Thursday, October 08, 2009

theme thursday = collection

Our friend Jack, Wendell and his son a few years ago.

If you ever have some spare time,
check this
LINK out.
Wendell also has put together
collections.
The link I listed is about the local

circus back in the day.
Well worth a read!

==========================================

When Sir Humphrey Davy

returned from a visit to Paris,

he was asked how the picture galleries

had impressed him.


"The finest collection

of frames I ever saw," he said.”


Humphrey Davy ( 1778-1829)


===============================

Jack, is now in his mid 90s.
He grew up in this area and from
the 30s on,
he has photographed almost
everything
both being built to
being torn down.
He was the curator
at the local museum for many years.
One of our first sessions with him,
was looking at the photos he had
taken
of a town named: Somerset, which

eventually was flooded and a dam built.
Since then, flooding in the way we see a lot of
these days around the country,

has not occurred here
anymore or at least
to that extent.

Recently, while at my favorite bookstore,
I was asked about a plethora of
books
and pamphlets from the late 1700 - 1800s.
Seems someone from the local historical society

figured it was a good time to unload material
taken from the museum years ago.
Sadly, all
this was pinned on Jack and I
was happy
to hear that the person we knew did it,
tried to dump it all, figuring no one would know.
Luckily, the person they entrusted to "dump"
it all
knew the value and kept it all.
Although, it's rightful place is the museum.
No one we know there now seems
knowledgeable enough to acknowledge
it's worth or importance.

To make a long story short,
we all know
of many types of collections.
These are just two examples of collections
we've been close to since moving here.

Cheers ya'll!

a bonus, if you dare ; )



30 comments:

Brian Miller said...

i like museums and collections of life from yesterday...seeing behind us, helps us look forward, me thinks.

Anonymous said...

C.M. started on the link and got as far as the Buffalo Bill death notice( I 've got an old snap of me at his grave~~I think I was 3 )...anyway my computer froze up but will be back. The vid was interesting( wondering about the narrator, tho? )

mouse (aka kimy) said...

what a riot that we both have quotes by davy today - but happy to say different quotes!!

thanks for the introduction to jack, sounds like an incredibly interesting fellow...it's so fun explore the collections and passions of the passionate collector!

that is a lengthy link - hope to remember to come back when time permits

mouse (aka kimy) said...

jesus, mary, and st. joseph!! I dared!! what a frigging RIOT!!!!!

I'll be in nyc next week, will have to see if the foundation/gallery is still there!

Lisa Ursu said...

mouse beat me to it,
jesus, mary and st. joseph!!! lol
Love the Davy quote, and the Bulwer-Lytton one especially.
Jack sounds like an interesting man with much to share.
Happy tt.

layers said...

The video is a riot-- I have all of Ray Johnson's books and have seen the doc. HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY.
worth the 5 minutes.

Jasmine said...

Museums are great. I took a whole bunch of photo's of a collection of dolls in a castle yesterday. Some were 400 years old. Very very interesting even if your not the biggest fan of dolls.

Jack must have loved his work.

Kate Hanley said...

Hi, I really like your blog and have visited a few times but I can't find the 'follow' button. How do I follow your blog?

e said...

LMBO at the video. Jack is certainly an interesting fellow. Happy TT.

Skip Simpson said...

Great! Extremely interesting read! Thank you for posting!

Tom said...

...i could never never tell the trash from the treasure, either...guess i'll never get rich.

Not For Jellyfish said...

I wish I were a better collector of knowledge. I enjoy your posts!

Coffee Messiah said...

brian: Like many things these days, museums also are doing with less people and revenue. I wonder what the future will be for them?

subT: The circus story is fascinating, especially since I had taken a few days to record Clyde Beattys step-son a few years ago.

kim: Circus info about this area and is fascinating. I printed it out and must have 500 pgs????

And yes, the gallery is still there. The Death Book was a recent event.

liza: Hey, Thanks for taking the time.

layers: We have a friend in chicago (I've put a few videos recently on my blog with him) who corresponded with RJ. He (our friend picasso) was a forerunner in the dada movement also.

jasmine: No matter the museum, it's always inetersting to see what they have within. And a 400 yr old doll, must be very cool! Thanks for stopping by.

kh: Thanks for that. Heck, even I don't know how, hence not following anyone. I still do it the old fashioned way, link by link ; )

e: Thanks, need to get him on a video.

wings: Thanks for stopping by.

skip: Thanks and for stopping by!

tom: Funny thing is, it's all worth what you're willing to pay for it, so there's still hope, eh?!

jellyfish: I wish my brain could remember all I hear ; (

RAY MAN said...

Always a good vibe at yr trading post...and thanks for the mail art...Aunt Chippie goes to Fluxus

California Girl said...

enjoyed the story about Jack. Was he really accused of lifting a collection or did I understand that correctly? If so, good thing somebody saved everything and rescued his reputation. I'll have to come back for the video. Sounds like Kimy thinks it's the best.

Megan said...

I'm coming back to read all about the circus. I've saved the link to this post for a rainy day. Read the first page or two - fascinating!

Happy Theme Thursday, CM.

Baino said...

Wow . . I'll have to come back and read the link, it's huge! I'm ashamed to say that I once sold a first edition "History of England" in a beautiful leather binding at a garage sale. Only after it had gone did someone tell me how valuable it was . . well I guess someone's enjoying it!

Coffee Messiah said...

ray: Hey, Thanks for stopping by!

cg: I'll have to do a follow up, as I will be seeing him again over the weekend. Yes, but the town and its click, did not like him 'cause he was an independent thinker and actually learned and lived history, as opposed to their posing for others, if you know what I mean ; (
And yes, I believe his accuser spread the word and of course, he was doing the pilfering also. They never treated Jack right, poor guy. But all of us who met him and he befriended knew better.

megan: Thanks, it's a long one but is worth reading. Those days are gone forever. ; (

baino: Oh no, sorry to hear it. Hopefully you read it anyway ; )

Dreamhaven said...

fun post. Happy TT

ratatouille's archives said...

Hi! C.M.,
Thanks, for the link...The story about your friend Jack and both quotes by Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton and Humphrey Davy ( 1778-1829).
Wow, what a very interesting video too...Jesus, Mary,and St.Joseph...indeed!
Take care!
DeeDee ;-D

Coffee Messiah said...

dream: Thanks!

dd: Thanks for stopping by. She's a hoot, is she not? !

ratatouille's archives said...

C.M. said,"Thanks for stopping by. She's a hoot, is she not?!"

Oh! yes, she was amusing!...
C.M.,I would have really liked to have seen her facial expression at 0:51...when she (Viv Maudlin) finally, reached the top of the stair.
Because I notice the curator's facial expression was one of concern for Ms.Maudlin.

Take care!
DeeDee ;-D

lettuce said...

blimey o'reilly

is she related to Dame Edna?

Coffee Messiah said...

dd: She is something else. Made it a fun view though ; )

lettuce: Isn't DE British? This lass is from NY, ya can tell from the accent. ; )

Anil P said...

Time will invest everything with archival potential if only we would make the effort to document it.

Interesting story about Jack. His pictures must number in the thousands, of life long past.

From the video it looks like a major effort will be required to catalogue all this. Will it be going to a museum?

Coffee Messiah said...

anilP: Yes, we have a portion of the slides he has taken, not to mention VHS of shows he had done.
The video was a different challenge, located in NY. I believe they do archive all their shows in one form or another.

Thanks for stopping by!

mum said...

btw, cm, mum came by and grabbed the link the other day. Hasn't had time to look at it yet, but will.
(She also wheezed up those stairs and huffed around the Foundation but jesus, mary and the other one, do they think we've still got knees like we had in the young days?)

cheers

Coffee Messiah said...

mum: Ha, I'm waiting to hear. She may be part of that movement and putting us all on. It's a hoot, either way. You'll enjoy the book. Like I mentioned, I printed it out and it's huge. Worth the read for the history of the Circus, Clyde Beatty in the area and just how much money it brought into the area at the time.

Cheers!

tony said...

What A Fine Link!

Coffee Messiah said...

tony: Thanks
for taking a look see ; )