As readers of this blog may have surmised, I spend a lot of time looking through flea markets, junk shops and antique malls. Often it is just for the fun of looking at lots of random material culture, sometimes it is a search for inspiration from an obsolete tool or machine, and sometimes it is the thrill of finding a rare bird in the wild.
A couple weeks ago I scored big on a $3 investment. This seems to be the only known copy of this particular catalog. Worldcat only lists #3, #11, and #17. No copies of catalog #15 are available on ABE or other online sites. I’m guessing my #15 copy is from 1929.
Trade catalogs are very useful. They provide information and context about specific tools or techniques. Â They often have detailed illustrations and textual descriptions of unusual tools. For example, there is an incredibly cool folding palette knife with an ebony handle on page 51. And only $1.35! If I could only go back in time . Â Technical information often abounds. For example showcard brushes were pure red sable, while lettering brushes were grey camel hair.
One tool in particular caught my eye: the Artascope.
The Artascope is described as an “idea-machine”.
The kaleidoscope on-line book mentions it is constructed with a 4 Point Mandala or 45 degree 2-mirror system which generates the internal image. I can’t quite wrap my head around this. The inclusion of it in a professional sign painters catalog is at odds with the general current classification of this early kaleidoscope as a toy. Contextual evidence from the literature adds to our understanding of this odd little machine, which was at least co-marketed to professional artists.
“Sometimes you may feel stale, but your Artascope never does. It never fails to produce.”
Peachey Conservation 