Yearly Felix, the Annuals: Part One

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today’s Pictorama post is brought to you with love and thanks to our friend Bruce Simon who contributed this to the Pictorama archive recently. (Yay and thank you Bruce!) Bruce, involved in all things cartoon, comic and animation has been a decades long friend to Deitch Studio, but known Kim even longer. He has previously plied me with a supply of wonderful early cartoons – Felix, Krazy and others.

Bruce, his wife Jackie and their peppy pup live on the west coast so we are mostly online and postal pals these days, although we look forward to their upcoming sojourn to NYC in June and also perhaps seeing them at our trip to Comic Con in July. (Kim and I heading out to Comic Con this year as he is receiving an Eisner lifetime achievement award – certainly a future travel post there!)

Onto Felix however and this wonderful little item. An interesting Pictorama secret is that I actually own several of these annuals, three came in the group buy from an auction last year. In addition, I own a few other extremely rarified ones that are not Felix related and all of these will likely make their way into future posts.

*Endpapers for this 1925 Felix Annual. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

While I have tackled my Pip, Squeak and Wilfred annuals (one early post can be found here and another here) I am a bit confounded by conveying the wealth of Felix entertainment in one of these volumes. Virtually every page is sort of a gem – either early Messmer strips or those beloved boxy off-model Felix-es supplied by a British artist. Felix’s British alter ego. I don’t mean to be stingy, just a bit overwhelming to feel I am doing them justice. Let’s see how I do today.

I think Felix is Easter ready on the cover of this 1925 annual (a nod to those of you who are celebrating today) with his basket of fish instead of Easter eggs! This is the great squared off Felix which I note above and ongoing readers know how much I like a square Felix! He is stealing away with the fisherman’s catch, the fisherman is either so deeply involved in his rod or nodding off – I can’t tell.

1925 appears to be the second year of the annuals and for some reason it is said to be less available, although you could buy one right now from what I can see. They are said to have lasted at least through 1929, which would give me all but one of them if true. Published through the Daily Sketch and Sunday Herald Ltd. the years of publication are nowhere in evidence in these books. For the devoted reader these can be had if a tad dear.

*Title page. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

*Damaged back page. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

While the book is made up largely of black and white, presumably Sunday, strips, there are what I assume are British produced full color plates throughout which almost, loosely tell a story too. Then there is a center spread of four or so strips which are printed in red and black. This seems to roughly be the format of these annuals. It is interesting to me that the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred ones ran so much longer than Felix, despite his popularity. Those have a run from roughly ’22-’39. The British comics reading public did love their annuals however.

This volume also has hand painted embellishments on a few pages from a well meaning child. This is also very common indeed and not a surprise to anyone who collects children’s volumes of any kind.

The inside front and back covers are the same goofy design where Felix seems to have ascended to the heavens where he is surrounded by good things to eat (including mice) and admired by an anonymous cat below. There is also a front and back plate of him – sadly the back one is marred by a strange remnant of something unidentified which is on several pages of the book.

These annuals were sturdy in their construction – well bound and with thick pages. Even with that some of the pages in this 100 year old volume are worn right through with years of thumbing. The back outside cover is a not especially interesting ad for Ovaltine.

The comics within are worthy and I am enjoying reading them in bits here and there. I am more a fan of daily strips than Sundays in general, but these are fun and very much like the cartoons.

I promise more to come on these, but I hope today has been a tantalizing taste.

Aspirational

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: It’s a rare, I don’t own ’em but wish I did post here at Pictorama today. To the extent that I have set ground rules here, one general one is that if I feature it I own it. (Some readers will remember that I broke it recently to bring you a wonderful cat chair photo. It was a family photo which a reader shared with me and the post can be found here.)

However, to some degree rules exist to be broken and this image came to me both via Mel Birnkrant (his endlessly fascinating FB page can be found here – it is a rabbit hole to go down and possibly never emerge from) and some folks sent it to me via both the Old London FB page and also via X (that we used to call Twitter). The caption reads, Felix the Cat dolls leaving their Acton factory, 100 years ago.

Allow me to start by saying this image just floors me altogether. Admittedly, Felix lust immediately filled my soul! Oh the riches of the past! Truckloads of precious, giant Felix dolls making their way from Acton, out into the 1924 world of of extremely fortunate children and itinerant photographers.

It is also of interest to me to learn that at least one factory making these dolls was in Acton. Unlike the bit of history I uncovered previously (in a post from 2015 I very much favor and can be found here) which indicated that unemployed women were given jobs making smaller ones in a factory on the East End of London. Acton is a suburban area to the west so now I know Felix was being made all over London.

These are truly splendid huge Felix toys. Are they large enough to be the ones people posed with? Could be, but hard to say. If for kids, very luxe indeed. I certainly have photos of people posing with this size Felix although it isn’t the very largest size which I judge to be about the size of a midget. However, over time my collection has come to include period photos from British beach resorts with Felix dolls smaller than these. (A post on the one above can be found here.) None of the dolls in my collection (yet!) reach these size of the ones in the truck. Hope springs eternal however.

*An admittedly soft grab off the film, but a nice close up of the Felixes.*

While chatting with Mel and researching this earlier today, I realized that this is actually a British Pathé newsreel short. It can be seen in its entirety here. (I was unable to place the video here – I am experiencing mechanical stupidity today.) Note the unruly little fellow who looks like he wants to make a break for it by falling off the cart.

Of interest that most of these Felix toys were sensibly wrapped in brown paper, precious little parcels being piled up. However, someone must have realized that some should fill the back unpacked in order to get this wonderful image.

I think what I have here is actually a frame grab rather than a still, although hopefully stills do exist so I have a chance at one some day in the future.

*Bookplate not in Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

While we are having a posting moment focused on things shared but not owned, I am adding this Felix-y bookplate which came to me via J. J. Sedelmaier a few weeks ago. It would appear that Mr. Lowell and our cartoon friend shared a moniker. I assume he had these made – very pro job though. A nicely squared off, early looking Felix here. Something sort of smart about how his hand rests on the edge of the “shelf” and the lettering. Oh for the days of book ownership pride which would result in special bookplates like this!

Back to stuff I own next week!

Riding the Pink Elephant

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: It’s the great Valentine reveal. It’s a post-Valentine’s Day bounty today with this glorious page Kim made for me! For any new readers who aren’t familiar with our ritual, every year since we first started dating, Kim has made me a Valentine which is a sort of combined birthday and Valentine’s Day gift. (Some prior year posts can be found here, here and here.) These have grown in complexity over time.

This year is a bit different and really is like a full page story. I love that the way we are celebrating 30 years together is to ride a magic pink elephant! Yes! It has really been exactly like this.

*My 2017 Valentine! Pams-Pictorama.com collection.*

I’m pleased that Waldo even makes a rare Valentine’s appearance. I won’t say he hasn’t shown up before, but spending Valentine’s Day with us isn’t his usual beat. Of course he’s evidently responsible for inciting the elephant to charge while we cling to our perch – which is secured by a belt of hearts. Despite the gravity of our situation hearts bubble up all around as well – perhaps a dream? No way – I assure you, this is life at Deitch Studio.

Despite the fact that I spend the whole page wearing a nightgown, I am here as in life, the more practical of the two of us. Although Kim does maintain extraordinary calm in times of duress as illustrated – Don’t worry he always gets away.

*2020 was a very Felix-y year for my Valentine! Pams-Pictorama.com collection.*

Sort of funny that he has depicted me with my eyeglasses on in bed and even when we kiss in profile at the bottom. (I generally only wear them in bed to watch tv as I am a no eyeglass book reader person, at least for now. Talk to me again in a few years.) The page culminates at the bottom with us in bed reflecting on the adventure.

*This box Kim decorated for me many years ago (and I posted about in 2015) inspired this year’s color scheme.*

The word always plays throughout the page. It starts at the top with Kim, then I say it – and Kim does again and the whole page culminates with it in red. It brings us to the tune of the Irving Berlin hit Always. In 1925 Berlin wrote it for his wife (and gave her the royalties which certainly did not turn out to be insignificant) as a wedding gift. The lyrics are:

Everything went wrong,
And the whole day long
I'd feel so blue.
For the longest while
I'd forget to smile,
Then I met you.
Now that my blue days have passed,
Now that I've found you at last -

I'll be loving you Always
With a love that's true Always.
When the things you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I will understand
Always.
Always.

Days may not be fair Always,
That's when I'll be there Always.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
But Always.


Or if you prefer, the Bing Crosby version can be found below.

Or a less brisk version by Deanna Durbin can be found here.

Cookie and Blackie make an appearance having zoomies through the bottom – perhaps racing for the best spot at the foot of the bed, or more likely getting out of the way of our gooey human kissing as cats will.

Life here at Deitch Studio is a wild ride, but always my only very favorite place to be. Thank you sweetheart and here’s to the next 30!

I Dream of Thee at Night

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: I am in New Jersey and mulling through a few postcards and photos that I have here, deciding what I want to treat you all to today. This postcard comes from a friend in Canada who occasionally releases a few tidbits from his collection for purchase. This postcard was in a small lot I purchased a few months back. It has an unfortunate tear. Think of it as a Valentine’s Day warm up.

There is writing all over this card but I am unable to decode much of it. It appears that it was sent by someone’s Aunt Brik? The back is addressed to a Miss Ruthie Thompson at an illegible address in Toronto, Canada. Despite the address, there is no postmark and just a spot where a one cent stamp was requested.

*Another example of Sullivan’s work. Not in Pams-Pictorama.com collection.*

The title at the top is a big high toned for the scrappy black cat pictured as the love interest of this beribboned white haired boy kitty who says, Come and Kiss Me. An irate fellow (perhaps trying to sleep) is at the window getting ready to pitch something at them. An anthropomorphic moon looks on, concerned. A cartoon balloon over the white cat says, Come and kiss me!

*Another pithy postcard by Sullivan. Not in my collection.*

This card is one in a series of cards by the artist, P. D. Sullivan. As below, each of the cards in this series has a pithy phrase at the top. While these other cards turned up, no biographical information appeared on the same search. However, it seems like he was quite prolific.

*Tiny stickers, largest is about two inches high. Pams-Pictorama.com collection*.

Packed in with this card and a few other things, were these two small but sort of wonderful cat stickers. While both are common images, they are small but nice! Back in the day I would have wanted tons of these to decorate envelopes, cards and notes! They have glue on the back and would have become sticky with a bit of water from a sponge or tip of the tongue, a somewhat antiquated idea I guess too – in a world where even postage stamps peel and press on.

Another Fine Felix Photo

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: While I always find a Felix photo postcard day a rare treat here at Pictorama, I am never sure you all quite share my enthusiasm! Today’s addition to my ever growing collection of these cards is the result of a tip by one of my Instagram pals, Baileigh Faucz Hermann (@baileighfaucz.h) who I have purchased photos from in the past (a few of the posts about those photos can be found here and here) and I couldn’t be more grateful.

As is usually the case with these, this card was never mailed and there is nothing written on the back.

*Pams-Pictorama.com collection – an addition to the collection back in ’22.*

While it appears that this postcard could have benefitted from less tired developer back in the day, it is still a prize for this roving eyed Felix who exhibits a sort of overbite and who stands quite chummy with this small child who is only barely contained in his chair. It probably isn’t an utter reach to say that the child is in swim shoes and perhaps a beach costume of sorts.

Behind the kids and Felix is a wooden table with an attractive pot, some stairs. The grounds seems to be sandy so likely a beachside resort. The child’s chair is just his size an Felix is the right size for him too.

****

As I write this, I am on a NJ transit train on a Friday night, heading to Fair Haven after a long week at work. This is the first time I am going to New Jersey since the time we were all here over the holidays and since I started at the new job. So much has happened it seems like more than a few weeks!

*Geraniums which have died back and now are getting ready to go back out in the spring!*

The new job is starting to take root. I am finding my way around better – although yesterday I went in an out door and I must remember that hospitals are like restaurants that way! Still, people are getting used to me and I am getting used to them too. I don’t yet have a place to pick up breakfast, but I have laid in supplies for lunches for the week via Trader Joe’s down the street.

Meanwhile, the train is crowded and it is already dark out as it is early in winter, although it seems the official word of the groundhog this morning is that spring is on the way,

Feline Greetings from Fair Haven

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today is the annual Christmas card reveal. clearly this year we celebrate the whole Butler crew, all eight kitties, including Hobo.

We are ensconced here at Oxford Avenue for the holiday duration this year. I have inaugurated the holidays by acquiring a violent stomach virus so this may be a bit brief. It’s an odd year, my first without my mom and I am feeling it even more keenly than I thought I would. I am usually pro-Christmas and manage holiday cheer even under duress. This year is tough, although I am curled up here in New Jersey with Kim and all the kitties which helps. Drinking fluids! No baking while this is going on.

*Last year’s card – Blackie and Cookie solo in front of our apartment window.*

The card has a double meaning this year as I leave Jazz at Lincoln Center for the very different world of fundraising for the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center. Animal lover and rescuer of animals as she was, all of us think Mom would find that an appropriate switch; she was always concerned that my job at Jazz was too exhausting for the long haul, with its travel and many nights.

AMC will be unlike anything I have done before and I don’t dismiss the difference and the adjustment – all fundraising is not the same. Still, my brain itches to engage with new challenges and I think building a full fundraising operation for them is the next best chapter.

Blackie is stalking around the New Jersey house; Cookie has returned to her safe spot under a chair in the bedroom. Beau and Blackie had a hissy hello last night. I think the other New Jersey cats remain largely unaware. There is always an adjustment period.

Kim has taken over my office for the duration and, after a few false starts for a new dip pen holder and something for his ink, he is inking away upstairs.

*The original Pam Butler pencil drawing.*

This year’s card was conceived of and drawn by me as a tribute to my new cat family and job – I include my original pencil for the first time. Kim inked it and added the logo which is properly Deitchien. Each cat gets a proper portrait. Kim added a little maniacal twist to Cookie who is chasing her tail (as she still does almost daily at 10 years of age) and Beau and Blackie are facing off a bit.

So our best wishes for the holidays and the New Year from us at Deitch Studio and Pictorama. Hope you enjoy it!

Tee-d Up

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: T-shirts are yet another sub-genre of Pictorama. I never made a conscious decision to add them to the collection, but I find I occasionally snap one up.

I generally eschew the older used ones – not that I have anything against used clothes; I have bought from thrift stores and vintage for years. However, there is a convention on eBay where, oddly (at least to me), people sell old t-shirts (or attempt to) for vast sums. I guess there are some super rare Felix t-shirts out there that fetch those sums, but I have a sort of a mental cap on what I think a used t-shirt should cost, no matter what is on it. Anyway, despite all of this, a slow trickle of t-shirts are archived here. (A few of those posts – including some vintage Kim Deitch designed t-shirts – can be found here, here and here.)

I say archived and that is not entirely accurate either. Some are archived and others find their way into favored wardrobe. There was a post about an especially Waldo looking cat on a baseball shirt I bought from a company in Japan – after a considerable international exchange! (That post can be found here.) I purchased two (by accident) and I wear them all the time. They are among my favorite shirts.

*Poshmark was selling it black recently.*

Baseball shirts are preferred – love the three quarter sleeve for running. Actual t-shirts are of less interest for wear. I run in sweat wicking fabrics because I don’t like a soggy cotton shirt and my preference for wearing has always been sleeveless. I find short sleeves constricting. I have been known to cut the sleeves out of my t-shirts, but am not especially inclined to do that to these purchases of somewhat rarified tees. Another option is sleeping in them (atop of my beloved elephant toile pj’s which I memorialized here – I am wearing a new flannel version even now as I type!) although I am a bit partial to v-necks for that purpose. (Yes, I cut the necks out sometimes too!)

Therefore, somewhat unconsciously, these items are more collected and kept than purchased for consumption. Today’s acquisition is an older and considerably worn item, but it wasn’t much money and I liked his faux Felix self. His body is the bike and rider with wheels added. He has claw paws which grip the wheels and his mouth is pursed in a whistle – to alert folks that he is streaking by. Sweat is flying off him and his butt fur is a bit ragged with effort. Someone did a fairly splendid job drawing this.

*Both shop photos from the Men’s Journal article below.*

Close attention made me realize that he sports a little cap that says GSC and he has what could be considered a tattoo on his arm which says LA. This t-shirt originated at the Golden Saddle Cycle shop which was founded in 2011, but appears to have closed in 2022 due to the loss of its building at 1618 Lucille Avenue in Los Angeles. It was, according to online testimony, a much beloved repair and sales shop owned by Kyle Kelly that carried some of their own line of merchandise. Described in an online Men’s Journal article as part shop and part clubhouse it was a place where bike enthusiasts might show up for a part and find themselves instead whiling away an afternoon.

If the thought of riding a bike on the streets of Manhattan fills me with some trepidation the idea of riding one on the streets of Los Angeles really sets off warning sirens, but I am not fearless that way. I will stay trotting along slowly on my two feet, although I may reconsider doing it in this nifty shirt.

In the Bag…

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: This Felix bag was new old stock and offered with several other identical ones. The Felix is a jolly round slightly off-model version and, with oversized mitts for hands, he holds a sign bearing tidings from Felix’s Viroqua, Wis. He stands in what appears to be a puddle and the black mid-century token design is reminiscent of my 1960’s era childhood.

It is the sort of small flat bag that cards, a bit of stationary or bauble might have gone into when purchased. These ubiquitous paper bags eventually gave way to a plastic version. Now that we live in a bag eliminating society perhaps they will disappear altogether although, as a frequent buyer of cards I am still often offered one at the point of sale. It is perhaps too small to have converted to a lunch bag. (In a sea of precisely purchased lunch bags, my mother was an early adopter of the random bag for our lunches as children. I speculate that the waste of purchasing lunch bags once we grew out of lunch boxes must have annoyed her.)

Much to my surprise, when I ran the name on Google this morning the story of Felix’s poured out of the computer. It turns out that Viroqua, Wisconsin is a small town of perhaps declining fortune which is home to about 4,500. (I checked and the small town in NJ we call second home clocks in at a population of about 2,000 more.)

Felix’s closed its doors in 2007 after 101 years of being a local mainstay. The eponymous enterprise was founded by Max Felix who arrived in Wisconsin in 1905 and joined a wave of Jewish immigrants, like my own grandfather, who carved out a mercantile living with what was called dry goods or general store, in this case across the midwest. These stores sold everything from stationary to socks and catered broadly to the needs of their community.

Over the decades Felix’s was evidently handed from Max to his brothers, then to their children and to a final generation. The general store model morphed into a clothing store over time and that is what it is remembered for in the community.

The story of its closure seems to be inevitably wrapped in the broader tale of a town with a shrinking local economy, big box stores pushing out the long-standing, smaller and privately owned retail. There are articles and online posts about the demise of numerous other local retail establishments at the same time and concern for the future of the town.

Viroqua is described online as sparsely suburban which could certainly be viewed as damning with faint praise in several different ways. However, the schools are noted to be above average and the community heavily populated with retirees; it runs conservative politically. The town was founded with the name Bad Axe (certainly evocative) and did a stint as Farwell before the settled on Viroqua.

Viroqua appears to be known for something called the Driftless Region. For a description of what that seems to be, I share directly from the internet and close with this topological tidbit: The area is one of the only parts of America consistently missed by advancing glaciers over the millennia, hence the name “Driftless or Unglaciated Region”. This has preserved the unique topography of the region. The famous bluffs, coulees and small winding streams are mesmerizing. Fascinating!

And It’s Spark Plug

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Possibly one of the strangest sub-genres here at Pictorama are a clutch of photos of people posing on Spark Plug who in 1922 made his way into comics fame when he made his entrance into the Barney Google strip. The patched together equine captured the reader’s heart in that initial episode and he joined the ongoing cast of characters. His distinctive appearance made him a picture perfect photo foil and evidently photos posing with him proliferated in addition to sheet music, Halloween costumes, games, candy containers and toys ranging from wind-up’s to more cuddly soft versions.

*Not in Pictorama Collection.* *This sheet music is widely available.*

I stumbled on the first photo in a Hake’s catalogue years ago and bid on it. That photo went very high and much to my disappointment I didn’t acquire it. It stayed with me however as these things sometimes do and I started to look for them.

I manage to acquire my first one back in 2018 and it is similar to the one I lost at the Hake’s auction. (That post can be found here.) It is a pro photo, much along the same lines as the concept of people posing with Felix, although the Spark Plug photos are not postcards and are generally regular prints which are 5×7 or larger. If you read that post you will find an interesting exchange with the descendent of the fellow identified in the picture who found the post while doing genealogy research on his family.

*Pricey Chien litho toy for sale at the time of writing.*

The next photo didn’t show up until ’21 and it is a postcard where Spark Plug is an almost abstract design. Lodged as he was in the public consciousness however you merely had to make a nod to his appearance and label him and you were good to go. (That odd little gem can be found here.) This acquisition marks the third in the series.

Today’s entry into the archive is what appears to be a very competently homemade version of the pasted together pony. Junior, in comic splendor complete with glasses, nose and mustache all of a piece under his topper of a hat, must be concealing his legs under Spark Plug’s body and stubby faux limbs are astride the horse. Spark Plug’s identifying patch is evident on the side and, as is always helpful, he is clearly labeled on one side. His head, while a tad small for his body, is a credible reproduction.

Next to him is another kid, in blackface, with a faux banjo. Something about him reminds the viewer of the jockey statues that used to be in evidence as outdoor decor. Behind them are adults who do not appear to be in costume – the maid notwithstanding but after some consideration I have decided that she is just working in uniform, not in fancy dress. She is pushing a cart of something fluffy and like the other adults she is in somewhat soft focus. They form a distracting blur behind the costumed kids.

*Another pricey item for sale as I write – interesting that a somewhat forgotten cartoon character still fetches thousands for toys today!*

This photo is approximately 5×7 and printed on a super light paper which is curling with age. The back is entirely blank and there’s no evidence that it was in a photo album at any time, perhaps it was framed. While the pictorial quality is somewhat lacking this photo nevertheless is another interesting entry into the Pictorama archive.

Enlightening

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Yes, it appears to be a lamp post today! I have been on what might best be called a lamp acquisition binge. In part, it has been to fill a need for lighting in New Jersey at the house where we pretty much only had overhead lights and needed additional standing lamps and table lights. Here in New York we have an on-going need for lamps in the living room where we have two contemporary standing lamps which seem to both take very expensive bulbs and die after a few years.

As a result of the lamp death rate I have begun purchasing lamps, mostly old ones. They end up being rewired so I don’t really understand why they last better but they do. It started with a desk lamp for myself here in New York while working at home. After some frustration I bought an old one on Instagram which, while a bit tatty and odd looking, seems to be dedicated to staying on the job. It came from Washington State.

*Odd little desk lamp from Washington State, among the detritus of wires and stuff on my home desk.*

Before I go on I should add that I came from a family that seemed to be unable to pass up a good antique chair, lamp or clock. The lamps collected by my family have sadly mostly passed out of our hands, and those that remain are somewhat unsuited to my current needs although one graces Kim’s desk at the moment – Pictorama readers see it often in desk shots. (See below.) It may have started life as a vase, vaguely Asian in design and covered in flowers, which was converted into a lamp. Nonetheless, it did hatch forth from the Butler holdings many years ago, before Kim and Deitch Studio arrived on the scene.

A brief digression about clocks. The Butler clocks, mostly antique, are very much gone I’m afraid. As a kid I learned to sleep through a constant chiming throughout the day and night, although it was hard to readjust visiting as an adult. If there’s one I miss it is a ship’s clock with those bells. I am tempted to find one, but am afraid it could result in divorce. Dad was dedicated to winding those that needed winding every Sunday in his retirement. (There was also a cuckoo clock at my grandmother’s I loved as a child, but I knew we couldn’t absorb that into Deitch Studio when it became available. It was both large and noisy.) At one point my mom had one that made bird noises on the hour – that was a rare modern one – and it drove me nuts. However, I will say I saw a good antique wall clock for sale the other day and unbidden my father rose up in me and I twitched with the urge to buy it. Evidently it is in the blood.

*Desk lamp purchased for my New Jersey* *desk, but shown here in the eBay photo I purchased it from.*

For New Jersey I acquired a lovely old standing lamp from a friend, rewired it and popped a shade on after some negotiation on the internet – who knew there would be so many variations of standard lamp shade sizes. I am tempted to buy another if I see it and am constantly prowling. A good number, strangely, seem to come in pairs which doesn’t really work for me – or appear at a time when figuring out shipping seems beyond me.

After the acquisition of the standing lamp I purchased a gooseneck desk lamp on eBay to replace a lamp on my desk in Fair Haven which has a tendency to randomly turn itself off. (Seems like a bad sign, right?) That lamp was never designed as a desk light anyway and I will either have it rewired and move it elsewhere or let it loose back into the world. Frankly it is not an especially compelling item.

*Inexpensive blue and white lamp which I have hooked up to a smart plug to do my Alexa bidding.*

I also purchased an inexpensive, pretty, new blue and white lamp for the living room there. More notably I installed an Alexa and set this living room lamp to light morning and evening. It took me and Alexa (I call her Miss A. when I don’t want her listening; she does listen) awhile to come to an agreement, but she seems able to fulfill her simple task. I find myself saying please and thank you to her which I can’t seem to discontinue. She, additionally, supplies me with NPR news while I make coffee and feed the cats in the morning and will also turn the light on if asked, as I pad through the room in the middle of the night in search of water in the kitchen or to investigate and moderate a cat disagreement. I may try the headlines of the New York Times next, but I usually switch to classical music after NPR. (I recently also purchased a Wink video doorbell and cameras and I’m sure more to come once I have that installed. I am slowly turning the Fair Haven house into a smart house – at least sorta smart.)

Our current status in NYC is one floor lamp down and has been for awhile. It ate one of its expensive bulbs aways back and we seem unable to make a decision to offer up another bulb or get rid of said light. I decided to work around that and while upstate for work in July (see a post about that weekend of work adventure here) I purchased a very pretty little lamp in an antique store. It is a variation on what is called slag glass, but instead of it being all about the glass design it has a wonderful lacy metal shade over it.

*Lacy metal side table lamp which is waiting for a place to be plugged in! Pluto seems to like it…*

I will take a moment to opine that many years ago there was someone doing wonderful reproduction lamps with painted scenes on glass shades. I didn’t have the cash to invest in one then and have always regretted it. I have never been able to find the really nice ones subsequently now that I have a chance to invest. Alas. I also have an appetite for a heat motion activated lamp – these lamps from the 1950’s have brightly colored scenes and the heat of the bulb activates them to slowly turn the scene. Unfortunately many of the scenes are sort of pedantic – a lot of fires and trains – but I am waiting for the right one to cross my path.

Lastly and truly in no way least, perhaps more best of all – on a true whim I purchased a painted metal Popeye lamp in an auction recently. I was leafing through I think a Milestone online catalogue and Popeye caught my eye. I put a nominal bid in on him almost without thinking and really did forget about it until an email showed up telling me I had purchased him. While his paint is in bad shape I do love him. I am currently deciding if he will reside here in New York or go to New Jersey which is easily still absorbing lighting fixtures.

*Another shot of Popeye, but this time showing Kim’s lamp more or less in its full glory.*

Meanwhile, I am trying to decide what kind of a shade goes on Popeye and how best to purchase it. I saw some online but the shade lamp calculus would be better in person. Another option might be a bare Edison bulb – any thoughts? I am taking all comers and suggestions on this.

Kim twitches with the desire to repaint him someday and I would say he could be a good candidate for it. Other more pressing projects await however. For now though, I say, let there be lots of light.