Check out the cute glass art on the cement chair in the little garden at Stevens Elementary School.
I see a lion up at the top, and a rhinoceros on the left, of course.
Would that be a lanky-legged hippopotamus on the right?
Stevens* Elementary School in Seattle’s North Capitol Hill opened in fall 1906 for students from north Capitol Hill and Interlaken, which included Montlake. The rectangular, two-story frame building with clapboard siding and gable roof reflects the Colonial Revival style. *Named after Isaac Ingalls Stevens, an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857. (Washington State joined the Union on Nov. 11, 1889).
It is Father’s Day in South Africa and more than 100 other countries as well.
In Australia, Father’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of September.
In 2021, the President of Russia established Father’s Day as falling on the third Sunday of October.
Paternal Advice, oil on canvas, exact date unknown, auctioned at Christie’s, 9 Nov. 2010, Amsterdam, lot 152, sold for €13,750 (US$ 15,000) The artist is Belgian painter Jozef Laurent Dyckmans (1811 – 1888). He painted mainly genre scenes and portraits, and his meticulously crafted paintings earned him the nickname “Belgian Gerard Dou”. (Gerard Dou was a Dutch Golden Age painter whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders). [Picture from Wikipedia]
These pictures are all from inside the National Neon Sign Museum in the former Elks Building in the heart of The Dalles downtown historic district.
The museum narrates the evolution of the electric sign, from pre-electric and gold leaf signage to the invention and widespread use of neon signs.
It houses one of the largest collections of neon storefront signs in the world.
Yes, neon signage has been in decline the last few decades, but many cities are now concerned with preserving and restoring their antique neon signs.
Fun fact— Argon is much more versatile than neon for creating colors, and some 75% of ‘neon’ signs actually has argon in the tubes and not neon. ‘Neon’ is the name that stuck for all signs that use either neon or argon.
Pictures:
That’s David Benko himself in one of the pictures, telling us about the history of neon signs. He established the museum in 2018, and is the curator— with a lifelong passion for collecting neon signs.
The museum has displays that show inventors and their experimentation with electricity in the 1700s and 1800s, the discovery of the noble gases argon (1894) and neon (1898) and a model of the patent for the first neon sign tubes that were created in 1910 by French engineer and inventor Georges Claude (the third picture).
By the end of the Roaring ’20s, most American cities were electrified. Illuminated streets and storefronts lured people into the streets at night time. The commercialization of neon signs took off in the 1930s after the Great Depression.
Two envelopes arrived yesterday, with the latest acquisitions I had made for my stamp collection inside.
The sellers did me the favor of pasting lots of beautiful stamps on the outside of the envelopes.
Clockwise from top left: 150th Anniversary of Spanish Stamps (from a set of 11) Issued 2000, Oct.8, , Perf. 13 (round stamp), 13½x14, Photolith. 3067 A1073 Multi-colored 200p €1.20 Invention of the antenna and radio 3063 A1073 Multi-colored 200p €1.20 Signature of Miguel Induráin, cyclist Traditional Sports and Games Issued 2008, Perf. 13½x14, Photolith. Miniature Sheet of Martial Arts, 3 stamps & 3 labels 3577 A1469 Multi-colored, €0.43 Stick fighting (palo canario) 3577 A1469 Multi-colored, €0.43 Wrestling (lucha leonesa) 3577 A1469 Multi-colored, €0.43 Wrestling (lucha canaria) 150th Anniversary of International Red Cross Issued 2013, Oct.28, Perf. 12¾, Photolith. 3939 A1722 €0.90 Red and white Tapestries of Sports Scenes Taken from Painting Issued 2009, Jul.6, Perf. 12¾, Photolith. 3657 A1519 Multi-colored, €0.78, By Francisco de Goya (El Juego de Pelota a Pala) Women’s Dresses by Paco Rabane Issued 2013, Sept.12, Perf. 13×12¾, Photolith. 3926 A1715 Multi-colored, €0.52, See-through dress of red diamonds 3926 A1715 Multi-colored, €0.52, Dress made of large golden disks [Information from Scott 2017 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue]Clockwise from top left: The 40th IHF World Hospital Congress 2016, Oct.31, Perf. 14 2496 Multicolored, Intnl. Small Letter, Minisheet (75mm x 75mm) The Many Faces of Nelson Mandela Issued 2001, Nov.26, No watermark, Perf. 13¾, Designer Alf Kumalo 1481 Multicolored, Airmail Postcard Rate (R2.10), Nelson Mandela 1477 Multicolored, Airmail Postcard Rate (R2.10), Nelson Mandela Wildlife— The Big 5 Issued 2001, Apr.25, No watermark, Perf. 14 1386 Multicolored, Airmail Postcard Rate (R1.90), Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Imperforated Right 1385 Multicolored, Airmail Postcard Rate (R1.90), Leopard (Panthera pardus) Fauna and Flora— Fish Issued 2000, Nov. 1, No watermark, Perf. 14½x14¾, Designer Chris van Rooyen 1335 Multicolored, 60c, Powder-blue surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucosternon) 1334 Multicolored, 50c, Coral rock cod (Cephalopholis miniatus) African Nations Football Championship, South Africa Issued 1996, Jan. 10, No watermark, Perf. 14¼ x 14, Design Marc de Jong 1027 Multicolored, Standard Postage (60c), Goalkeeper w. Africa map outline [Information from stampworld.com]
Souvenir Sheet for HAFNIA Intl. Stamp Exhibition in Copenhagen Aug. 20-29, 1976. Perf. 13½ x 13. Ferslew’s Essays, 1849 and 1852 Issued 1975, Feb. 27 565 A168 Sheet of 4 a. 70 Øre, Gray, Coat of Arms b. 80 Øre, Gray, King Frederik VII c. 90 Øre, Brown, King Frederik VII d. 100 Øre, Brown, MercuryBooklet pane for Rosenborg Castle, 400th Anniversary Issued 2006, Mar. 29 1351 A457 4.75 Krone, Multi-color, Rosenborg Castle exterior 1352 A457 5.50, Krone, Multi-color, Silver lion, thrones of king & queen 1353 A457 13 Krone, Multi-color, Royal coat of arms ceiling decoration
WASHINGTON— A celebrity photographer won a copyright case over Andy Warhol’s use of a picture she shot of Prince for a magazine, in a Thursday Supreme Court decision narrowing the “fair use” rights of artists and writers to build upon existing works to create something new.
– Jess Bravin reporting for the Wall Street Journal
The US Supreme Court ruled today by 7-2 that Andy Warhol’s 1981 artwork of Prince (using a photo) infringed on the photographer’s copyright. The majority argued that Warhol’s print was merely a derivative of the photo and not transformative. Oh.
Pictures from today’s Wall Street Journal, with an excerpt of Jess Bravin’s reporting.
‘This might have been the white and blue Alaska Air plane that I saw overhead in the sky today’, I thought as I saw this picture in the Seattle Times.
This Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 is named Xáat Kwáani— an Alaska Native language that calls out the ancestral importance of salmon. The artwork style is a Northwest Coast formline art that dates back thousands of years. The artist is Crystal Kaakeeyáa Rose Demientieff Worl from Juneau, Alaska. [Photo by Ingrid Barrentine / Alaska Airlines, published in the Seattle Times]
Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by East Germany (the ‘Deutsche Demokratische Republik’) between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin’s Friedrichshain and Mitte neighborhoods.
Maybe I should extend my stay in Berlin so that I can photograph every single U-bahn station.
Three new stations were added just in the last year or so to the U5: Unter den Linden, Rotes Rathaus and Museuminsel.
All right— how about a smattering of vintage stamps from the United States, courtesy of a seller in Houston, Texas?
Amazingly, he used a stamp from 1934 on the envelope!
(Pro tip: Click on the picture. It’s fun to look at stamps with a magnifying glass).
1970 (5 Nov.) Christmas Perf.10½ x 11 #1410 837 6c Multicoloured, National Art Gallery ‘The Nativity’ by L. Lotto
1970 (21 Nov.) 350th Anniversary of Landing of Pilgrim Fathers in America #1416 837 6c Multicoloured
1934 (8 Oct.) National Parks Year #748 245 10c Grey, Mount Le Conte, Great Smoky Mountains
2001 (3 Aug.) Pre-sorted First Class Card Coil Stamp. Self-adhesive gum. Imperf x p11½ #3991 2590 (15c) Multicoloured, Woody Wagon
1973 (28 Sept.) American Revolution Bicentennial. Colonial Communications. #1484 903 8c Multicoloured, Drummer [Source: Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue 2005, Part 22, United States]
The stamps I had bought from a seller in Great Britain arrived in the mail today.
I looked up the stamps on the envelope in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue. (It definitely seems like some stamp sellers have reams and reams of unused stamps from many years ago).
The black ink line across the stamps is the cancellation mark.
Aw. What’s up with that? I would like a proper cancellation mark showing the sending location and the date!
1991 Scientific Achievements (5 Mar.) Phosphorised paper 1549 991 Gloster Whittle E28/39 Aircraft over East Anglia (50th Anniversary of First Flight of Sir Frank Whittle’s Jet Engine, 37p multicoloured
2001 Regional Issue Northern Ireland (6 Mar.) Printed in lithography by Walsall, two phosphor bands. Perf 15×14 w. one elliptical hole in each side NI190 N7 Aerial view of patchwork fields, (1st) black, new blue and greenish yellow
A little side benefit from buying stamps from sellers all over the world is that the senders sometimes paste whole sheets of stamps onto the envelope, instead of using a dreaded computer-generated black-and-white ‘stamp’ .
Why would the seller use these stamps from 30, 40 years ago, though?
He had an oversupply of stock?
Greetings Stamps. ‘Memories’ Set of 10 1992 (28 Jan.) Two phosphor bands 1592 (1st) multicoloured Flower Spray 1593 (1st) multicoloured Double Locket 1592 (1st) multicoloured Key 1592 (1st) multicoloured Model Car and Cigarette Cards 1592 (1st) multicoloured Compass and Map 1592 (1st) multicoloured Pocket Watch 1592 (1st) multicoloured 1854 1d. Red Stamp and Pen 1592 (1st) multicoloured Pearl Necklace 1592 (1st) multicoloured Marbles 1592 (1st) multicoloured Bucket, Spade and Starfish
Greetings Stamps. ‘Smiles’ Set of 10 1991 (26 Mar.) Two phosphor bands. Perf 15×14 1550-1559 (1st) multicoloured
British Anniversaries. 1971 (25 Aug.) Two phosphor bands 891 5p multicoloured Faraday Building, Southampton University
British Trees (2nd Issue) 1974 (27 Feb.) ‘All-over’ phosphor 949 10p multicoloured Horse Chestnut
‘Occasions’ Greetings Stamps 2003 (4 Feb.) Two phosphor bands, Perf 14½x14 2337 (1st) lemon and new blue ‘Gold star, See me, Playtime’ 2338 (1st) red and deep ultramarine ‘I♥U, XXXX, S.W.A.L.K.*’ *XXXX is a beer and Sealed With A Loving Kiss, a World-War II postal acronym 2339 (1st) purple and bright yellow-green ‘Angel, Poppet, Little terror’ 2340 (1st) bright yellow-green and red ‘Yes, No, Maybe’ 2341 (1st) deep ultramarine and lemon ‘Oops! Sorry, Will try harder’ 2342 (1st) new blue and purple ‘I did it! You did it! We did it!’ [From the 2011 ‘Collect British Stamps’ Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue]
The blank stamp album pages that I had ordered from Denmark, landed on the porch on Saturday, and I tried them out today.
The first two pictures below are my existing, preprinted pages and pockets, from German company Leuchtturm. They run from 1961 through 1981. The pages from 1982 onwards are now out of print. I scoured Ebay and the internet, but could not find a used set.
So I am trying out Leuchtturm’s blank pocketed pages, to stand in for the years starting in 1982. I printed ‘South Africa — Suid-Afrika’ and the year on paper strips that go into the top of the page. It looks OK. Maybe I need cream-colored paper to print on— or is that being too persnickety?
Here’s my little souvenir bowl that I had bought in the gift shop of the Gallery of Modern Art Museum in Brisbane.
The bottom of the bowl says Alperstein Designs and that the artist is Justin Butler from North Queensland. The bowl is fine bone china and was made in China. (I would have loved for the bowl to have been made in Australia, but Google says making bone china involves several steps, and requires complex machinery and skilled technicians and workers.)
I’m back in Brisbane, and will go home on Tuesday morning.
This afternoon I went to the shoreline by our lodgings in Cairns for one last look at the Coral Sea.
The artwork is called Telescopus (2008), by artist Dominic Johns.
The bird on the tarmac at Cairns is the Qantas Boeing 737-800 that flew us to Brisbane.
I spent a little time today at the used book store called Archives Fine Books, on Charlotte Street in the city.
I walked out with a book of British cartoons, printed in 1962.
There was more rain today, and so we checked into the Queensland Museum and the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art.
Both of these are free to the public.
Queensland Museum
There has been expansive voyaging and cultural interactions across the Coral Sea (between what is today called Australia and Papua New Guinea), with seafaring craft like the model shown here. Evidence of human activity in the region dates back 6,500 years.There is a large natural history collection on display on the third and fourth floor— of land animals, birds and fish.There are 51 species of box jellyfish, large and small. The one on the right is the infamous irukandji jellyfish (Carukia barnesi). From the display case text: ‘Although irukandji are the smallest of the box jellyfish group, they are the deadliest. Stings are recorded every year, with some victims needing hospital treatment. Nevertheless, only 3 deaths have been attributed to irukandji the last 100 years. Always wear a stinger-suit when swimming in tropical Queensland’. P.S. I see Stinger Suit™ is actually a trademark for the nylon/ latex bodysuit. The models wearing the suit still have bare faces, hands and feet, though. Maybe I will keep things simple and just stay out of the water altogether.
Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art are two galleries next to each other. The QAG moved to this location in 1982, and then in 2006 a sweeping new wing was added for the Gallery of Modern Art.Kudusur (2017), artist Alick Tipoti The mural Kudusur (‘poling with elbow’) depicts the spiritual ancestors and brothers called Thoegay and Kang, extending their elbows and using them as paddles for their canoe.Under the Jacaranda (1903), artist R. Godfrey Rivers Oil on canvas. Purchased in 1903. Brisbane is full of jacarandas, in bloom right now, like in the painting— but the tree is not native. It comes from South America.Dispela meri Lady Diana (‘This woman is Lady Diana’) (1998), artist John Kawage John Kawage is from Papua New Guinea, and used synthetic polymer paint on canvas. Purchased in 1999.Vertigoats (2021), artist Justene Williams It depicts a humorous questioning of the desire to ‘climb the ladder’ of the social and economic order.
