The Richard Balzer Collection

Stumbled upon the Richard Balzer Collection a couple of months ago when I was searching for antique toys and games ~ this is a great site full of a great variety of visual entertainment of which are rarely seen. With names like The Magic Planisphere, The Zoetrope, The Ludoscope or Turning Heads, how could one not be curious? The site is divided into several sections ~ many include flash galleries where one can view the scenes or images in motion.

{The illusion of motion was created by viewing the designs on the card through the slotted disc ~ visit the flash gallery here.}

The Magic Window is a Phenakistascope, as is the Ludoscope shown above. From what I can discern, this type of toy all contained images on discs that were twirled in order to see the images move.

{See this in motion here.}

Shown above is a Praxinoscope ~ this appears to work by spinning the toy rather than any discs.

{Lovely graphics on a box cover for a tachyscope ~ an adaptation of the zoetrope}

Go here to see what you would view when using a zoetrope ~ you will arrive at the top image above. Click on the different designs to see what they look like in motion ~ then you will see an image like the second image EXCEPT it is moving! Not only is the movement pretty cool, the graphics are just gorgeous.

This type of amusement is called a Thaumatrope ~ see some examples in motion here.

{closeup of a disc from a phenakistascope}

The last two images are Turning Heads from the metamorphosis section ~ I have always been fascinated by this sort of thing ~ aren't these fabulous?! There is a great flash gallery in this section here ~ make sure to check it out.

{Autumn & Winter}

{Peace & War AKA Jeff Subdued & Jeff Rampant}

• All images from Richard Balzer Collection •

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A Different Kind of Delectable

Found this tasty jar of glass buttons this weekend while shopping at the Platte City Antique Show ~ I guess I just have a thing for mayonnaise jars, now that I have mentioned them two days in a row! As you can see, this is actually a Miracle Whip jar, but close enough. I have to admit, I prefer Miracle Whip over regular mayo ~ always a point nf ridicule in my household as my boyfriend is quite the foodie and Miracle Whip doesn't cut the mustard in his book!

This jar was packed full of all clear glass buttons ~ I have never bought many of these before, but the jar looked so appealing I couldn't pass them up. Upon closer inspection, some of the buttons have silver or gold metallic accents, so these are even better than I realized. Looking forward to sorting through the rest of the buttons and discovering all the different patterns ~ I think these will look great used in the brooches I make!

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Old Summit Antique Show ~ Part 1

{Nice combo of letters and images ~ clever way to fit 4 letters on one block!}

A few weekends ago I went to the Old Summit Antique Show ~ since it seemed like eons had passed since I had gone to a show, I ended up buying quite a few things and also taking lots of photos. A friend of mine who is a dealer allowed me to take photos of the wonderful collection of block sets he was selling ~ these are all from his personal collection he has decided to part with. Just take a look, such beautiful and unique sets ~ some of which I had never seen before. I love the gorgeous graphics of the typography and the packaging ~ rarely do you see sets like this in such great condition. Which is your favorite?

{A gem of a set ~ these were rather small, the whole box was about 4" x 6"}

{Hill's Spelling Blocks}

{Hill's Spelling Blocks ~ inside}

{Built in advertisement}

{Love the simplicity of the graphic letter forms}

{Naughty!!! Guess they didn't have copy editors back then!}

{My favorite ~ Beasts & Birds Rolling Toys}

{Round blocks with lovely letters!}

{Description and list of contents}

{lovely engravings as well}

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Luck of the Irish

A Happy St. Pat's to all ~ sending good luck for the year via this wonderful collection of 4 leaf clovers gathered over a period of 10 years or so! This scrapbook of 1355 four leaf clovers was amassed and artfully arranged by Alda Carlson starting in 1910. It was sold on ebay for $532.52 ~ just the sort of thing I'd be interested in ~ but in this case would need a pot of gold to afford it!

Spotted this several months ago over at anonymous works ~ a great blog to explore! Have a safe & fun St. Patrick's Day!

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In Flagrante Collecto ~ Magnifico!

Speaking of collections, have you seen this book? In Flagrante Collecto ~ caught in the act of collecting by Marilynn Gelfman Karp is a wonderful collection of collections. Some of the examples are those you would expect, but there are many unusual collections showcased. Shown are a few of my favorites ~ all images are from the book.

{ruler collection endpapers}

{vintage rubber stamp paraphernalia}

{printed corks and cork dolls}

{sample card of upholstery nails ~ a collection all by itself}

{thread sample card}

{variety of lettuce seed packets}

{tobacco tags}

{leg shaped calipers}


{collection of soap chips}

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