Pam’s Pictorama Post: It is a stormy Sunday here in Manhattan as I write this – day two of a Nor’easter which is huge and parked itself over the eastern seaboard.
It is especially wreaking havoc on my area of New Jersey it seems. I had planned to head down today but had rescheduled due to something other than the weather. However, now lots of flooding, the Asbury pier and boardwalk we were so recently on is covered by the swollen ocean for the moment and nearby places like Point Pleasant seem to have high tide water up to their doors and worse. (My Asbury Park post can be found here.) My dahlias are taking a beating and our basement pump may or may not be holding its own.
Orwashers was crowded yesterday morning when we went for our weekly order! It was a cozy haven in the storm.
Here in New York the apartment is cold (no heat yet!) and as a result we slept late under the warm blankets. Even when Blackie came to get us he was somewhat seduced by the warm sleepiness and curled up for a brief purr and pet.
With a Pictorama sort of logic I have chosen a Louis Wain card to cheer us up on this stormy weather day. The set up is a simple one but executed with pure Wain. Three tabby cats in a love triangle. The orange male who is evidently older, dropping both a cane and a pipe in shock as he looks on in dismay at what we assume is his wife cat. She is with her new paramour, a sporty gray tabby who uses an umbrella as a walking stick. He wears a natty bow and I must say, there’s something a little wicked in his smile. (She may regret this!) So enamored are they of each other that they don’t even see Mr. Orange Tom. The house in the background completes the story – our slick erstwhile gray tabby man is a homewrecker.
Back of the card.
The unnamed sender of this card appears to take advantage of the scene and gently tweaks, I shouldn’t have though you to have been so long without sending me a card. On the back it is addressed to, Master C. T. Travers, Woolfanger, Warlingham, Surrey. It was sent from London SW on March 20, 1905 at 12:15 AM. Not quite the sad tale of Wain’s cat woe, but still an appropriately chosen card. I assume it was to a child and that they would know immediately who would be writing this note from London. I’m sure he rushed to send a response and clearly this was kept somewhere safely since it has come down to us more than a hundred years later.
A new dahlia which waited to bloom for the first time when I wasn’t there! This bloom brought in before the storm and photo sent to me this morning.
The storm here continues apace – evidently into tomorrow. We ran some errands yesterday during a lull so I think we are positioned for a quiet day at home. Maybe some cleaning, lots of reading and perhaps a bit of cooking. I wish the same for all of you – especially those who are also in the line of this storm. Stay safe and have a cozy day if you can!
Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: It struck me this morning, looking at and reading this card, that the vast majority of the time people used these postcards for quick communication and never acknowledged the card. There are exceptions of course. On the other hand, someone liked the card enough to have kept it, right? It is an interesting sort of thing really.
I do not know the date this card was sent on, only 8:45 survives on the stamp cancellation. The note is to a Milly R. Jones, 64 Angus Street, Roath Park, Cardiff. The message is crammed and a bit urgent, Blaenavon, Monday, Received card shall expect you tomorrow by 8:30 train. Have lost this evenings post so if you do not get this in time come Wednesday same train. Love to all, Mildred. Then crammed at the top, Will send Ada to train. And around the side, tomorrow? Wednesday?
Well, on one hand we know that Mildred or someone in her household had the good taste to acquire this card which would ultimately contain this timely travel note, but of course no thought to it while writing this and getting it off to the post. A thank you to Milly (and her descendants?) for saving it though.
Back of card.
Of course it these three cats that made me buy it, the fluffy white Persian, the handsome all black kit and this little sort of tabby tuxie in the middle. It is a bit hard to tell but I feel like the middle cat is younger than the other two. Someone is off camera doing something which has caught there attention and they stare more or less in unison. They are perched on what appears to be a bit of carpet covering the table. The background is completely indistinct. Virtually invisible unless the light hits it right, at the top it declares, A Charming Trio. (I only saw it after I photographed it!) There is an equally indistinct Rotograph detail at the bottom.
At first I wondered if this was a photo of Mildred’s cats, but now that I see the title and details, clearly not. Meanwhile, I always wonder about the store of postcards people must have kept at the time, reaching randomly into a drawer and pulling one out when needed. Stocking up at the local newsagent with some Louis Wains or getting some photo postcards made for an occasion or just of the pets or farm animals.
The all black cat reminds me of Beauregard and the cat in the middle looks like my Peaches. I have posted about this little girl before – you can find that post here. She’s a pretty little thing and seems utterly content in her abode with four other cats. However, having had a very hard start at the beginning of her life (found in a basement alone where she had been howling for days before someone called Animal Control), she does not trust people at all and you cannot touch her or pick her up. Having said that, she will come to be fed and I find her coming in with the family when we are there and stretching and rolling in the middle of the room – content. But she will hiss at you if you get too close and run off in a huff. She is a cats only cat.
Peaches’s favorite spot is the front window in the living room and one of my neighbors commented on always seeing her there when she walks by. It is her command post and she can see outside and most of the house from there. Deep down, I always knew that the fact that we cannot catch her would be a problem and that arose this week.
Peaches took advantage of a few moments of the open screen door unobserved and hopped out into the yard. Luckily the yard is fenced and, although if she had gotten spooked enough, she could easily have climbed it, it kept her corralled there. It was however a stand-off between humans and cats. Other cats were secured in bedrooms and the door left open hoping she would stroll back in. However, skittish already and disoriented we couldn’t make it happen. We tried luring her with food, which she ate, but couldn’t get her inside.
Peaches this summer. This was the photo I posted.
I joined the local Facebook page and posted her photo in case she wandered out of the yard. I must say there were so many nice responses and some sound advice. It was very nice to see. She became a Fair Haven Facebook celebrity with many likes and reactions.
Day turned to evening and when we didn’t grab her at dinner time it was clear she was likely spending the night outside. I, who was in Manhattan for meetings at work I could not miss, prepared to head down to Fair Haven in the morning. Just as I was leaving the house I got the news that she was inside. A local man had come with a trap but before he could set it up she scampered inside – the desire for breakfast won out.
As this storm batters both New York City and the Jersey shore, I am so relieved she is inside! I guess my feelings about potentially losing her were complicated by the fact that she is a cat my mother left in my care. Although I try to do right by those kitties, juggling two houses and seven cats can be a big responsibility. Hopefully no one else there will test me further in the near future.
Pam’s Pictorama Post: This is one of the many books from a backbreaking pile we brought home from Bethesda where we purchased them at a grand and glorious used bookstore. (For last week’s post with pictures have a look here.) The store was enormous; the books were cheap and interesting. Today’s book is one Kim spotted in a pile of kid’s books, all neatly wrapped. His eagle eye spotted that the illustrations were by the genius illustrator, Garth Williams.
Copyright and other info on an inside front page. Joann hit this with a bit of red marker too.
I have written about two books illustrated by Garth Williams before. The first time I wrote about his illustrations was a book I reacquired as an adult called Push Kitty. It was a childhood favorite I had forgotten about and then remembered one day. It was easy to find a used copy on eBay and a real pleasure to see it again. It wasn’t until I looked through it as an adult that I realized that the memorable illustrations were by the same man who did those for books like Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web. (That post can be read here.)
Messy signature attempt by Joann. I remember though proudly writing my name here!
The second time I wrote about a Garth Williams illustrated book was A Cricket in Times Square. (The post can be found here.) This book with his illustrations remains one of my very favorite childhood discoveries. Garth Williams is sort of the platonic ideal of kid’s book illustrators for me and he was at the top of his game. The writer George Seldon’s story puts it at the top of the list. This book is my (albeit sort of odd) baby gift go to. (I secretly figure it will ensure kids growing up in New York City will want to stay here, while it will plant the idea in the minds of those whose parents were silly enough to move away that they have a hankering for the city. Yes, this is slightly subversive.) All I can say is if you haven’t read it, go right now to Amazon and pick up a copy and you will thank me.
That brings us to this little morsel today. Like virtually all of us I was raised on a shifting and vaguely never-ending pile of Little Golden Books. Having a sister two years older than me and a younger brother, Little Golden Books entered the house aplenty. Strangely I don’t actually remember buying them or where they came from at the time; they were just omnipresent. Perhaps I was just too little to remember. Such things, like many toys, came from variety stores rather than bookstores at the time.
A brilliant bunny illustration.
I have to imagine that Baby Farm Animals was in the Butler family library. According to my copy, the original copyright was 1953 (AI has this wrong and only has the later publication date of 1958, noted in this edition. Additionally strange that a small sticker on the front of the book – defacing it incidentally – identifies this as a first edition. Can’t anyone read?) Anyway, this means that as a small child I was already looking at a much-reprinted book. (Later editions and even brand news ones are easily available right now.) Other, later I assume, editions seem to feature just a single one of the animals on the cover – the bunny or the donkey.
Guinea pigs remain a staple of childhood pet owning I can assure you via my job.
There is however, still a thrill when I look at the gold and black pattern of a Little Golden Book spine. This one sold for a princely 25 cents originally. (Despite the price tag of $8 I paid $4 the other day.) The cover on this edition is an illustration all its own featuring highlights of the animals inside. The puppies are playing tug-o-war with a bit of string and the pig watches the ducklings eat a worm. A kitten is staring off into space at something (bird?) and a baby lamb and donkey are on either side of the baby calf featured at center.
The inside covers are the cheerful yellow print with animals I remember and a spot for This Little Golden Book belongs to…. Joann has attempted to write her name in this one with some red scribbles although she luckily contained herself to that page. Meanwhile someone else has liberally stamped their name and address throughout, James J. Clayton, 1415 S. Olden Ave, Trenton 10, NJ. That just seems odd and I can’t imagine why Mr. Clayton felt the need to do that.
I like that the kitten and puppy are taking a rid here.
Inside I learned that, The Little Golden Books are prepared under the supervision of MARY REED, Ph.D. Formerly of Teachers College, Columbia University. Below that, The pictures in this book are by Garth Williams, whose charming baby animas and simple text never fail to delight children. “Baby Farm Animals” has been a Golden Book favorite for many years. The publishers are happy to preset it now as a Little Golden Book. So perhaps it had an earlier publication life?
Kittens are of course a favorite.
I have favorites in this book which I am showing here. Not surprisingly the Baby Kittens [who] love playing on the farm. At nigh the farmer gives them fresh cow’s milk and they curl up together in the big red barn. I especially like the little tuxie cleaning himself although the gray one playing with a bug is pretty hotsy totsy too. However, for illustrations the rabbit on the next page blows me away. So fluffy and there is a point made about him being friends with the kittens and puppies although I wouldn’t want to put that to a test.
Those ugly ducklings that will be swans featured here.Baby ducklings and chicks even out the avian lot.
Beyond that guinea pigs are featured – a mainstay of childhood pets it seems although it as a farm animal seems like a bit of a stretch. Ducklings and chicks are on facing pages, all downy cuteness. And it interests me that he has both cygnets and goslings and mentions that one will grow into a swan and the other a goose. (Trumpet of the Swan anyone?) For Pam’s picks, the two pages of piglets are next – bringing us back to Wilbur, the man could draw a sweet looking baby pig!
Ah! His beautiful pigs!
The animals get bigger in size toward the end of the book – a horse, a pony (who won’t grow much bigger…) and ending with a baby calf. The end paper has a list of all the Little Golden Books you could order (with an order number) and I remember pouring over this list and the little illustrations around the edges. Bugs Bunny! Bambi! I wanted them all. (Was it a conscious decision that we didn’t have any of the ones with popular characters? Somehow I think it was more coincidence or unconscious on Mom’s part.)
The fascinating end paper which always captured my delighted attention.
The back cover is very worn and features Giant Little Golden Books. These bigger books offer almost triple the value of a comparable Little Golden Book and cost 50 cents each.
Very worn back cover.
For me although the incentive was definitely Garth Williams, it was nice indeed to have a trip through a Little Golden Book again as well. Simon and Schuster held onto this imprint until it was purchased by Penguin in 2013 and now they continue to produce the line.
This turned out to be a long one so thanks to those of you who made it through!
Pam’s Pictorama Post: Another on the fly post as we finish day one of the SPX con and head into the second and final day. Today we hopped out of the hotel early and jumped into an uber to explore a rather promising bookstore I had read about.
While Second Story Books (here) has several stores, it happens that their warehouse venue is right near our hotel. I didn’t know what to expect and it is hard to say what it compares to.
Panel on Underground Comics: Yesterday and Today at SPX yesterday.
It is very large, with bookshelves in rows that run about 7 feet high. The sorting system was a bit opaque at first. I saw many interesting old volumes but was frustrated at first to find that Fiction mostly meant books of relatively recent vintage.
Further book aquisitions.
I began to think that maybe it was another interesting and perhaps ill conceived decision and that nothing would come from it. However, as I got the hang of the different classifications and nooks and crannies where early long forgotten fiction might reside, my pile began to slowly grow. Between Kim and I (mostly me) I feel like we are more or less taking home our body weight in books, as shown above. The real news is that when we checked out everything was 50% off the price marked and that made me want to go back and buy even more!
Kim leafing through some comic books at Second Story Books.
We came back to the con having just opened its doors and so we dove in to get an overview. Now, given how comics adjacent I am, perhaps I should not say this, but I rarely purchase new comics at cons. Maybe there is something I have read about and waited to pick up, or the book of a friend, or a reprint I want but considering that 96% of every con is small presses or individuals hawking their wares, I really don’t transact with them. Frankly I don’t find it an enviroment which encourages finding new work that interests me.
Art Hondros’s table.
However, much to my surprise, right out of the bag Dot of the Mid Century caught my eye. This book by Art Hondros, a series I think of 5 now, is his attempt to honor the story of his great aunt who lived in Baltimore and was employed repairing manniquins. (When I think about it it surprises me a bit that manniquins break routininly enough to employ someone repairing them, but then again I have seen a lot of busted manniquins too.)
Boxes of pulps – 75% off!Kim and Tim Lane.
Well, I haven’t read it but Art looks like he can draw the heck out of a story. While I was talking to him about Dot, Kim was looking at another book, Legion of the Damned which is adapted from a lost silent film from 1928 by William Wellman starring Gary Cooper and Fay Wray! Wow! We purchased both and I spent the rest of the day telling everyone about him as he seems like quite a find. (He knew Kim’s work but seems to have only ever read Hollywoodland – a fine book but a bit rarified as not the easiest to get. Ed: the subsequent reading gives Dot the thumbs up and Legion of the Damned not so much.)
Endless shelves of books!
This con is big – larger than New York’s MoCCA although smaller than Comic Con and without the big budget films, animation and COS play element. It is pure comics albeit small press ones.
Eventually we needed to collapse and have lunch in the hotel restaurant. While we were nibbling on our shrimp roll and crab dip, Gary Groth brought Tim Lane over to meet Kim. Kim is a big fan of Tim’s work and the feeling is mutual so they jumped right into a conversation until it was time for them to go off to lunch. While Kim headed up to the room I went in search of a warm cardigan with a friend who stopped by. Despite the DC heat and humidity, it is freezing in the hotel – especially in the rooms where the panels are being held. I was tipped off and since even the Amtrak seemed over-ac’ed I found my way to Uniqlo and bought and oversized cardigan which I gratefully wrapped around me at Kim’s pan
Shelves of books at Second Story Books where I spent most of my time and money!
I think Kim and I were pretty surprised at the energy in the room and were regretting not getting a smidge more down time. Like a sprint that turns into a marathon. Signing gave way to a panel – John Kelly, Kim, Denis Kitchen, along with two younger women who both seem very interesting Raquelle Jac and Heather Loase. The subject was underground comics at their origin versus now.
We are kicking today off with a tour of Warren Bernard’s personal collection – I am very excited for some Felix! After that it is more con ahead and then finally home to Deitch Studio NYC and Cookie and Blackie.
Pam’s Pictorama Post: As I write this we are on an Amtrak speeding toward Washington, DC. We have just consumed sandwiches from Vesuvios in Penn Station which were remarkably good if also incredibly expensive. However, you can pay a lot for mediocre or even bad food in Manhattan, let alone in Penn Station, so I am satisifed. (Simultaneous with writing this Kim informed me that his sandwich was not as good – sometimes it pays to be a vegetarian.)
Most of you know that we are making our way to our nation’s capital where tomorrow (yesterday to when this is likely to be published on Saturday) for Kim to speak at the Library of Congress. Yay Team Deitch!
Needless to say, this has resulted in Kim grinding away at a talk about the arc of his career. He has it constructed in long hand on large sheets of paper tucked into the front pocket of our rollerbag. With a huge tip of the hat to our friend Bill (@kartalopoulos) who pulled together the core of the images for us, we managed to add about 40 slides to it. (I will spare you the drama of some of the assembly!)
The group enjoying the display at the Library of Congress.
Early this morning we placed poor Blackie in the bathroom of our apartment where he will sadly be imprisoned for the next four days. Because he requires shots and is a skilled hider we could not figure out another solution that would ensure that the cat sitter (a lovely brother and sister duo from work) cat snag him and give him a shot. I can only say this didn’t go especially well and I remain concerned about him – and the bathroom door which he is clearly clawing his way through.
We kick off tonight with a signing after we get settled at the hotel for a bit – assuming this train chugs along as expected. The balance of the weekend is spent at the SPX small press convention. Kim has been twice before but it is my first time. I hope to be showing you some excellent bookstores and an antique store I have scoped out for our down time.
Friday dawned rainy but the sun came out and the humidty rose. We were treated to a splendid special selection of comics from the Library of Congress collection. Mind blowing to see Popeyes, Yellow Kids and Gasoline Alley cheek by jowl with Roy Crane and Krazy Kat – they had a daily Krazy Kat, love the dailies!
Then off to Kim’s talk. Lots of gentle ribbing about me getting him into a new suit for the event and he did look extremely handsome. Kim took us through 60 years of comics in his How I Got My Start in Art, chock-a-block full of about 40 odd images. There was plenty of time for questions and even a few were thrown my way which was sort of fun.
Kim’s relief at being done was palpable! We join a large swath of the group for celebratory pizza for lunch. After I took us on a bit of a goose chase to an enclave of antique stores and an rather superior used bookstore. Wild goose chase because although it was close to the hotel it was far from where we had lunch. Nonetheless, purchases were made (Kim is tucking into a Howard Fast book on Valley Forge and a bio of the director Carol Reed; I am sporting a jade ring in rose gold and reading a British juvenile series, The Five Series – more on that if worthy.)
Tonight was the celebration of the 50th year of Fantagraphics, Kim’s publisher, and we toasted them and now let the con begin!
Pam’s Pictorama Post: Yesterday I highlighted our day trip to Asbury Park as part of our summer vacation in New Jersey this year. (That post can be found here.) Today I just have some bits and pieces from the rest of our time off – some lovely visits with friends who came to stay for a few days and our wanderings into town, our annual visit to the local fireman’s fair (prior posts on the fair can be read here and here) and of course my adventures in gardening.
Butler yard produce, such as it is.
I am afraid I must report that gardening this year didn’t pan out especially well on the vegetable front – my sweet peppers have consistently been sneakily consumed, hollowed out by the likes, I believe, of a particular chipmunk who I spy daily (or a rotating cast of chipmunk characters), who teases me hopping around the deck every morning. Only my hot peppers (two varieties of jalapenos and one banana pepper) have performed admirably – the critters having tested them and realized that they were indeed too spicey. A few measly cherry tomatoes and a single full sized one round out the produce. Sigh.
My favorite dahlia – red, pink and white.
Meanwhile half the dahlias have had the good grace to bloom while I am here, the other half have buds but are holding out. I especially adore this red, pink and white one and the hummingbirds share my enthusiasm – they and the butterflies stop for long drinks of nectar there and I find bees drunk with the pollen as they roll around in them.
Senor Peppers!
I commuted longer than usual before vacation on this trip and Kim and I discovered Senor Peppers restaurant and take out across from the train station. A little careful planning and I could place our dinner order when the train hit the station before mine and by the time we got to Red Bank our order was just about ready.
Rare night on the porch.
Ice cream ran a close second to Mexican food this summer and I discovered that Nicholas Creamery does a powerful peach ice cream which rivals Ryan’s, my go to until now. The Creamery has the great advantage however of being within walking distance of the house. We further explored blackberry and lemon pie flavors (thank you Deva for pushing us out of our comfort zone) which were wonderful, but peach is still my go to.
Old tin mugs I purchased. I have a very fond memory of one at my grandmother’s house and I sort of can’t resist them.
The weather ran to rain (after some extreme heat) which meant I had fewer beloved evenings out on the deck although we did sneak a few in at the end.
The rather jolly interior of one of the Mexican restaurants we went to in Red Bank.
A trip to Red Bank with our friend Bill resulted in several purchases. He and Kim did some buying at the comic book store, but I had my go at the Antique Annex. Among my purchases were: a cat picture (future post), a copy of Peggy Parker, Girl Inventor, some silverware (yes, I bought Bakelite silverware in Asbury and some silver flatware in Red Bank – we’ve been suffering a loss of silverware in the NYC apartment), and a rather extraordinary pink glass with images of stars on it.
Just love this and would like to research it a bit.
A later trip to Red Bank (taking Bill to the train) resulted in a real discovery – a new independent bookstore opened there in the last few months. Tucked on a side street called Monmouth it is called Crazy Story Books. It is large and well stocked and I look forward to many happy hours of shopping there.
A few select other dahlias.
Last night we hit the first night of the Fireman’s Fair. Kim and I took our favorite ride on a firetruck around the neighborhood and threw caution to the wind and went on a rather nutty, jarring ride in some flying saucer cars. We bought raffle tickets and of course lost and ended the evening with veggie burgers at our local diner. If I haven’t mentioned it before, the fireman’s fair which runs about a week, is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country and raises almost all of the annual funding for our (largely volunteer) fire and first aid. (A prior post about this fireman’s fair and its history can be found here.)
A ride on a fire engine!
Fireman’s Fair fun.
Kim’s distance walking has improved over our vacation and just today we walked into town and back – yay! So it is time to pack the New York kitties up and head back to Manhattan. I suspect this won’t get posted until after we are back there tomorrow. We need to gather up our dress duds and get ready for our trip to Washington on September 10 and Kim’s talk there so more to come about that soon too.
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Posting this shortly after arriving back in New York. Cats are recuperating under and on the bed. Unpacking (and lunch) up next!
Pam’s Pictorama Post: This is my first round-up post about our summer days here in New Jersey. Our time here started a bit early (my friend who cares for the New Jersey cats went to Jamaica for a few weeks) with Kim working here and me commuting. Our two weeks of real vacation wraps tomorrow when we head back to Manhattan – again a bit early to accommodate Kim’s gig speaking at the Library of Congress and then SPX the second week in September. I will need to travel back to New Jersey in late September or early October if I want to see the last of my dahlias bloom however – several have stuck stalwartly to buds only.
Photo strips.
Last weekend I seized the opportunity for Kim and I to grab a ride with a friend to Asbury Park. Kim had never been and I had investigated and found a few junk stores potentially worth checking out there. The Asbury of my childhood has receded almost entirely into the background of pricey new condos, townhouses and shore hotels superimposed on it.
Maybe a future post on this little gem!
We didn’t go to Asbury, or its kissing cousin across the lake Ocean Grove often (or nearly often enough for me), as a kid. I remember going to a doctor there and also a sort of girl scout outing there. We were taken to the amusement pier for a bit although it was largely closed down. (The other feature of that day is we made candles – I have no memory of exactly how all this matched up.) Seeing the pier and the then defunct Merry-Go-Round, lives in memory however and I always itched to go back but it was a little too far and a bit too rough around the edges for my folks to bother taking us. Somehow by the time I was in high school my crowd wasn’t one for going to the Stone Pony and we never got in the habit of going down there.
A sort of average view from the interior of the Antiques Emporium.I really wanted this weird jug but evidently, I have very good taste and he was too pricey!
Kim is still recovering his distance walking and I wasn’t sure how much we could cover of the pier on this hot day, so we started at a smattering of junk and vintage clothing stores (and one rather superior used comics store), in a little downtown area with a larger antique annex next to it. After Kim bought some paperbacks at the comics store, we wandered to the annex. It is one largeish floor. The pickings seemed a bit thin at first but somehow as always, we came away with some interesting bits including this rather lovely plate of Psyche (shown here) and some Bakelite forks and spoons for the apartment in Manhattan. Kim came away with several Gene Autry novels he regrets buying. (He does not appear to regret the paperbacks however.)
I think all these came from our Asbury junket!
While we looked for a place to eat lunch we stumbled on a photo booth, and I insisted that we take photos. They are catnip for me; I can’t pass one without stopping.
Views of the pizza place and a period movie theater playing revivals.
We wandered a bit more and I saw a pizza place in a rather extraordinary old building and snapped these pics. However, in the end we decided on Mexican food. (This has been a bit of a theme for this vacation – we’ve eaten a lot of good Mexican food. Many Mexicans have settled in the area and there is no shortage of great places in Red Bank as well as this one in Asbury.)
Close to a train station, Asbury Park has clearly become a spot for day trippers and weekenders coming for a shore weekend even as their great grandparents may have. Every shop carries copious copies of Weird New Jersey magazine and absolutely every place is playing Bruce Springsteen – the ultimate in native son made good. We visited a shop that appears to specialize in occult publications – Bruce playing there as well (is it one loop somehow piped into all the shops?) but they had a very impressive Zoltar fortune telling machine which I gave a shot for a quarter.
My fortune was very non-descript, but his delivery was well worth the price of admission.
After lunch we walked to the boardwalk. Despite it being the afternoon and sunny, a breeze found its way, off the ocean or the small lake, which made it a pleasant walk. Asbury is beach and the ocean on one side and what they call lakes (small fingers of water) on the other two sides. Old pedestrian walkway bridges, as well as roads, cross them and this feature also always stuck with me from childhood. My grandmother’s preferred, red church was on the outskirts of one side, closer to her home in Long Branch and the town of Ocean Grove is to the south.
Some views of the old buildings in a state of decay or being repaired?
We walked along the south lake to the boardwalk and examined some of the old buildings, in various states of disrepair, there without making it all the way up to the original pier and bathing pavilion which appears to also be the process of renovation.
View of Ocean Grove from the water.
Heading back to where we were being picked up we walked along the Ocean Grove side. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, Ocean Grove is a Methodist camp founded in 1869. Maintained impeccably as a Victorian architecture gem and historic site, with its summer tent inhabitants, has held a dual fascination for the area which I have never had sufficient opportunity to explore. We could see old hotels on the ocean front, still in use, with wide porches with views that must incorporate sea and town in all directions.
Swan pedal boats as the sun started to head down.
In my mind these two towns have had a sort of remarkable Cain and Abel existence all these years. Cheek to jowl, the religious community which doesn’t even allow cars to drive through it on Sunday is a stone’s throw from the music venues and biker bars (we only saw one biker bar while we were there although my guess is that there are still a number of them tucked away) of Asbury. One can’t help but wonder how many Ocean Grove inhabitants sneaked quikely across the river on a Friday or Saturday night in summer for a different kind of fun.
Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today is a (somewhat) rare Pictorama painting post. Mostly these seem to be summer New Jersey posts as this is the home with enough wall space for paintings. Some of you may remember my pig painting purchase post from last summer (post can be found here), although cats are more typical and prior posts of some of those acquisitions can be found here and here.
Having said that, this one was acquired from a seller in Britain (@oldstockantiques, his website can be found here), via Instagram and has sat, still in the shipping wrapping in the New York apartment for several month until it could come out here. As a result, when I unpacked it I felt a bit like I was seeing it for the first time all over again. (Good thing my taste is consistent!) There are actually others still to come (largely but not all cats by far), but we start here today with this one which is my favorite.
I don’t know if you can see it from the photo but this painting is old and the surface is a bit reptilian in places as the top layer has crazed and crawled over time. I would guess that this top layer is actually a glaze and there might have been a moment when removing it and replacing it made sense but I think that day has passed and it doesn’t really impact the enjoyment of looking at it. The frame, which I like very much, came with the painting and from the back I would say they have been together for a good long time.
As you can see from the back, this painting was done on an old form of prepared board (Academy Boards prepared for oil painters it says) and sold by Geo. Rowney & Co. 18 Rathbone Place, London. I believe I have purchased both Rowney pastels and oil paints in my life. The nails holding it in are new but I think that is gratis the seller, along with the bit of string and hooks to hang it. It appears not to be signed, front or back although I won’t say there wasn’t something that is now obscured by the crawling surface.
Back of the painting.
To start, there is something about the pupil dilated wide-eyed look of this kitten that draws me in – I always think that it is as if he truly was asked to pose amongst this wild assortment of fruit and flowers and is wondering what the heck is going on. The cat is well done although we really only see his vaguely peevish head (note ear askew too) and sort of a nod to the rest of him – there is a bit of paw where the crazing is bad on the right side. A few trumpet lilies are at the top and wandering down to these somewhat oversize peaches, an oddly too small avocado (with a giant pit) and some grapes that look a bit like they are of the glass rather than the food variety.
Kitty is of course a tabby, pink nosed and bewhiskered. I would say the article was a better cat and flower painter than a fruit one. There is a moody background too – a sort of sunset horizon and a darkening cloudy sky – also a victim of the surface to some degree. I would say a careful look suggests that there are bits of blue sky among the dark clouds.
It may sound funny to say since I am far from being a kid, but I have only recently given myself license to buy paintings. I mean, I have made paintings, sculpture, prints and certainly photos myself, however the act of purchasing paintings always seemed like something only grown ups like my parents did. I have bought art on paper (in large quantities as you know) but never paintings. It took inheriting a house along with some paintings to prompt thinking about it as an option.
In my mind purchasing paintings was always something my father did. From the earliest time I can remember Dad (almost always him and only occasionally Mom) brought paintings home. He was a particular sucker for a seascape (future post on that), but also an eye for landscapes – never figures. Dad had a good eye. I wouldn’t say we have the same eye but nonetheless, the paintings he purchased are good ones and I have them up in the house now. It is nice to find an avenue of collecting like this so late in the game and it will be interesting to see what I can come up with.
Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Today is the first day of vacation. First thing this moring I wandered outside in my pj’s, admired the dahlias and some just emerging zinnias and popped a few ripe strawberries in my mouth while the coffee finished perking in the kitchen. I have fortified myself with one of my friend’s popover, provided earlier this week, and now I sit with my second cup of coffee (coffee so good this morning I texted a friend that I felt like I was swilling it) and share this new favorite card with you.
Strawberry plants offer a few nibbles every morning.
I purchased this postcard just before we left New York and it has just made its way here from Britain. I haven’t acquired one of these big kitty chair photos in a very long time. This cat chair is a bit smaller than some and sitting sidesaddle on him seems quite easy. My very favorite part is the way she is holding onto his (her?) little round cat ears!
The woman is wearing a white dress and sandals and she is dressed a bit differently than the general sort of togs we see in these holiday photos. (Early examples from my collection can be found in posts here, here and here for comparison.) The woman is smiling sort of placidly – a good sport but not embracing it quite as much as I think I might have given the opportunity. (I would have been bouncing with excitement!)
Meanwhile, Kitty is a bit bowlegged which gives him an especially cheerful look. He has a ribbon around his neck and a Steiff-y sewn on nose and mouth. We can barely see it, but kitty has a big fluffy tail up behind her. There is some vegetation in the background and what appears to be ivy climbing up a stone wall. This doesn’t have the seashore feel that some of these have and as I said before, this appears to be a somewhat smaller cat so likely a different location although obviously it is a resort area of sorts. This card was never mailed so we don’t have any sense of date or precise location. Oddly it has a narrow fold at the very top like maybe it was kept in a book and sticking out just the slightest bit.
The dahlias in the garden have either gone plumb wild or not come up. It’s an odd year.
I am savoring the delicious moment of my entire vacation stretching ahead of me. All things are possible at the beginning, and it is a cool morning here in New Jersey which beckons us outside. My dahlias are blooming and the red ones in particular are attracting my favorites, the hummingbirds. (I have not captured them in a photo and am unlikely to as they are so mercurial.) Evenings under the fairy lights are ahead as well as good food and friends visiting, cats to be fed and petted. More to come but enjoy this grand kitty chair for now.
Pam’s Picotrama Photo Post: As I write I have the pleasure of being on an immobile NJ transit train, having sacrificed breakfast to hop on it and now am just sitting. They have informed us that we are held for an indefinite period. There is a young man who has taken off his shoes and is playing loud music on his phone – he thoughtfully turns it off for the overhead announcements about not know how long we will be here. For some reason he also keeps yanking his trouser leg up to obsessively scratch his calves.
I stayed in New York last night to have dinner with a friend who is sick and it was a rare chance to see her so I cannot regret it. Dinner, after a rather biblical rain last night, ran too late for a train back to New Jersey but now I am regretting not trying for it.
Friday commute into NYC. A better day.
All that being said I have whipped out my laptop to share this recently acquired treat with you. This family was having a far superior summer morning in England some time about 100 years ago. This card was never mailed and nothing has been written on it.
Shortly after writing that it became clear that no trains were leaving Penn Station for the foreseeable future and the lack of internet on the train, making further decisions difficult at best, meant that I packed myself up again and went back upstairs. What followed was a series of mishaps, breakfast with a friend who lives nearby and a hot more or less five-hour journey on a very hot day to our house in New Jersey, less than an hour and a half away under normal circumstances. Not sure if it was breakfast, dinner the night before or the heat, but my tummy started to scream in protest. All this ended in bed and a book for the remainder of the day after getting home and sadly, no Pictorama Post for you all. My sincere apologies!
This photo postcard deserves our full attention, however. It has been long time since I bought a Felix photo card and this is a worthy entry.
Dahlias this morning.
Our featured family is in clear focus while the rest of the scene is a soft blur. The sun is pretty high in the sky it seems – a rare sunny day on a British holiday we’ll assume. Dad looks a tad uncomfortable dressed in a full suit and tie, complete with dark socks and heavy shoes, sitting in the sand nonetheless. Somehow mom looks more comfortable in her layers of dress and hat despite the many layers which we would never sport at the beach, although it does keep sun exposure to a safe minimum. The smaller of the two children has got Felix by the ear and may even be holding him up. This Felix, while very jaunty, he is even tinier than the kid.
The older boy, who I assume was the primary architect of this magnificent sand structure, is also in a jacket along with his short pants, high socks and cap. He looks very pleased with himself.
Popped one strawberry in my mouth but several others ready soon if I can beat the birds and animals to them.
The sandcastle is more pyramid than castle, aside from its decorative topper which I somehow assume was a sand mold or toy with a sort of castle scene on it when you look very carefully. The tunnel under the structure makes me think of cars passing through.
Mom perches on a beach chair, other chairs are scattered about. There is a sort of mysterious stack of planks (?) behind here, other beach goers are behind them (also in hats and British layers) off into the distance – I see a little girl digging to the far left. All the way to the back is a high wall.
A banana peppers a brought in this morning. Animals appeared to attempt to eat them but found them too hot.
The registration number is would have been tracked by is both in the upper left and lower left corners – presumably how the family’s card found its way to them. The card has been sloppily placed to the right side of the card with a fat margin on the left but very little on the right.
I am better this morning and it is a pretty day here in New Jersey – making up for the journey yesterday! My pepper plants (green peppers, jalapenos and banana peppers) are full of peppers, the tomatoes are trying their best and the dahlias are blooming. The recent hard rain damaged some of the nascent blooms but they are coming back! Here’s to a quiet summer day at the Jersey shore and in the garden.
