Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Alabaster Nymph

In my never ending re-design process to spruce things up here in the 'ol office, I've recently acquired a couple of beautiful Art Nouveau era lamps. The first being a beautiful, 18" tall, carved alabaster figural, unsigned, and complete with marble sphere and base. Dating from the early 1900's, this lovely Nouveau nymph appears innocently enough in her long, clingy dress and sandals, running her fingers playfully through the loose strands of her flower adorned head of hair (incidentally, she matches an antique, oval framed silk print I have hanging on the wall in my office as well, --see last photo below.) The base column behind her which holds up the sphere (where the lightbulb goes inside) is given a bit more height with what appears to be a stack of three very thick books. Finally, after getting the lamp into the office and plugging it in, the marbled sphere above her is now fully illuminated, and suddenly, the neat thing about alabaster becomes apparent as well. Softer than marble, and almost translucent, the most noticeable detail being the alabaster nymph's face seems to glow rather spookily in the dark, especially around her eyes. Is she trying to hypnotize me from the corner of the desk? I believe so. Come back in a few days for an equally stunning example of another Nouveau style lamp which is also now in my possession.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Halloween in March!

Found this super fun, old time, Bugle Toy Company Halloween noisemaker the other day and couldn't believe how cool the graphics were on all sides. A skull headed ghost attack! A jack-o-lantern on a pole! Witches, black cats, a ring of black bats, and a wizard conjuring an owl (haha!) Not sure how rare this tin litho masterpiece of Halloween macabrey is, but I know I've never seen one like it before. Looking around online it seems that Bugle made these toys from the late 20's up to 1950... wonderful stuff, and hey, only 231 days until Halloween!

Saturday, March 9, 2024

March of the Mannequins!

Just because March Mannequin Madness has ended over at THOIA, doesn't mean the fun stops here at AEET! Yep, today is the perfect day for a perfect pair of hysterical tales featuring two of comicdom's most lovely ladies of the laffy pages, --magnificent Moronica from the August - September 1950 issue of The Kilroy's #25, followed by cutie pie, Katy Keene from the September 1947 issue of Pep Comics #63. Highlights include some really attractive artwork and comedic cartoon gags and timing from legends, Owen Fitzgerald and Bill Woggons, (natch!) and as mentioned, both tales not only feature mannequins, but both stories also contain important insight into what could happen when you simply borrow one from a local department store! Enjoy! :)

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Madcap Mannequins!

We've been having a March Mannequin Madness Fest over at THOIA, so I thought, why not have one over here at AEET as well, with a dozen or so funny gags, cover illustrations (and one napkin) highlighting the sillier side of these delightful department store darlings (note how I didn't call 'em "dummies!") These were all taken from various funny publications over the last half century and beyond-- so, enjoy the fine art of window dressing, and the highs and lows of public reaction!

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

A Western Union Valentine Greeting

Better late than never, because I just realized that I completely forgot to show you this lovely old 1930's Western Union Valentine Greeting I found last month. Sent from Von to Ellen, with the sweet message, "Too far to kiss you, but this greeting says: "I miss you, dear Valentine." Awww! The envelope address window has yellowed and is starting to crumble, but overall everything else is still in very good condition, and the beautiful Walter Beach Humphrey header art is as eye catching, and appropriate as ever. There are many things I could add here about how this type of romantic gesture pales in comparisons to todays texts and PMs / DMs, but love is still love no matter how it is expressed, and the opinions of this dumb blog editor are rarely of any value.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Here Comes the Bride...

Overheard someone today loudly talking about how March is "wedding month." I've always thought that May was the start of wedding season, but whatever, it's March 1st so here's a bride post for whenever "wedding month" actually is. She's a cute little figure and made of wood, I think, and most of her lip and flower paint has rubbed off. She's astoundingly dirty too all dressed in white with that smudged face and chest, and OMG she only gets dirtier when you flip her over. Ummm... you know what I mean. Turn her around. Uhhh... the figure in your hand... rotate it so that you can see the backside of the figure in your hand. Now. If what you are seeing looks completely unfamiliar to you, then you are probably too young to be on this ridiculous blog in the first place.