Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Wowzers! Can you image walking into this place and trying to take it all in? Enough eyeball kicks for a lifetime here. I know I purchased this on eBay – not that long ago, but it was at the bottom of a pile that was upturned recently. I don’t remember how I found the listing since it has no easily discernible cats here – some over to the right if you look carefully. It was most likely the Mickey Mouses on the top shelf. It is an 8″x10″ photo, no information or identification on the back.

I believe kits and plans for the ashtray stands were widely available and the stands are very prevalent at flea markets and antique stalls – executed with varying skill. Mine, shown here with Blackie examining it, was purchased at the end of the day at the 26th Street garage flea market here in Manhattan. I had barely shown interest in it (despite what impression I may have given, I actually do try to be mindful that we live in a very small apartment) when the dealer, clearly desperate to pack up less than he still had, threw out some ridiculously low figure and I felt compelled to make it mine. As with most things of this kind once purchased, I have not regretted it.

Not long after, I attended one of the Pier Shows dedicated to antiques and saw a stall of what must have been thirty or more, all variations on the cat design, lined up together. It was a magnificent display and when I win the lottery and retire very wealthy I fully intend to recreate it. There is something about these wooden cut outs which does make a group as a whole more impressive, perhaps than the parts alone.

My affection for this genre has extended beyond cats and below I share the other two I own. The parrot, which holds my house keys with a nail, my addition, has been my key holder for more than twenty years. He was purchased off the street some place, as was the other bird acquired subsequently, which has never quite found the right spot in the apartment. He (or she) is actually a tiny shelf.

Whirligigs seem to fall loosely into this category too – and I have adored those since I was a child! There was a man in a neighboring town who made ones for the backyard to move in the wind, set on a pole. We purchased a much beloved little man sawing logs. I think he may have met his end in one of the many hurricanes or nor’easters of my childhood. There’s a Felix version that I admit to having my eye on, but again, we do live in a very small apartment…