s (really looks 50s I think), which probably emphasised the modernity of the event.

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These two lots I thought were interesting to compare - two sets of race overalls: one from the 60s and one from the 00s, interesting to note (amongst other things) the spread of sponsors logos on the recent pair...

Lot No: 153

A pair of Andre Lotterer's Jaguar Formula 1 Team racing overalls,

in green and white, with 'Jaguar Racing', 'HSBC', 'Becks', 'Du Pon', 'EDS', 'Michelin', 'AT&T', 'hp', and 'S.Oliver' logos, with handwritten driver identification to inside of belt, good condition.

Estimate: £200 - 300

Lot No: 168

A pair of Jim Clark's Dunlop racing overalls,

mid 1960s, two piece type, in blue, zip fastening with button to top, with 'Dunlop, 'Esso', 'Lotus' and 'GPDA' logos attached, good condition, some light race wear, offered together with a letter outlining the provenance of the overalls and a photograph of the former owner wearing them in 1965.

Estimate: £2,000 - 4,000

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Hobbs of Barbican letterhead

2009-09-03T20:33:00.010+01:00

Hobbs of Barbican were one of the top British racing cycle manufactures of the 30s and 40s (you can read more about them here). Accompanying the auction of one of their frames on Ebay there is a tantalising glimpse of their letterhead, they were noted for their lavish catalogs and clearly had an eye for commissioning graphic design

+ update +
I emailed the seller of the frame and he generously supplied this high resolution scan of the letterhead (thanks again Martin). It brings out some of the detail not visible in the low resolution image - like the directors listed under the monogram (click on the image below for the high resolution version).

Bonhams Sale 16834 -15 Sep 2009

2009-08-24T12:19:00.004+01:00

The catalogue for Bonhams forthcoming sale of clocks and watches is online now.

Some nice things in it as always - here are a few of the stranger itesm that caught my eye:

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Lot No: 109

Jaeger LeCoultre. A gold plated centre seconds alarm stirrup watch

Estimate: £300 - 500

I have no idea what a stirrup watch is (I guess it's the kind worn by nurses, pinned to their uniform), but this clearly isn't for a nurse (maybe some sort of military officer?)

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Lot No: 110

Omega. An early 20th century open face pocket watch conversion with Russian inscription on the reverse

Estimate: £300 - 500

I love the early pocket watch conversions - indeed having the crown at 12 o'clock feature was something I used on the series 2 case design.

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Lot No: 120
Heuer. A single button yachting recorder

Yacht Timer, 1960's

Estimate: £300 - 400

not sure what this is for exactly, but I like the combination of delicate colours and massive button!

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Lot No: 123

Omega. A split seconds chronograph within a specially designed red protective case

Olympic Timer, 1960's
65mm (Case, 95mm diameter).

Estimate: £700 - 900

This is a guess, but I imagine that the 60s were probably the last time that these kind of analogue human-operated timers were used at the Olympics (estimate sounds quite a lot, but I might be in there if it goes low enough!)
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Lot No: 303

An early 20th century desk timepiece and appointment book circa 1939

"Time Secretary", US Patent D-105,811, the movement by Imhof
The tooled leather bound diary with pen holder and centrally mounted Swiss jewelled timepiece movement with lever escapement, 2.25 inch dial, Arabic numerals and hour sectors followed through onto the diary pages 22cm (8.5in) x 15.5cm (6.25in).

Estimate: £250 - 300

This is without doubt my favourite item in the sale - such a strange combination of watch and diary. I wonder if anyone who brought one ever actually used it?

Selbach Catalogue

2009-07-10T16:46:00.005+01:00

Selbach were one of the very top racing bicycle producers in the 1920s -30s (right up until the untimely death of the owner in 1935). Their shops were once just around the corner from me in Kennington.

I saw this catalogue on ebay - very nice, but i'm holding out for one of their bikes!

Lady GaGa

2009-06-28T12:06:00.004+01:00

I'm loving these images of Lady GaGa's Glastonbury outfits, I like the oddly nostalgic 80s-futuristic look (well it looks that way to me...). I especially like the tessellation on the synthaxe.

Mike Mak Design

2009-06-28T11:54:00.004+01:00

I love this modern, minimalist take on the old-fashioned rolling-eye clock which was popular from the late 1920s. Designed by Mike Mak (not sure if it's in production or if it's just a sketch, I'm guessing with no pricing info etc that it's the latter)

Mike Mak Design

Sotherby's auction

2009-06-19T10:03:00.004+01:00

Sotherby's are having an auction of extremely expensive furniture. I rather like the legs on this one:

LOT 40

- A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE
CIRCA 1760, BASED ON A DESIGN BY THOMAS CHIPPENDALE

30,000—50,000 GBP

Kennington Theatre

2009-06-12T10:54:00.003+01:00

This Theatre once stood quite close to my flat, and was a significant South London musichall venue (it's a block of flats now, the original building was destroyed in the war).

I love the graphic design of the program:

Magic Posters

2009-06-10T10:00:00.006+01:00

Martinka hold regular specialist auctions of magical equipment and ephemera. I've purchased one or two posters from them in the past, they have a new sale (but not too many posters this time). Here are some things that caught my eye:

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Buried in Flames - Marvelo Window Card

Oversize at 28" x 22"

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Houdini Mourning Stationery

Unused letterhead from Houdini with a portrait of him at the corner. Houdini added a black border to his stationary for a while after the death of his mother.

They also have in a separate auction this clipping about the death of his mother

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Chung Ling Soo Stationery

The ornate stationery of Chung Ling Soo with barely enough room left for the letter. Borders in gold leaf. Circa early 1900s.

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Virgal & Julie Panel

Virgil and Julie present the Indian Rope Trick. Circa 1950, printed by W. E. Smith Ltd., Sydney. Approx. 13.5" X 30".

Just a detail of this one - love the mix of 50s modern cityscape and top-hatted magician flying around on his carpet!

Shelley Animal three piece teaset

2009-06-02T09:50:00.002+01:00

A Shelley Animal three piece teaset after Mabel Lucie Attwell

circa 1930-34,
the teapot as a dusk, anthropomorphically wearing blue jacket and striped scarf, similar milk jug, the sugar bowl in sailor suit, black backstamp 'Shelley England', the teapot 17cm in height.

from Bonhams forthcoming sale

Oslo Telephone cabin

2009-05-31T23:03:00.002+01:00

I recently travelled to Oslo to give a talk at AHO. I only had a very brief time in the city, but was taken with this little newspaper kiosk in what seems to have been an old Telephone cabin. If you look at the reliefwork above the end doors then you'll see the word Telefon. Always nice to see an old bit of infrastructure being reused.

Bonhams Sale 17191 - Decorative Arts

2009-05-30T09:00:00.003+01:00

Bonhams are having a decorative arts sale - some very nice objects in it:

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Lot No: 2

A Gordon Russell double helix mahogany sideboard, designed by David Booth, circa 1950, for the Festival of Britain of 1951

Estimate: £400 - 600

I know very little about David Booth (I know very little about furniture designers generally, but that's another story). This piece is very striking, not in a flashy way, just nicely proportioned and with a handsome bit of detailing on the front. The helix detail was apparently achieved by cutting through the veneer, to show the material underneath (so smart as well as elegant), you can read more about David Booth here.

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Lot No: 122

A George Anton Scheidt silver mounted bird's eye maple cigarette box

Estimate: £200 - 300

The wood and the silver harmonise so well with this box, the patina of age completes the effect., lush!

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Lot No: 175

A Georg Jensen brooch designed by Arno Malinowski (1949)

Estimate: £100 - 150

Just a very charming design.

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Bonhams Sale 16805 - Watches & Wristwatches

2009-05-30T08:44:00.007+01:00

Bonhams are having another sale - here are some pieces that caught my eye

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Lot No: 1

Cabrier. A fine and rare silver and underpainted horn triple case pocket watch

London Hallmark for 1794
70mm.

Estimate: £800 - 1,200

Very nice calligraphy / typography on the dial, loving that sweep on the 'L'!

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Lot No: 112

Patek Philippe. A rare integrated Electronic Master Clock System with independent minute and seconds comparators in a five-piece tower

Circa 1975

Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000

hmm not sure I have the space for this, but I love some of the detailing on it , why for example would they use wood on the side panels which (I assume) wouldn't be visible ? I guess if you're going to be buying an integrated electronic master clock system that you should go for a Patek, just for details like that.

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Lot No: 109

Corum. A limited edition stainless steel automatic centre seconds wristwatch together with fitted presentation box and papers

Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500

I don't love the design, but the hour and minute hands have something quite special about them, I always like a cut-through indicator hand. Incidentally the seconds hand is supposed to be a voodoo pin.

Frank Sinatra

2009-05-15T18:32:00.004+01:00

Antiquorum, who are an auction house specialising in watches, are selling a number of watches that belonged to American icons.

What caught my eye wasn't one of the watches though - I'm loving this necklace that once belonged to Frank Sinatra that spells out his name (estimated at US$10,000 - US$15,000 but hey it comes with a free watch!)

Full details of the sale etc here

Bonhams

2009-05-14T23:17:00.003+01:00

Some interesting automobile related stuff from Bonhams:

Aston Martin engine plate (I guess, I've lost the page).

Fiat 600 beach car(?)

F1 1:6 scale wind tunnel model (from 1979)

Bonhams watches & clock sale 16793

2009-05-13T22:20:00.003+01:00

Bonhams are having another sale of clocks and watches, here are a few that caught my eye:

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Lot No: 100

Movado. An 14ct gold centre seconds triple calendar wristwatch

1940's
15-jewel manual wind movement, silvered bi coloured dial with applied alternate Arabic and dot hour markers, outer calendar scale, apertures for day and month, addition date hand, sweep centre seconds, polished case with snap on back, fancy lugs, fitted associated leather strap, case, dial and movement signed
32mm.

Estimate: £400 - 600

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Lot No: 287

A rare late 19th century continental digital mantel timepiece in a contemporary case

Unsigned
The arched crossbanded boxwood strung mahogany case with moulded plinth base on brass bracket feet, the cast brass seven inch dial with sunburst mask and winged cherub between the numeral apertures with painted metal flip-down numerals driven by a single barrelled movement with tapering plates and adjustable deadbeat escapement 35cm (14in) high.

Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500

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Lot No: 338

Two early 20th century bulkhead timepieces

Smiths Astral, number AP160174 and Sestrel, signed by the retailer Capt. O.M. Watts Ltd.
The Smiths Astral clock with eight inch signed and numbered dial, with concentric inner hour ring and outer seconds/minute track, painted hands, locking bezel, hand-set and stop/start lever to the side of the brass case, single barrelled movement with lever escapement, the second clock with six inch signed dial, going barrel movement signed by Elliott and lever escapement 27cm (10.5in) and 20cm (8in) wide. (2)

Estimate: £250 - 350

[i'm fascinated by the red sections on the dial - are they the point when shifts changed?)

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The only pub with a pool

2009-05-13T21:51:00.004+01:00

One of my favourite Kennington landmarks is the George & Dragon pub. I've no idea when it closed, but certainly several years ago (I think I first stumbled upon it around three or four years ago).

I do wonder exactly why a pub with a pool would fail as a business, especially as it's the only one.

And then again.

Meeting new friends...

2009-05-13T21:41:00.003+01:00

I found this strange advert in the window of a newsagents on the Walworth Road in south London. The text if you can't quite make it out reads, "meeting new firends going out clubbing" and a telephone number.

I have no idea what they're after...

Brasilia National Cathedral

2009-05-01T14:01:00.003+01:00

I love how the bells are held in the concrete structure (bell-tower?)

From here

Rabbit

2009-05-01T13:57:00.002+01:00

hmm Friday's not the most productive day...

Pearly Kings & Queens

2009-05-01T10:42:00.004+01:00

I love all kinds of vernacular craft / tradition and I particularly like ones that are very associated with place (in this case London). The Pearly Kings and Queens were originally elected from amongst the costermongers (street-sellers / market traders) of different areas to protect and represent them (I guess a kind of proto-union boss). The Pearly Kings make all the costumes and they have a nice line in coded symbolism (a heart symbolises charity, a dove peace, a playing card = life is a gamble etc). These days they are mostly concerned with charitable activities. There is precious little information about them available (no book of photos, nor history of them).

I wrote to the Museum of London with an enquiry for information about them, but they hold no records. It seems a terrible oversight, I wonder if they will be rolled out for the London Olympics (probably not - it's a bit too sophisticated, doubtless they won't get much beyond red-buses, Big Ben and Beefeaters...)

I was all geared up to go and see the Pearlies when they came to visit the Cummings Museum on Walworth Road on Tuesday, but went to the Vivienne Westwood lecture at the RCA instead (frankly a mistake on my part)

Below is my favorite Pearly picture - extraordinarily melancholy, I especially like the King's tie with Charity on it. I am thinking about approaching them to do some future MJW photos.

Good history of them here
Official home here

Wandering hour watch

2009-04-30T08:21:00.004+01:00

I love wandering hour watches, this is a particularly nice (and expensive!) example

More here

Radialva

2009-04-27T22:54:00.003+01:00

Lot No: 97

Radialva

'Super-Boum'
No. 72480, primary white case, with turquoise speaker fret, knobs and incised complement; No. 72904, primary maroon case with red complements - both of circular form, circa 1960 - 8.3/4in. (22.2cm) wide

Estimate: £70 - 100

from: Sale 16781 - Mechanical Music, Scientific Instruments and the Jeffrey Salmon Collection of Radios, 28 Apr 2009
Knightsbridge

Bonhams Sale 17185

2009-04-27T22:46:00.003+01:00

More Bonhams stuff - I can't resist and as I don't really expect to buy any of these things it's nice to hold them somehow

Sale 17185 - Pictures, including Works by 'Snaffles', Furniture and Works of Art, 6 May 2009

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Lot No: 181

A late Victorian 'W. Hall & Co's' mahogany four drawer shop sewing cabinet

Each drawer with an inset reverse printed gilt title on glass flanked by a pair of brass handles, damaged, losses, 35.5cm.

Estimate: £100 - 150

// loving the typography //

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Lot No: 198

A late Victorian walnut and electroplate mounted three bottle tantalus

With additional side carrying handles (key lacking) 38.5cm wide.

Estimate: £200 - 250

// I love a nice tantalus - designed to prevent the butler helping himself to the whiskey //

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Lot No: 173

A late 19th century Italian Sorrento ware ebonised, amboyna banded and panelled, kingwood, marquetry and line inlaid writing casket

Of upright form, inlaid with panels to the hinged top, front and writing slope top to the base with figures, an elephant and chickens, each within a geometric inlaid border, the interior fitted with drawers, compartments and writing surfaces, s.d., restorations, 41.5cm wide, 35cm high.

Estimate: £600 - 800

Odd images

2009-04-27T22:33:00.003+01:00

Some images from my computer desktop - the building is for sale through Southwark Council if you're interested...

The others come from ebay I think.

Bike colour scheme

2009-04-27T22:24:00.007+01:00

I am rennovating an old Ellis Briggs bike from 1958, trying to work out what colours to go for, here are some that I like:

I'm thinking probably a light blue, with white headtube and possibly white panel on the seat tube, like this one:

All the images come from Classic Lightweights

Bonhams sale

2009-04-27T22:08:00.006+01:00

Bonhams have the most amazing stuff on their website - here are some interesting bits and pieces from Sale 16781 - Mechanical Music, Scientific Instruments and the Jeffrey Salmon Collection of Radios

Knightsbridge, 28 Apr 2009

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Philips

type 2634, 1931
with large speaker above micro-window vertical dial, side controls, in raised heptagon brown bakelite case; and a Nora-Radio type W3L in arched bakelite case (2)

Estimate: £200 - 250

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Lot No: 59

Emerson

type 258, 'The Strad', 1939
burr-walnut veneered version,
number unknown, with D shape dial, the famous case in the form of a stylised violin with f holes in the slight domed top, speaker with five-bar raised curved ribs, linier parallel inlay through the horizontal - 10.3/4in. (27.2cm) wide

Estimate: £150 - 250

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Lot No: 49

Phonola desk-top

type 547, 1939, by Livio Castiglioni (1911-1979)
Brown bakelite version, with three push-buttons between the square dial and plaque, twin wheel scales, single-mould raised speaker hood and square-form base - 9.3/4in. (24.8cm) wide

Estimate: £300 - 500

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Lot No: 50

Sparton

rare (English version) Type 517, 'The Sled', by Walter Teague, 1936,
No. 097614, with the main deep blue mirrored glass panels each with bevelled edges, the top with curved front right corner above linier five chrome ribs, etched continuation lines to the front surrounding rare circular type dial with the tuning knob to dial centre, wavelength and volume flanking below, the curved theme concluding to bottom left corner and cracked iced marble painted effect to dark wood trims to sides and three-bar 'sled' runners as base supports 17.1/2in. (44.4cm) wide

Estimate: £1,500 - 2,500

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Bonhams Sale 16777 - Antiquities, 29 Apr 2009

2009-04-27T21:56:00.004+01:00

Some gems from trawling through the sale catalogue:

Lot No: 88^*

A pair of large Egyptian basketry sandals
Late Period, after 600 B.C.
Composed of plaited papyrus reeds, open toed, with finely plaited high sides and a bound reed thong, the left sandal with a strap over the instep, 14¾in (37.5cm) long (2)

Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000

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Lot No: 132

A South Italian red-figure owl skyphos
Circa 4th Century B.C.
Depicting an owl flanked by laurel sprigs on both sides, 27/8in (7.4cm) high, repaired

Estimate: £700 - 900

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Lot No: 108

A Phoenician hollow glass head pendant
Circa 6th-4th Century B.C.
The pale blue rod-formed glass head with a yellow face, nose and mouth, the applied eyes of white, with blue centres and rims and pronounced blue eyebrows, with an integral ridged suspension loop above, 37mm high, restored

Estimate: £1,800 - 2,200

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Lot No: 185

A large group of Syrian terracotta statuettes
Circa 1st Millennium B.C.
Including various bird-headed idols, some with pierced applied eyes, applied necklaces, cylindrical bodies and hands clasped to their chests, two seated on stools, one with hands clasped together, wearing a conical hat, 3in (7.7cm), the other with a striated beard and and pendant necklace, 33/8in (8.5cm) high; two quadrupeds with recessed eyes and upraised horns, 3¼in (8.4cm) long; some heads; and a flat-backed Astarte figure, standing naked with her hands cupping her breasts and moulded details of her pubic hair, necklace, long braided hair, facial details and himation pulled up over her head, with some red slip remaining, 5in (12.7cm) high, mounted; and some Not Ancient (a lot)

Estimate: £600 - 800