Quote and Credit

Quote and Credit

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Apple Industrial Factory Die Cut



Wood with metal border, sharpened at edges for industrial cut of an apple form   Undated, circa 1940.
Collection Jim Linderman

Eccentric Folk Art Drawings of the 19th and 20th Centuries from the Jim Linderman Collection









SAMPLE PAGES FROM THE NEW BOOK ECCENTRIC FOLK ART DRAWINGS OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES FROM THE JIM LINDERMAN COLLECTION Available NOW from Blurb.com
200 Pages. PDF version available soon ORDER HERE

Sunday Painter Fairy Diptych Painted Pixies



A Pair of Painted Pixies frolic in the buff.  Estate Sale Find (two dollars for the pair.)  Circa 1980. 

Antique Scarecrow Photographic Essay Ephemeral Folk Art Sculpture at the Farm Collection Jim Linderman









Antique Scarecrow Photographic Essay  Ephemeral Folk Art Figures at the Farm Collection Jim Linderman  19th and early 20 Century snapshots of working dummys!  USE WITH PERMISSION ONLY.  See also the new book THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL for a photograph collection and music book unlike any you have seen.

Yanks vs Cubs 1932 ? drawing of the Big Game


A young boy draws America's game in 1932.  Cubs and Yanks appear on the scoreboard.  The two teams played each other in the World Series in 1932 and 1938, but I am calling this undated drawing 1932 because it was the series Babe Ruth called his home run.  Maybe he did it for the boy who drew this at home listening on the radio. 

Obverse and Reverse Will You Sleep With Me Jac? Please?

Vintage Sleaze the Blog comes and goes without warning.  It is currently on hiatus, but this couldn't wait. Original watercolor circa 1940 and reverse Will You Sleep with me Jac? Please? Collection Jim Linderman  Stay tuned to Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Blog for upcoming projects.  Thanks. Also of interest, The Birth of Rock and Roll is available from Amazon HERE and Dust to Digital HERE.

The Human Centipede Vernacular Photograph 1940



Original Photograph 1940 by Leslie H. Gardner.  Collection Jim Linderman
Also of interest, The Birth of Rock and Roll is available from Amazon HERE and Dust to Digital HERE.

Folk Art Hooked Rugs Painted in Enamel A Handmade Salesman Sample Book






A beautiful salesman sample book with twenty hooked rug designs, each hand-painted in miniature by a Massachusetts woman by the name of J. A. Harlow.  Not only are the samples beautiful and creative, they are rendered here in remarkable detail.  Note prices!   One of my favorite book titles is Anonymous was a Woman which detailed the extraordinary "women's work" created by artists who never signed their needlepoint, quilts, rugs and such.  In this case, there is a name.  The paintings are so beautiful, each could stand alone as a piece of wall art.  The salesman sample book also has numerous descriptions, instructions to order, and not surprisingly a note to return the book in good condition!  "Please be careful of it" reads one.  I will.

J. A. Harlow's  Homemade Salesman Sample of Hooked Rugs Collection Jim Linderman

Sepia Pin Up Calendar Storefront original photograph collection Jim Linderman


Sepia Pin Up Calendar Storefront.  This snapshot likely shows a photo studio associated with Sepia Magazine, which ran over 35 years but never achieved the reputation of the competitor Ebony or the mini-digest Jet.  Still, it was a popular media source for the Black country within the country.  Starting in 1947, Sepia was published in Texas by Good Publishing Company.  Good was also responsible for the few African-American scandal magazines of the mid 20th Century.  Hep, Jive and Bronze Thrills also came from Good.  Interestingly, The owner was a white man named George Levitan, but the staff was largely African-American, and Mr. Levitan was a civil rights supporter.

This could be a satellite office.  The magazine had nation-wide distribution, so it is possible a studio looking for glamour shots of African-American women would be in NYC or Chicago.  It is also possible this was simply a storefront set up by an anonymous photographer using the Sepia name.  What better way to attract talent?  There is a similar snapshot for sale on a website which identifies the date around 1930, but that is unlikely.

There is so little documentation of early African-American pinups.  My book Secret Life of the Black Pin-up is out of print., but many of the images have been shared and posted by others.  The phrase "Black is Beautiful" was intended to wake up all races…African-American residents were so abused, even they had doubts.  Yes, Black women are beautiful and they had their own subculture of pin-up beauty, but the history is buried and the issues scarce.

One reason so few of the original Good Publications magazines are seen today is due to the "pass-along rate."  Unlike, for example, issues of National Geographic, which are stockpiled in many garages in nearly mint but moldy condition, most of the race magazines were shared over and over until they wore out.  They cost from 25 to 35 cents…and before the 1960s, there was little disposable income for the minority.  They were seldom collected by libraries.  A few examples of Good Magazines are shown here.

See also HERE and HERE
Original snapshot Sepia Pin-Up Calendar Storefront.  No date, circa 1955?  Collection Jim Linderman.  Jim Linderman's book The Birth of Rock and Roll published by Dust to Digital is available for purchase HERE and HERE.


  

Old Handpainted Sign Bull for Sale

Michigan Origin. Circa 1950.  Collection Jim Linderman

The Art of Art Instruction Inc. Draw Me! Free Talent Test! Vintage Matchbook Cover Art






















Do you like to draw?  Do you like to draw "do you like to draw" ads?  I presume millions saw these masterpieces of matchbook art.  I have no idea how many took the time to squeeze their name onto the address section inside, but "Art Instruction Inc." is still in business after 100 years.  With the demise of the matchbook (their former audience is literally dying off...you don't need a match for a vapor cigarette) they must advertise somewhere else. There is a pull-down menu on their website to indicate "How you heard about Art Instruction Schools" but matchbook isn't among the options.  If you did apply because you saw one of these mid-century beatnik-like ads, you would have to choose the "other" selection on the form.

One does not "attend" as the "school" is a correspondence program.  Fake colleges have made a comeback…real college is increasingly out of reach for those who need it most.  Who enrolls?  Well, they generally do not accept students UNDER 14.  What?  Until you are 14 years of age, I guess they want you to practice and apply when you've reached puberty. Another portion of the website says their students start as young as 13 and well into their 80s.



"MOM!  CAN I HAVE A STAMP"

Back in the old days, if one filled out a matchbook, they would likely be surprised by a jalopy-driving salesman at their door to close the deal.  They still have salesman dropping in, circling their allocated territory like Google mapping cars.  The program still employs  representatives who make scheduled appointments to obtain a signature in person. 

Their honor student was Charles Schultz.  He figures on the webpage today as a grateful student and actually taught there for a while…but he hardly grew beyond drawing circles.  I have seen Stephen Colbert draw a reasonable Snoopy, and I don't believe he attended. Other alumni include an editorial cartoonist, a Lucas film illustrator, a fashion illustrator, a wildlife artist or two (winner of the Federal Duck Stamp contest) and a set designer for Cecil B. Demille.  Pretty impressive…until one considers that is their 100 year track record.  Peanuts.

From what I can tell, the program costs $4285.00 (27 monthly payments of $150.00) plus the cost of postage to mail your work back and forth to headquarters.  They seem to have mail drops in every state.  I wondered about their policy on dropping out, and sure enough the program provides it on the website, state by state.  Here is the policy I would have:

State: Michigan
Cancelation Policy:
When Notice of Withdrawal is given: After five calendar days but before beginning training - a registration fee of 20% of the total tuition, not to exceed $200.00. After beginning of training - $200.00 registration fee plus 10% of the balance of the total tuition until 10% of the assignments are completed. After completing 10% of the assignments but prior to completing 25% of the assignments - $200.00 registration fee plus 25% of the balance of the total tuition. After completing 25% of the assignments but prior to completing 50% of the assignments - $200.00 registration fee plus 50% of the balance of the total tuition. After completing 50% of the assignments the full course price will be due.
Days no Responsibility: 5 days
Type: Percent - Cancel up to 50%
Registration Fee: $200.00


Can you draw?  Maybe the question should be Can you READ.  I can't figure it out.  It appears some 95% or so complete the program.

I have been interested in "self-taught" artists for decades.  There is no telling how many artists the school nurtured (or ruined) over the years, but I might have seen some of their work in antique malls.  There used to be category of artist known as "Sunday Artists" but the Art Instruction Inc. is open every day of the week. 

"MAIL COVER ONLY, NOT MATCHES"
 

Details of matchbook advertising circa 1950 - 1960.  Original matchbooks collection Jim Linderman