OoPPs

Folk Bee-hives

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:36:00 +0000

Folk Art in Pictures
Karel Sourek
Spring Books
London
c.1960

More images of bee-hives from this title:

Caption: Bee-hive shaped like a huge pear with a devil mask. Eyeballs of glass. Prievidza, Central Slovakia; 19th century. (Slovak National Museum, Martin.)

Caption: Bee-hive with crown shaped like devil's head with tongue put out. Prievidza, Central Slovakia; 19th century. (Slovak National Museum, Martin.)

Caption: Cylinder-shaped bee-hive with mask. Straw smeared with clay and brightly coloured. Solvakia; 19th century. (Slovak National Museum, Martin.)

Caption: Bee-hive from tree-trunk complete with bark, decorated above the opening with a cross and the date 1882. (Moravian Museum, Brno.)

Folk Weddings & Whiskers

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Folk Art in Pictures
Karel Sourek
Spring Books
London
c.1960

An extraordinary book, with essay by Karel Sourek, a painter who travelled the Czechoslovak Republic documenting these artefacts in museums, private collections, crossroads and cottages. A favourite section on folk beehives will be featured in the next post.

Caption: 'Turon'–head of carnival billy-goat from carnival precession in the Slovak village of Lutisa. 19th century. (Slovak National Museum, Martin.)

Caption: Man with whiskers–effigy from rustic wedding festivities at Lutise, Slovakia. 19th century. (Slovak National Museum, Martin.)

Caption: Combined cocks motive–decoration of jug handle from Priechod, Slovakia. Wood, 20th century. Ethnographic Museum, Prague.)

Caption: Wedding candlesticks from Slovakia–wood carving combined with decorated tree. Slovakia, 19th century (Slovak National Museum, Martin.)

Caption: Top of stove-head with Hungarian moustache.

In Russia with Arthur Miller

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:28:00 +0000

In Russia
Inge Morath & Arthur Miller
Secker & Warburg
London 1969

A moody travelogue by playwright Arthur Miller and his photographer wife, Inge Morath. Together, they visit and record meetings at the homes of both dead and living writers in Russia.

Caption: Andrei Dostoevesky (grandson of the writer) crossing Peace Square–called Market Square when Crime and Punishment was written. The novel says Raskolnikov "had often crossed that little street which turns at an angle leading from the Market Place to Sadovy Street. Of late he had often felt drawn to wander about the district when he felt depressed, that he might feel more so."

Caption: Tolstoy's tomb in the park of Yasnaya Polyana. The writer was buried here, according to his wishes, in an anonymous grave.

The 'anonymous' grave is obviously well-tended. Someone must clear the fresh snowfall every day.

Groaning Boards

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:35:00 +0000

Consuming Passions: The Anthropology of Eating
Peter Farb & George Armelagos
Washington Square Press
New York 1983

On the inside front cover is a sticker 'From the library of Angela Carter.' I would love to do a product recall project and reunite all her library books. Any Amount of Books on Charing Cross Road bought her library a while ago in auction and has gradually been selling them off. The odd title can still be found on their shelves.

The following excepts are from the topical chapter on 'The Feast and the Gift.'

'As societies grow more complex, the privilege of levying taxes, rents and tributes from those of lower status is accompanied by the privilege of eating very much better than the great mass of the population. In medieval England the table of nobles were so laden with every sort of food that they became known as 'groaning boards,' and a knight might put away a dozen dishes in a single sitting. The menus for royal banquets in the fifteenth century list as many as forty dishes, although it was considered proper merely to sample rather than gorge on them. The purposes of the these opulent feasts were social and political, a display of the control a noble had over both people and sources of supply... Serving food in an important household was an avenue of social and political advancement; most of the knights of the medieval courts began their careers in this way. Each server had his own title and rank. The most exalted was the carver, who was expert in the use of an extraordinary number of butchering utensils, along with technical terms and social rules. He had to know, for example, that only the left wing of the capon was suitable for the lord and that the kidney of a fawn was the delicacy served first. The panter was schooled in the the use of a variety of knives, such as the one for the smoothing the edges of trenchers, hard squares of bread that served as plates upon which meat was heaped (whence the word 'trencherman' to describe a hearty eater). The butler had responsibility for the butts or casks of wine and ale.'

'When the Arctic explorer Peter Freuchen was given meat by Eskimos with whom he had been living he thanked them, as he had been trained to do at home. An old man promptly corrected him:

You must not thank for your meat; it is your right to get parts. In this country, nobody wishes to be dependent on others. Therefore, there is nobody who gives or gets gifts, for thereby you become dependent. With gifts you make slaves just as with whips you make dogs.

Thanking anyone for food is a serious breach of etiquette among hunter-gatherers because it implies both that the giver is not generous as a matter of course and that he is not a good enough hunter to afford to give away meat. More important, by his thanks the recipient seems to deny the obligation to repay at a later date. A hunter shares because that is the appropriate thing to do in his society; he later expects to receive and that is his right. The well-brought up recipient in hunter-gatherer society praises the giver for hunting prowess, never for his generosity.'

Mr Hotfoot Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:21:00 +0000

Mr Hotfoot Jackson
Sybil Leek
Frederick Muller Limited
London, 1965

Another one of those true life animal titles I adore. Half way through reading about this jazz loving jackdaw, and just when you think the book can't get any stranger, a film producer gets in touch hoping to make a film about witchcraft in the New Forest - Sybil reveals that she is in fact a witch and Mr Hotfoot Jackson once attended a coven with her.

Musical Spies

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Japanese Music and Musical Instruments
William P. Malm
Richard E Tuttle Company
Tokyo, 1959

A fascinating title with many curious illustrations.

Caption: The Ainu natives of northern Japan create strange effects by singing into each other's mouths.

Caption: The Komuso musician was originally a musical spy, his identity hidden in his basket hat.

Saving Clevedon's Secondhand Bookstore

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:56:00 +0000

A heartwarming story from the money pages of The Guardian 10/12/11

Clevedon Books, a secondhand bookstore in the seaside town of Clevedon, North Somerset, was to close after 14 years of trading until local people stepped in to save it. The shop has now been set up as a not-for-profit co-operative and is currently issuing a minimum of 10 shares at £1 each. 200 people have signed up already. There are plans to expand the shop, arrange author visits, offer book repair workshops...

The share offer closes 31 December 2011. To become a member visit:
clevedoncommunitybookshop.coop

So There in Number Eighteen

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:15:00 +0000

PARLOUR NO. 20
SO THERE IN NUMBER EIGHTEEN

JO ADDISON
RAY ANDREWS
NEIL KEITH BAKER
SAM BROWN
CAROLINE JUPP
ANDY PARKER
SARAH PETTITT

OPENING RECEPTION
SATURDAY DECEMBER 10, 2011, 6 - 9 PM

BY APPOINTMENT
SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, 2011, 12 - 6 PM

HOME OF SUSIE CLARK
18 RUGBY STREET, LONDON WC1N 3QZ

R.S.V.P.
parlourinfo@gmail.com

So there in Number Eighteen – the first line of Ted Hughes’ poem about this house. In contrast to the memorialised house and inhabitants of the poem, these seven artists point towards something more present and continuous, to life in number eighteen as it is now.

So there in Number Eighteen is Parlour's first exhibition in the United Kingdom, curated and hosted by Susie Clark in the house she shares with friends in Bloomsbury, London.
Parlour is a nomadic curatorial project started in 2008 that presents weekend-long exhibitions in private homes. Its impetus is to showcase the work of contemporary artists in a unique and dynamic setting. Though most exhibitions have been based in New York City, Parlour is slowly expanding its programming to include shows in different cities throughout the country and around the world.

Egg-Chandelier

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:38:00 +0000

An Egg at Easter:
A Folklore Study
Venetia Newall
Routledge & Kegan Paul
London 1971

423 pages of fascinating egg lore and craft. Plus some beautiful illustrations. I particularly like the photograph of the egg-chandelier made by the bachelors of Beuel-Kuedinghoven, a village near Bonn. This photo was taken in 1962 of a chandelier that contained 3,000 eggs and hung in the main street till harvest time.

Appendix I: I was particularly intrigued by the list of concoctions used to colour the eggs from around the world. Some read like fairy tales:

Hungary
yellow cow's whey mixed with alum, wolf's milk boiled in water, crab apple bark, saffron.
green hemlock.
black gall nuts.

Czechoslovakia
red crushed, burnt brick-dust soaked in water.
yellow ears of grain, crocus, apple rind.
green boiled hay, young grass or young alder.
brown plum skins, red onions.
black old alder bark, coffee essence, rusty iron boiled in cabbage water.

'The rich symbolism of an Easter egg is even used to suggest the enduring life of the spirit: Tyrolese believe a Good Friday Egg not only preserves its freshmess all the year – it will not even smash if hurled over the house-top. Wends (Sorbs), Greeks and other races all maintain that an egg boiled at Eater will never go bad; after a few years it changes into a pearl, a common emblem of the soul. In France the yolk of Green Thursday's egg becomes a diamond after 100 years.'

Another curious custom:

'Sometimes they are used as an aid for seeing the future. They may quite literally assist a child in learning to read, gathering knowledge that lies ahead. Children in Baden were given one, laid on Good Friday, before attending school the first time: letters of the alphabet were stirred into it, and all had to be eaten.'

Leader, Painter, Orator...

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Daily Express
Monday January 25 July 1965

Sorting through some saved newspapers at my parent's home, this obituary of Churchill caught my eye. It is interesting that the photograph shows Churchill painting in Marrakesh in 1959 and not a classic image of him delivering a speech during wartime. I also liked the short list of his many roles:
Leader
Painter
Orator
Warrior
Writer

Ad Men

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:25:00 +0000

The Hidden Pursauders
Vance Packard
Penguin Books
1960

An introduction to the techniques of mass-pursausion through the uncouncious. A fascinating Penguin Special publication, which highlights research and practice pioneered by the ad men of Madison Avenue and other American advertisers using the subconcious mind.

For example, one piece of research looks at the increase in impulse buying in supermarkets conducted by a motivational analyst, James Vicary. He suspected that shoppers underwent an increase in tension brought on by so much choice, which then compelled them to make quick consumer decisions in panic. He chose eye-blink rate as a measure of shoppers' inner tension. The normal rate is 32 times per minute. He expected shoppers eye-blink rate to increase dramatically as they entered a supermarket. To his surprise, eye-blink rate dropped to 14 blinks per minute, usually recorded in people put into a light hypnotic trances. He records that some shoppers had a glassy stare and would not even recognise friends and family in the supermarket. And then the shoppers' eye-blink rate would race up to 50 or 60 blinks per minute when it came to paying at the till. Many people could not pay for all their impulse buys.

Vicary theorised that shoppers were under the illusion they could possess any of the goods in this self-service 'fairyland' in comparison to the experience of shopping in an old-fashioned grocershop where you could only buy what you could afford from the grocer, who would fetch it for you from behind the counter. Advertisers soon worked out that the colours red and yellow were more noticable by shoppers in their hypnotic-like state while drifting along the supermarket aisles.

The book is packed with many such 'new' experiments and collaborations between psychologists and ad men. I wonder how out of date this publication is, if any of the same techniques are still employed by the ad men.

The Signwriter

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:20:00 +0000

In resuming this feature on employment and trades, I am reminded what a craftsman my grandad was. When I was little I went to his studio - a shed at the bottom of the garden - and watched him form letters with such assurance and skill. So I am thrilled to inherit his signwriting kit. I am wondering if I should try and make use of some of his tools, maybe make a sign. I should use the brushes at least, which are still waxed and in perfect condition after so many years of idleness.

In the top drawer of the box with the gold leaf there was a tiny photo of him painting - he was with the Red Cross medical corp in the war. I am not sure if he learnt the trade during the war or whether he was apprenticed before - something to find out...

Janitor in the Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:56:00 +0000

'I never heard a newsman, when we had severe winter weather, mention a janitor's name. He'll talk about a guy working out on a line, he'll talk about a guy doing outside work, but do you realise when it snows in the city of Chicago, the janitor's the man who gotta get there and keep the sidewalks clean? The weatherman on TV, that big bum, he don't say nothin'.
It's a low blow. The talk about heart attackes shoveling show. In one of my buildings alone, I almost had a block of snow to shovel–plus the entrances, plus the back porches. There's a lot of janitors that keel over in this cold weather...'

On a lighter note:-

'I'm not mentioneing names, but this buddy of mine, I told him I got a couple of hot numbers on the third floor, students. And I says, "You can make out." (Laughs) I says, "I'll go up first. When you the blink at the window, come and knock 'cause I'll have 'em all lined up." You know you can control electricity from the fuse, right? So go down teh boilter room and fuse box and turn the fuse, and the light in the window blinks off and on up there. Christ! He came runnin' up those stairs. He's bangin' at the door, "I know you're in there! I know you're in there!" I said, "Hey, I pulled a joke." He almost killed me; he chased me all the way down the steps.'

Extract from:
Eric Hoellen - Janitor

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do
Studs Terkel
Pantheon Books, New York
1972

People Talk About What They Do All Day

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:56:00 +0000

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do
Studs Terkel
Pantheon Books, New York
1972

I am a big fan of Studs Terkel. This title is an incredible collection of interviews he made with people about their work throughout the US during the 60s. Not being a sociologist but host of a radio show, his massive undertaking lead to quirky, candid and often insightful encounters with interviewees by. I feel for the transcriber.

One of my favourites so far is Terry Pickins, the newspaper delivery boy, a small Victor Mildrew in the making, moaning about the nature of his work – ‘If anybody told me being a newsboy builds character, I’d know he was a liar. I don’t see where people get all this bull about kid who’s gonna be President and being a newsboy made a President out of him. It taught him how to handle his money and this bull. You know what it did? It taught him how to hate the people on his route. And the printers. And dogs.’

Over the next week I will post more extracts from interviews.

The copy I have photographed is the 1975 edition published by Wildwood Press, London borrowed from the stack of Lewisham Library. I do have the American first edition but without dust jacket. The image below is the endpaper of the first edition, not visible in the later library copy.

People's Communes

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:58:00 +0000

People's Communes in Pictures
Eds. Ministry of Agriculture, People's Republic of China
Foreign Language Press
Peking 1960

Another title on my current theme of work and occupations.
The blurb on the inside jacket cover reads:
'The people's commune is a new social organization which has emerged from the advanced agricultural producers' cooperatives in China... The photographs in this book graphically illustrate the rise of the people's communes and their immense vitality and superiority. They show the brilliant successes scored by the communes in water conservancy, industry and the all-round development of agriculture as well as cultural and education work and collective welfare. The communes have achieved these successes because of their large size and public ownership.'

Cuz's Anthem

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:01:00 +0000

The English Book Trade
Marjorie Plant
George Allen & Unwin, London
3rd Edition 1974

Continuing my current obsession with trades and occupations, I found this book in the stack of Lewisham Library. I was particularly taken with this account of a bizarre 17th Century initiation rite into the book trade.

‘When a Boy is to be bound Apprentice, before he is admitted a Chappellonian, it is necessary for him to be made a Cuz, or Deacon; in the Performance of which there are a great many Ceremonies. The Chappellonians walk three Times round the Room, their right Arms being put thro’ the Lappets of their Coats; the Boy who is to be a made a Cuzcarrying a wooden Sword before them. Then the Boy kneels, and the Father of the Chapel, after exhorting him to be observant of his Business, and not to betray the Secrets of the Workman, squeezes a Spunge of strong Beer over his Head, and gives him a Title, which is generally that of Duke of some Place of the least Reputation near which he lives, or did live before… Whilst the Boy is upon his Knees, all the Chappellonians, which their right Arms put through the Lappets of their Coats as before, walk round him, singing the Cuz’s Anthem, which is done by adding all the Vowels to the Consonants in the following manner.

Ba ba; Be be; Bi bi; Ba-be-bi;
Bo bo; Ba-be-bi-bo; Bu bu; Ba-be-bi-bo-bu–

and so through the rest of the Consonants.’

Caption: Benjamin Franklin in a London Printing Office
After Eyre Crow, R.A.

Turkish Fortune Telling Rabbits

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:44:00 +0000

Interesting Turkish Trades
Muzaffer Soy
Minyatur Publications
Istanbul, Turkey
1989

A fascinating survey of traditional Turkish occupations by a social anthropologist, which at the time of publication were on the decline and probably mostly redundant by now. The book features diverse trades: circumciser (I spare you the illustration) lavender seed seller, cigarette holder maker, petitioner, pickle peddlar and my favourite trade - peddlar of fortune telling rabbits and pigeons. Not only can Turkish rabbits predict the future, but pigeons as well! From the basement of Any Amount of Books on Charing Cross Road.

Norwegian Book Ark

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:58:00 +0000

I was delighted to come across the construction Ark by Norwegian architects Rintal Eggertsson in the V&A today. The architects intention was to show the continuing life of the book from sale item to archive by connecting the book shop and the art library on different floors. 6000 titles (many of them OOP titles) were used to fill the construction of the wooden stairwell. All the book spines face in and are browsable from inside the spiral stair structure only. Wonderful.

15 June-30 August 2010
1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Time and Again

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Time and Again
Jack Finney
Simon & Schuster
New York, 1970

While in New York I read Jack Finney's illustrated novel, Time and Again, which is set in Manhatten and features an artist who time travels between 1882 and 1960s. Back in London and still reading the book, I am transported back to NY in a similar fashion.

The illustrations are of NY scenes from the 1880s so doubly fascinating as a tourist. I managed to get hold of an OOP edition before the trip and it proved to be perfect reading material. On my last day I suddenly caught a glimpse the rooftop of one of its key locations, the Dakota building, across Central Park.

Finney is best known for his book, The Body Snatchers, made into the film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Time and Again
Jack Finney
Simon & Schuster
New York, 1970

Green Side of the Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Found these guides published by London Transport in a Trinity Hospice charity shop in Clapham. Part of a wonderful series from 1971 that are full of photos, historical notes, beautiful maps and handy hints - 'on dull days - especially if you are lost in a wood - a useful tip is to look for the 'green' side of a tree. The green algae-like growth (its correct name is protococcus) spreads on the northern side of the trees.'

Very tempted to recreate one of the walks this summer - curious to know how much has changed and whether the routes and transport links are still relevent.

Rooks in the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:21:00 +0000

A very big thank you to everyone who braved the rain to join Slet for Alton!

The sletters wore t-shirts with bird silhouettes made during a print workshop the previous weekend at Wandsworth YIP on the Alton Estate. A new Slet exercise 'The Rook' was introduced to our routine after we discovered Roehampton means 'farm where rooks gather'.

Photographs by Sam Brown

Invitation to join Slet for Alton

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:56:00 +0000

You are invited to join Slet for Alton

2.40 - 3.30 pm
Saturday 8 May 2010

Green slope on Danebury Avenue and Portswood Place
Alton Estate
London SW15 4ED

Slet for Alton is a synchronised keep-fit event for all ages and is part
of Wandsworth Arts Festival's Shimmy Dance 2 - 4 pm 8 May 2010.
Other activities include - b supreme girl hip hop groups -
Roehampton University Cheerleaders - Free Running from UpBEAT
and Parkour professional Chima - Craft workshops from Encounters

This Slet event celebrates the modernist architecture of the Alton Estate,
Roehampton, built 1958-9 and designed by London County Council Architects
Hubert Bennett, Leslie Martin & Robert H Mathew.

Nearest rail: Barnes Station (then bus 72 or 265 along Roehampton Lane)
Buses to Danebury Avenue 170 or 430

Free and for all levels of fitness
Booking not essential - bring friends and family!
Exercise wear and trainers advisable

http://sletsite.blogspot.com/
For more information phone 07905 964825 or email info@oopps.org

Missing Images

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:26:00 +0000

Apologies for the missing images on previous blogs. There was a technical hitch while moving OoPPs blog to a new location. I hope to find a solution in the next couple of days.

This blog has moved

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:25:00 +0000

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City Slet 04

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:55:00 +0000

You are invited to join City Slet 04

11.30am-12.45pm
Sunday 28 March 2010

Meet outside St Andrews Church, Holborn Circus
Nearest tube: Farringdon

City Slet 04 is the fourth in a series of architecture and exercise trails
in London's square mile. Documentation from City Slet 01-03 can be found on a new blog dedicated to the Slet project - http://sletsite.blogspot.com/

Please be advised this exercise trail is for adults of moderate fitness as
we will jog between architectural sites. The trail will end at Temple.

Free but booking essential
Please RSVP to info@oopps.org