Herman de Vries at Venice Biennale 2015 – Going Caveman With Anti-Matter Fragmentation Art – A Tribute

Dutch artist Herman de Vries – Photo taken by son Vince

The two videos below of Herman de Vries at work at the Venice Bienalle 2015 are quite inspiring.

So inspiring in fact that I moved into a cave for two weeks and wrote Shakespearean tragedy with charcoal.  Filled with great joy I returned to my studio and set about creating a tribute to Herman de Vrie I shall call La Biennale di Venezia de Forest with Five or Six Nymphs2, or Going Caveman with Anti-Matter Fragmentation Art,  a five picture installation which can be viewed below the film.

 

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La Biennale di Venezia de Forest with Five or Six Nymphs2, or Going Caveman with Anti-Matter Fragmentation Art

 

 

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The Hoochie Coochie Hex

From Dr. Marvel’s 1929 book entitled Hoodoo for the Common Man, we find his infamous Hoochie Coochie Hex.

 What follows is a verbatim transcription of the text:

The Hoochie Coochie Hex should not be used in conjunction with any other Hexes.  This can lead to disaster.  

The Hoochie Coochie Hex can only work in the month of October with the coming of a full moon.  It will not work in September and will not work in November.  This point is now well established. Continue reading The Hoochie Coochie Hex

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Country Cabbage and Pea Soup

Add the following ingredients to a four or six quart crock pot, salt & pepper to taste keeping in mind that salt pork is just that, cover with water and cook on high till it boils, then cut back to low for four or five hours.  A slow cooker works well, I set mine to low and cook for five to seven hours.

1 Small Cabbage quartered or as in the case of the photo above, three chunks cut out of very large cabbage
1 Large Potato diced or 2 or 3 small ones
1/2 Cup each of dried Garbanzos, Chick Peas, and Split Green Peas
3 or 4 Slices of Salt Pork, You can substitute bacon if you have no salt pork.

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Hunter’s Fruit and Nut Bread – Apples, Cranberry, Dates, Figs, Apricots, Walnuts, Pecans, and Such

Hunters at Work

This is a recipe I created from scratch by trial and error.

(Note: This recipe contains no eggs, refined white flour or white sugar.)

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour – As unprocessed as you can find it
3 Cups of Raw Oatmeal
1 Cup of Brown Sugar, or Honey, or Raw Cane Sugar or Molasses Continue reading Hunter’s Fruit and Nut Bread — Apples, Cranberry, Dates, Figs, Apricots, Walnuts, Pecans, and Such

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Texas Tea

Photo by Rebecca Humann

Texas Tea Recipe

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Blunderbuss Mai Tai Recipe

Blackbeard’s Jolly Roger

If you’re looking for that most refreshing of summertime beverages for sipping out on the back patio or perhaps as a last drink before walking the plank, let me recommend my Blunderbuss Mai Tai.  I picked up the basics to this recipe over thirty years ago when holed up in a gritty little hotel and bar in Puerto Rico and have worked on perfecting it ever since. Continue reading Blunderbuss Mai Tai Recipe

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U.S. Coast Guard Radio Information for Boaters

VHF Marifoon Sailor RT144, by S.J. de Waard

RADIO INFORMATION FOR BOATERS

Effective 01 August, 2013, the U. S. Coast Guard terminated its radio guard of the international voice distress, safety and calling frequency 2182 kHz and the international digital selective calling (DSC) distress and safety frequency 2187.5 kHz. Additionally, marine information and weather broadcasts transmitted on 2670 kHz will terminate concurrently. See the safety alert. Note that these frequencies are still available and in use, notwithstanding the Coast Guard’s termination of the radio guard. Please contact us if you have any questions. Continue reading U.S. Coast Guard Radio Information for Boaters

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How to Sail a Full Rigged Ship

The rigging of an old square rig in London, United Kingdom. Photograph taken by Melongrower.

Continue reading How to Sail a Full Rigged Ship

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A Creative Approach to Saving Ye Olde Cassette Tapes

Quite possibly, the most agonizing decision being made by Baby Boomers across the nation these days is what to do with all that vintage Hi-fi equipment and boxes full of classic rock and roll cassettes and 8-Tracks.

I faced this dilemma head-on this past summer as I definitely wanted in on the newfangled bluetooth speakers that could play the CDs I had loaded into my computer hard drive, wires free, but also wanted a way to play my cassettes without having to fire up my Sansui receiver. Continue reading A Creative Approach to Saving Ye Olde Cassette Tapes

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King Lear

Edwin Austin Abbey. King Lear, Act I, Scene I (Cordelia’s Farewell) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dates: 1897-1898 Dimensions: Height: 137.8 cm (54.25 in.), Width: 323.2 cm (127.24 in.) Medium: Painting – oil on canvas

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Scottish Myths and Legends

John Atkinson Grimshaw – Glasgow Saturday Night

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Protecting Rare Books: How to Build a Silverfish Trap

Silverfish damage to book – photo by Micha L. Rieser

The beauty of hunting silverfish is that they are not the most clever of creatures in the insect kingdom.

Simply take a small clean glass jar and wrap it in masking tape.  The masking tape gives the silverfish something to cling on to as they curiously climb to the top of the jar.  Bait is not required.  Set the jars upright in the path of known offenders, sit back and wait…OK, perhaps just leaving the jar and coming back in a day or two will do.

Lepisma Saccharina – Silver Fish – photo by Christian Fischer

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The Sinking of the Laconia

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Henry Miller

 

 

 

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Cocktails and Canapés

From The How and When, An Authoritative reference reference guide to the origin, use and classification of the world’s choicest vintages and spirits by Hyman Gale and Gerald F. Marco. The Marco name is of a Chicago family that were involved in all aspects of the liquor business and ran Marco’s Bar located at 70 E. Randolph Street and another at 32 S. Clark St. in Chicago back in the day.

First Definition of a Cocktail

Continue reading Cocktails and Canapés

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Philly Dips – Some Philadelphia Cream Cheese Classics from the 1950s


1 garlic clove, cut in half
1 8-oz. pkg. Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese
3 tablespoons clam broth
1 7-to 7 1/2-oz. can minced clams, drained Continue reading Philly Dips — Some Philadelphia Cream Cheese Classics from the 1950s

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History of Britain: Rise and Fall of the Druids

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Antibiotic Properties of Jungle Soil

If ever it could be said that there is such a thing as miracle healing soil, Ivan Sanderson said it best in his 1965 book entitled Ivan Sanderson’s Book of Great Jungles.

Sanderson grew up with a natural inclination towards adventure and learning.  He hailed from Scotland but spent much of his youth in Provence, France where he moved with his parents as a young boy.  His description of Provence painted with his youthful imagination would later lead to a lifetime of jungle adventure across all points on the map. Sanderson’s father was killed by a rhinoceros while working with a documentary film crew in Kenya, Africa in 1925. Continue reading Antibiotic Properties of Jungle Soil

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Herbal Psychedelics – Rhododendron ponticum and Mad Honey Disease

Toxicity of Rhododendron
From Countrysideinfo.co.UK

Potentially toxic chemicals, particularly ‘free’ phenols, and diterpenes, occur in significant quantities in the tissues of plants of Rhododendron species. Diterpenes, known as grayanotoxins, occur in the leaves, flowers and nectar of Rhododendrons. These differ from species to species. Not all species produce them, although Rhododendron ponticum does. Continue reading Herbal Psychedelics — Rhododendron ponticum and Mad Honey Disease

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Curing Diabetes With an Old Malaria Formula

For years in the West African nation of Ghana medicine men have used a root and leaves from a plant called nibima(Cryptolepis sanguinolenta) to kill the Plasmodium parasite transmitted through a female mosquito’s bite that is the root cause of malaria.  A thousand miles away in India, a similar(same) plant with similar properties called maranta, or Cryptolepis buchananii (Indian sarsaparilla), is used by Ayurvedic doctors to treat an assortment of ailments from urinary tract infection to paralysis and ricketts. Continue reading Curing Diabetes With an Old Malaria Formula

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How to Tie Knots, Bends, and Hitches

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How to Paint a Vermeer

 

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Great Indian Pine Hornbill

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Museum of Science and Industry Model Train – Chicago

The Chicago portion of the The Great Train Story at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. by Interiority

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The Most Powerful and FREE Import Export Research Database on the Planet

Click here to access the world’s most powerful Import/Export Research Database on the Planet.  With this search engine one is able to access U.S. Customs and other government data showing suppliers for any type of company in the United States.

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Gout Remedies

Jan Verkolje Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to describe gout or uric acid crystals 1679.

For one suffering gout, the following vitamins, herbs, and extracts may be worth looking into:

  • Vitamin C 
  • Folic Acid – Folic Acid is a B vitamin and is also known as B9 –  [Known food sources with high contents of folic acid include dark leafy green vegetables such as avocados, seaweed, spinach, asparagus and brussel sprouts. Liver, yeast, eggs, legumes, seafood and nuts are also a good source.
  • Eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA – [Known food sources include oily fish such as herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines and seaweed.  The EPA in fish comes for the algae that fish consume.
  • Black Cherry Extract
  • Celery Seed Extract
  • Alfalfa
  • Bosweilla – Anti-inflammatory properties
  • Devils Claw – Anti-inflammatory properties
  • Turmeric & Curcumin – [Studies have shown positive effects for rheumatoid arthritis and general pain and inflammation. Curcumin has also been shown to block the growth of certain kinds of tumors. Positive effects have noted on diabetes and viral infections.]

CAUTION: As with any herbs, extracts, supplements, and vitamins, one should check with their doctor prior to taking to ensure there will not be  negative interactions with prescription medications one might be taking.

Many herbs and vitamins have side effects. Side effects for most herbs, extract, supplements, and vitamins can be found on WebMD.com.

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A Red Letter Day with Henry Miller

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Dr. Fred Kummerow – Cholesterol Myths Debunked

 

Fred Kummerow on statin drugs (excerpt) from Jeremy Stuart on Vimeo.

Dr. Kummerow passed away at the ripe old age of 102 in 2017.

Click here to visit Dr. Mercola’s website.

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Looking for a Gift for the Book Collector in the Family?

Buying a book for a serious collector with refined tastes can be a daunting task.

However, there is one company that publishes some of the finest reproduction books in the world, books that most collectors wouldn’t mind having in their collection no matter their general preference or specialty.

Patrimonio Ediciones, located in Valencia, Spain, produces exquisite copies of ancient books and uses real gold and jewels in the illumination of the pages and production of the leather covers.  Many of their books have been presented to heads of state and royalty.

The books are expensive; however, payment plans of a minimum of $75 per month may be arranged to purchase one of their editions which can run into the thousand of dollars.

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The Intaglio Processes for Audubon’s Birds of America

Notes on the intaglio processes of the most expensive book on birds available for sale in the world today.

The Audubon prints in “The Birds of America” were all made from copper plates utilizing four of the so called “intaglio” processes, engraving, etching, aquatint, and drypoint.   Intaglio processes are those by which the design to printed is cut down into the surface of the plate, and will yield an impression in relief.

The design is rendered upon the plate either with a tool or by the action of an acid eating into the copper plate through an acid resistant coating called a “ground.” Continue reading The Intaglio Processes for Audubon’s Birds of America

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Audubon’s Art Method and Techniques

Audubon started to develop a special technique for drawing birds in 1806 a Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. He perfected it during the long river trip from Cincinnati to New Orleans and in New Orleans, 1821. Continue reading Audubon’s Art Method and Techniques

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History of the Cabildo in New Orleans

Cabildo circa 1936

The Cabildo houses a rare copy of Audubon’s Bird’s of America, a book now valued at $10 million+.

Should one desire to visit the Cabildo, click here to gain free entry with a lowcost New Orleans Pass.

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Naval Stores – Distilling Turpentine

Chipping a Turpentine Tree

DISTILLING TURPENTINE
One of the Most Important Industries of the State of Georgia
Injuring the Magnificent Trees
Spirits, Resin, Tar, Pitch, and Crude Turpentine all from the Long Leaved Pine – “Naval Stores” So Called.

Dublin, Ga., May 8. – One of the most important industries of Georgia is the distilling of turpentine.  Here and there among the thick tracts of yellow pines, so numerous in South Georgia, can be found many turpentine farms, more properly called stills, which are fast sapping away the life of the magnificent timber in that section.  A visit to one of these stills is well worth the time. Continue reading Naval Stores — Distilling Turpentine

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On the Origin of Species – Natural Selection by Charles Darwin

ON

THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES

BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION,
OR THE
PRESERVATION OF FAVOURED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE
FOR LIFE.

BY CHARLES DARWIN, M.A.,

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL, GEOLOGICAL, LINNÆAN, ETC., SOCIETIES ;
AUTHOR OF ‘JOURNAL OF RESEARCHES DURING H.M.S. BEAGLE’S VOYAGE
ROUND THE WORLD.’

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

1859.

LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
AND CHARING CROSS.

ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES.

INTRODUCTION.

WHEN on board H.M.S. ‘Beagle,’ as naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent. These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species—that mystery of mysteries, as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers. On my return home, it occurred to me, in 1837, that something might perhaps be made out on this question by patiently accumulating and reflecting on all sorts of facts which could possibly have any bearing on it. After five years’ work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the conclusions, which then seemed to me probable: from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the same object. I hope that I may be excused for entering on these personal details, as I give them to show that I have not been hasty in coming to a decision. Continue reading On the Origin of Species — Natural Selection by Charles Darwin

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A Summer Memory

 

Here, where these low lush meadows lie,
We wandered in the summer weather,
When earth and air and arching sky,
Blazed grandly, goldenly together.

And oft, in that same summertime,
We sought and roamed these self-same meadows,
When evening brought the curfew chime,
And peopled field and fold with shadows.

I mind me of our last fond tryst:
The night was such a night as this:
And standing here, breast-high in mist,
We sealed our parting vows with kisses.

Ah, trust misplaced! ah, last false kiss!
She with another mate tomorrow;
And now my uttermost of bliss
Is made my uttermost sorrow.

I wrestle sore in bitter strife,
For night draws round me dull and darkling,
And in my darkened sky of life
No single star of hope is sparkling

Anonymous – Published in Harper’s Weekly Oct. 4, 1873

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Clairvoyance and Occult Powers

Vishnu as the Cosmic Man (Vishvarupa) Opaque watercolour on paper –  Jaipur, Rajasthan c. 1800-50

 

CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS

By Swami Panchadasi

Copyright, 1916

By Advanced Thought Pub. Co. Chicago, Il

INTRODUCTION.

In preparing this series of lessons for students of Western lands, I have been compelled to proceed along lines exactly opposite to those which I would have chosen had these lessons been for students in India. This is because of the diametrically opposite mental attitudes of the students of these two several lands.

The student in India expects the teacher to state positively the principles involved, and the methods whereby these principles may be manifested, together with frequent illustrations (generally in the nature of fables or parables), serving to link the new knowledge to some already known thing. The Hindu student never expects or demands anything in the nature of “proof” of the teachers statements of principle or method; in fact, he would regard it as an insult to the teacher to ask for the same. Consequently, he does not look for, or ask, specific instances or illustrations in the nature of scientific evidence or proof of the principles taught. Continue reading Clairvoyance and Occult Powers

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Clairvoyance – Methods of Development

CLAIRVOYANCE

 by C. W. Leadbeater

Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Pub. House

[1899]

CHAPTER IX – METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT

When a men becomes convinced of the reality of the valuable power of clairvoyance, his first question usually is, “How can I develop in my own case this faculty which is said to be latent in everyone?”

Now the fact is that there are many methods by which it may be developed, but only one which be at all safely recommended for general use—that of which we shall speak last of all. Among the less advanced nations of the world the clairvoyant state has been produced in various objectionable ways; among some of the non-Aryan tribes of India, but the use of intoxicating drugs or the inhaling of stupefying fumes; among the dervishes, by whirling in a mad dance of religious fervour until vertigo and insensibility supervene; among the followers of the abominable practice of the Voodoo cult, by frightful sacrifices and loathsome rites of black magic. Continue reading Clairvoyance — Methods of Development

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Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois and the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Noel Desenfans and Sir Francis Bourgeois, circa 1805 by Paul Sandby, watercolour on paper

The Dulwich Picture Gallery was England’s first purpose-built art gallery and considered by some to be England’s first national gallery.  Founded by the bequest of Sir Peter Francis Bourgois, dandy, the gallery was built to display his vast picture collection and dedicated to public viewing, something that had not been done before in Great Britain as art collecting was considered a folly of toffs. Continue reading Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois and the Dulwich Picture Gallery

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What’s the Matter?

A rhetorical question?  Genuine concern?

In this essay we are examining another form of matter otherwise known as national literary matters, the three most important of which being the Matter of Rome, Matter of France, and the Matter of England.

Our focus shall be on the Matter of England or Britain.

What we are referring to is the Medieval literature and legends underpinning the history of Brittany to include the Arthurian literature of legendary and heroic King Arthur.  In contrast, the Matter of France focuses on the legends of Charlemagne and the Matter of Rome was derived from classical mythology.

French poet Jean Bodel’s La Chansondes Saisnes or Song of the Saxon first described the matters thus:

“Ne sont que III matieres a nul momme atandant, De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.”

Not but with three matters no man should attend: Of France, and of Britain and of Rome the grand.”

Medieval literature could be considered an early form of state propaganda, written to ensure the acceptance of future kings by providing them with written history and pedigrees of lineage.  With grand myths of conquest and great deeds, heroic figures such as King Arthur became important early role models so as to provide the common people with a set of noble attributes by which to expect, see, and believe in their leaders; chief among these being chivalry, honour, and courage.  Along with the legend of King Arthur, this literature introduced us to Brutus of Troy, King Lear and Coel Hen.   In much of this literature, fact and fiction become blurred as the written word of historians supplemented the myths.  Themes of great conquests, adventure, Christianity, loyalty, and love abound in these tales and so does the lesson of negative consequences should one embark upon a darker path in seeking glory.

Among the notable Medieval(12th & 13th centuries) authors of this literature of matters we find Geoffrey of Monmouth, John Milton, Michael Drayton, Thomas Malory, Geoffrey Chaucer, Gottfried Von Strassburg, Chrétian des Troyes, Nennius, Thomas of Britain, and Talisein from the 6th Century. Shakespeare extended the time frame into the Elizabethan Era.

To learn more about Medieval authors and the works that underpin the Matter of Britain, click here.

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Blackberry Wine

BLACKBERRY WINE

  • 5 gallons of blackberries
  • 5 pound bag of sugar

Fill a pair of empty five gallon buckets half way with hot soapy water and a ¼ cup of vinegar.  Wash thoroughly and rinse.

Fill one bucket with two and one half gallons of blackberries and crush with hickory wood ax handle.  Add remaining 2 ½ gallons of berries and crush.  Add 2 ½ gallons of well water to berries, cover with muslin cloth and jute twine gardening string.  Allow to stand for 24 hours.

Strain through muslin cloth into second bucket.

Add a pound and a half of sugar to each gallon of juice.  Cover with muslin cloth and secure with jute twine gardening string.  When fermentation process ends, refine through muslin cloth into second bucket, fine with metabisulfate if needed, bottle and cork or store in wooden cask.

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A Crock of Squirrel

A CROCK OF SQUIRREL

    • 4 young squirrels – quartered
    • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 large bunch of fresh coriander
  • 2 large cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp. salted sweet cream cow butter
  • ¼ cup of brandy
  • 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar
  • 6 fresh apricots
  • 4 strips of bacon
  • 1 large package of Monterrey brown mushrooms
  • 2 small red onions quartered and sliced
  • ½ cup pecan halves

Grease crock pot with olive oil, turn on high heat. Cover bottom with 1 small red onion.  Fry bacon in skillet coated with olive oil along with 1 small red onion quartered and sliced and 2 clove smashed and chopped garlic.  As bacon begins to cook cut each piece in skillet into 6-8 pieces.  Add mushrooms as bacon begins to firm.

Remove pits from 6 fresh apricots and quarter.  Sauté in butter and brandy till wilted.  Add pecans and sugar. Stir over medium heat for a couple of minutes.  In large mixing bowl, combine with bacon mixture, add fresh chopped coriander & coat squirrels.  Cook for 4 hours on low heat.  Serve with biscuits and creamed corn.

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A Couple of Classic Tennessee Squirrel Recipes

FRIED SQUIRREL & BISCUIT GRAVY

  • 3-4 Young Squirrels, dressed and cleaned
  • 1 tsp. Morton Salt or to taste
  • 1 tsp. McCormick Black Pepper or to taste
  • 1 Cup Martha White All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Hog Lard – Preferably fresh from hog killing, or barbecue table

Cut up three to four young squirrels into six pieces by using a meat cleaver and splitting the squirrel down the center of the backbone prior to cutting into sections.  Continue reading A Couple of Classic Tennessee Squirrel Recipes

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How to Make Money – Banking & Insurance – Part I

Royal Exchange and The Bank of England

From How to Make Money; and How to Keep it, Or, Capital and Labor  based on the works of Thomas A. Davies Revised & Rewritten with Additions by Henry A. Ford A.M. – 1884

CHAPTER XXVI
BANKING AND INSURANCE.

I wish I could write all across the sky, in letters of gold, the one word, SAVINGS-BANK. Rev Wm. Marsh

The relations of the banking system to the operations of general trade are so intimate and indispensable  that every man of business should be acquainted with their nature and extent. James D. Mills

Insurance is to-day recognized as not only an integral and necessary factor in the commerce of nations, but it is imperatively demanded for the establishment and maintenance of commercial credit among all civilized peoples. To such importance has it grown that governments have acquired immense revenues by taxing the income derived from it, and have in some instances assume greater or less control over it. Insurance Year Book

BANKS are of three kinds -of discount and deposit, individual or private, and savings-banks. They have all but one object—to make money with money. This principle is all-important with the money-maker; and to know how this is done is to accomplish a great object.  This chapter will not presue to give such institutions or individuals any information how it is to be done; for their success generally is a proof that they understand that. Further, it is an occupation—that may me considered a trade within itself— requiring long experience, large knowledge of values, good judgment, rare firmness, and in fact every business qualification in high perfection. Reference to banking as one of the most extensive means of making money with money, is simply to show the moneymaker, after he has got his dollar, how others manage their dollars to advantage, so that he may know the danger of managing his own with his trifling information—a subject which requires superior knowledge and high acquirements to do well. Continue reading How to Make Money — Banking & Insurance — Part I

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The Fowling Piece – Part I

THE FOWLING PIECE, from the Shooter’s Guide by B. Thomas – 1811.

I AM perfectly aware that a large volume might be written on this subject; but, as my intention is to give only such information and instruction as is necessary for the sportsman, I shall forbear introducing any extraneous matter; at the same time, being careful to omit nothing which can be useful even in the remotest degree. That the fowling-piece is an object of the first consideration, will be readily allowed; hence the necessity of being able to form an opinion of its merits prior to laying out a considerable sum of money on this article, as Well as to prevent those dreadful accidents which too frequently occur from causes which at first sight are by no means obvious. Continue reading The Fowling Piece — Part I

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The Snipe

THE SNIPE, from the Shooter’s Guide by B. Thomas – 1811

AFTER having given a particular description of the woodcock, it will only. be necessary to observe, that the plumage and shape of the snipe is much the same ; and indeed its habits and manners sets bear a great analogy. But there are three different sizes of snipes, the largest of which, however, is much smaller than the woodcock. The common snipe, weighs about four ounces, the jack snipe. is not much. bigger than a lark; the large snipe weighs about nine ounces, but is seldom met with.  Some have supposed that the common snipe is the jack’s female ; however, the contrary is now too well known to need a refutation in this place. Continue reading The Snipe

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Waterloo

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How to Make Money – Insurance

Life insurance certificate issued by the Yorkshire Fire & Life Insurance Company to Samuel Holt, Liverpool, England, 1851. On display at the British Museum in London. Donated by the ifs School of Finance. Photo by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

From How to Make Money; and How to Keep it, Or, Capital and Labor  based on the works of Thomas A. Davies Revised & Rewritten with Additions by Henry A. Ford A.M.

CHAPTER XXVII.

LIFE INSURANCE.

It is an unselfish, generous act when one takes out a life policy to protect his family. Not only this, but he is doing his simple duty. ANONYMOUS.

The Life Insurance system has been for two centuries a positive force in the progress of modern civilization and the accumulation of national wealth. It has been an important educational factor in every community, which it has influenced in habits of economy, prudence, and providence. And it stands to-day side by side with the savings-bank and the trust company, sharing the confidence with which men who seek the welfare of their fellows crown all three. Rev. STEPHEN H. TYNG Jr.

THE origin of life insurance is attributed to the Rev. Wm. Anhote, D. D., of Middleton, Lancashire, England, who opened a public office about two hundred years ago, for the benefit of widows, especially those of clergy men, and for the settling of jointures and annuities.  In 1698, the “Mercers’ Company” began to assure lives for the benefit of widows; and in July, 1806,
under charter from Queen Anne, the “Amicable Society, or Perpetual Assurance,” opened the first general office. Within a century and a half from that time, about one hundred life companies were founded in the United Kingdom. In 1820 the ” Hospital Life Insurance Company,” first in this country, began its operations in Boston. Twenty-three years afterwards the first mutual companies were founded in that city and in New York. The number of life companies in the United States is now very large, and the system of late years has had an enormous development. It has become a highly important feature in the financial world; and its object is of a nature likely to commend it to every thinking mind. We have before insisted that it is the moral and political duty of every one so to arrange his affairs that he shall under no circumstances become a burden upon the public or his friends: we now say that this branch of finance offers the best way in which such result can be obtained. For if the man be alone in the world, with no onedependent upon him, it can be shown that he will accumulate for himself as fast in some other way on small amounts, while if he has others dependent upon him, this is the only way by which an independence can certainly be assured to them.

However industrious, prudent, and saving one may be under circumstances that protect him and his, Death stands at his door to put an end at any time to such efforts, however well directed. From the responsibilities of this end there is but one loophole of escape, but one way by which the man thus situated may see his way clear, and conquer even the efforts of Death to thwart him.  Life insurance meets the case; and while it does this effectually, if at the same time it accomplishes the further end of causing money to make money to the best advantage, it is still better. But if, again, it shows how to do this, and also to keep the accumulations, a treble triumph is won; and three problems harder to solve are not found in the whole range of finance. If, then, their solution can be accomplished by the most simple and untrained offinanciers, this may be said to be the El Dorado of the protector’s hope, if not of the unskilled money-maker and hoarder of his gains.

Let anyone, then, who has such obligations upon him, consider well their binding force, politically and socially, even if he have no promptings of love or gratitude to the same end. As an anonymous writer has put it, “What a neglect of duty it is for a head of a house to go uninsured! Probably more than two-thirds of the families in any community are dependent for their subsistence upon the daily earnings of the husband or father. Precarious, indeed, must that subsistence be, which hangs wholly and absolutely upon one life–that of the father. When he ceases to exist, not only a parent dies, but a fortune perishes. Then is his life-the mint-closed to those who drew from it. How deplorable such a state of things must be when so many sudden deaths occur ! “

Let the husband and father look over the following mortality table, and see what his expectancy of life is. It will in all probability arouse him to sudden and energetic action in the right direction, before his opportunities are past with no chance to retrace or amend his ways.

 

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A Cure for Distemper in Dogs

 

The following cure was found written on a front flyleaf in an 1811 3rd Ed. copy of The Sportsman’s Guide or Sportsman’s Companion: Containing Every Possible Instruction for the Juvenille Shooter,    Together with Information Necessary for the Experienced Sportsman by B. Thomas.

 

Transcript:

Vaccinate your dogs when young with the Cow pox by introducing the matter with a lancet on the fleshy part of the fore leg — taking care to have it effectually introduced and rubbed in, first clearing away the hair, sot that it may not obstruct the Lancet — mind that the pustule stands in duo time, and the disorder has taken effect.

Give a dose of Sulphur every other day for 3 days — immediately after the scab of the pustule is dead.

Mr. Windus has tried it, and has no doubt of it’s proven the distemper in dogs.

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A History of Fowling – Ravens and Jays

From A History of Fowling, Being an Account of the Many Curios Devices by Which Wild Birds are, or Have Been, Captured in Different Parts of the World  by Rev. H.A. MacPherson, M.A. 

THE RAVEN (Corvus corax) is generally accredited with a large endowment of mother wit. Its warning croak is usually uttered long before an expectant fowler has approached within several hundred yards of its nesting haunt. But even the bird of darkness is sometimes worsted by the craft of its human enemies. The modern Greenlander destroys the Raven with a shot-gun. Continue reading A History of Fowling — Ravens and Jays

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English Cottage Gardens

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Highlander Bible

Country Cabbage and Pea Soup

Add the following ingredients to a four or six quart crock pot, salt & pepper to taste keeping in mind that salt pork is just that, cover with water and cook on high till it boils, then cut back to low for four or five hours. A slow cooker works well, I [...] Read more →

The Hunt Saboteur

The Hunt Saboteur is a national disgrace barking out loud, black mask on her face get those dogs off, get them off she did yell until a swift kick from me mare her voice it did quell and sent the Hunt Saboteur scurrying up vale to the full cry of hounds drowning out her [...] Read more →

King William III on Horseback by Sir Godfrey Kneller

Reprint from The Royal Collection Trust website:

Kneller was born in Lubeck, studied with Rembrandt in Amsterdam and by 1676 was working in England as a fashionable portrait painter. He painted seven British monarchs (Charles II, James II, William III, Mary II, Anne, George I and George II), though his [...] Read more →

The Stock Exchange Specialist

New York Stock Exchange Floor September 26,1963

The Specialist as a member of a stock exchange has two functions.’ He must execute orders which other members of an exchange may leave with him when the current market price is away from the price of the orders. By executing these orders on behalf [...] Read more →

Some Notes on American Ship Worms

July 9, 1898. Forest and Stream Pg. 25

Some Notes on American Ship-Worms.

[Read before the American Fishes Congress at Tampa.]

While we wish to preserve and protect most of the products of our waters, these creatures we would gladly obliterate from the realm of living things. For [...] Read more →

Salmon Caviar

Salmon and Sturgeon Caviar – Photo by Thor

Salmon caviar was originated about 1910 by a fisherman in the Maritime Provinces of Siberia, and the preparation is a modification of the sturgeon caviar method (Cobb 1919). Salomon caviar has found a good market in the U.S.S.R. and other European countries where it [...] Read more →

The Human Seasons

John Keats

Four Seasons fill the measure of the year; There are four seasons in the mind of man: He has his lusty spring, when fancy clear Takes in all beauty with an easy span; He has his Summer, when luxuriously Spring’s honied cud of youthful thoughts he loves To ruminate, and by such [...] Read more →

Tuna Record

TROF. C. F. HOLDFER AND HIS 183LBS. TUNA, WITH BOATMAN JIM GARDNER.

July 2, 1898. Forest and Stream Pg. 11

The Tuna Record.

Avalon. Santa Catalina Island. Southern California, June 16.—Editor Forest and Stream: Several years ago the writer in articles on the “Game Fishes of the Pacific Slope,” in [...] Read more →

The American Museum in Britain – From Florida to Bath

Hernando de Soto (c1496-1542) Spanish explorer and his men torturing natives of Florida in his determination to find gold. Hand-coloured engraving. John Judkyn Memorial Collection, Freshford Manor, Bath

The print above depicts Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his band of conquistadors torturing Florida natives in order to extract information on where [...] Read more →

Proper Book Handling and Cleaning

Book Conservators, Mitchell Building, State Library of New South Wales, 29.10.1943, Pix Magazine

The following is taken verbatim from a document that appeared several years ago in the Maine State Archives. It seems to have been removed from their website. I happened to have made a physical copy of it at the [...] Read more →

Origin of the Apothecary

ORIGIN OF THE APOTHECARY.

The origin of the apothecary in England dates much further back than one would suppose from what your correspondent, “A Barrister-at-Law,” says about it. It is true he speaks only of apothecaries as a distinct branch of the medical profession, but long before Henry VIII’s time [...] Read more →

The Crime of the Congo by Arthur Conan Doyle

 

Man looks at severed hand and foot….for refusing to climb a tree to cut rubber for King Leopold

Click here to read The Crime of the Congo by Arthur Conan Doyle

Victim of King Leopold of Belgium

Click on the link below for faster download.

The [...] Read more →

Of the Room and Furniture

Crewe Hall Dining Room

 

THE transient tenure that most of us have in our dwellings, and the absorbing nature of the struggle that most of us have to make to win the necessary provisions of life, prevent our encouraging the manufacture of well-wrought furniture.

We mean to outgrow [...] Read more →

Cleaning Watch Chains

To Clean Watch Chains.

Gold or silver watch chains can be cleaned with a very excellent result, no matter whether they may be matt or polished, by laying them for a few seconds in pure aqua ammonia; they are then rinsed in alcohol, and finally. shaken in clean sawdust, free from sand. [...] Read more →

Popular Mechanics Archive

Click here to access the Internet Archive of old Popular Mechanics Magazines – 1902-2016

Click here to view old Popular Mechanics Magazine Covers

Home Top of Pg. Read more →

Why Beauty Matters – Sir Roger Scruton

Roger Scruton – Why Beauty Matters (2009) from Mirza Akdeniz on Vimeo.

Click here for another site on which to view this video.

Sadly, Sir Roger Scruton passed away a few days ago—January 12th, 2020. Heaven has gained a great philosopher.

Home Top of [...] Read more →

Producing and Harvesting Tobacco Seed

THE FIRST step in producing a satisfactory crop of tobacco is to use good seed that is true to type. The grower often can save his own seed to advantage, if he wants to.

Before topping is done, he should go over the tobacco field carefully to pick [...] Read more →

Birth of United Fruit Company

From Conquest of the Tropics by Frederick Upham Adams

Chapter VI – Birth of the United Fruit Company

Only those who have lived in the tropic and are familiar with the hazards which confront the cultivation and marketing of its fruits can readily understand [...] Read more →

Clairvoyance and Occult Powers

Vishnu as the Cosmic Man (Vishvarupa) Opaque watercolour on paper – Jaipur, Rajasthan c. 1800-50

 

CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS

By Swami Panchadasi

Copyright, 1916

By Advanced Thought Pub. Co. Chicago, Il

INTRODUCTION.

In preparing this series of lessons for students of [...] Read more →

Of Decorated Furniture

DECORATED or “sumptuous” furniture is not merely furniture that is expensive to buy, but that which has been elaborated with much thought, knowledge, and skill. Such furniture cannot be cheap, certainly, but the real cost of it is sometimes borne by the artist who produces rather than by the man who may [...] Read more →

The Apparatus of the Stock Market

Sucker

The components of any given market place include both physical structures set up to accommodate trading, and participants to include buyers, sellers, brokers, agents, barkers, pushers, auctioneers, agencies, and propaganda outlets, and banking or transaction exchange facilities.

Markets are generally set up by sellers as it is in their [...] Read more →

The First Greek Book by John Williams White

Click here to read The First Greek Book by John Williams White

The First Greek Book - 15.7MB

IN MEMORIAM

JOHN WILLIAMS WHITE

The death, on May 9, of John Williams White, professor of Greek in Harvard University, touches a large number of classical [...] Read more →

Travels by Narrowboat

Oh Glorious England, verdant fields and wandering canals…

In this wonderful series of videos, the CountryHouseGent takes the viewer along as he chugs up and down the many canals crisscrossing England in his classic Narrowboat. There is nothing like a free man charting his own destiny.

Banana Propagation

Banana Propagation

Reprinted from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA.org)

The traditional means of obtaining banana planting material (“seed”) is to acquire suckers from one’s own banana garden, from a neighbor, or from a more distant source. This method served to spread common varieties around the world and to multiply them [...] Read more →

King Arthur Legends, Myths, and Maidens

King Arthur, Legends, Myths & Maidens is a massive book of Arthurian legends. This limited edition paperback was just released on Barnes and Noble at a price of $139.00. Although is may seem a bit on the high side, it may prove to be well worth its price as there are only [...] Read more →

The Real Time Piece Gentleman and the Digital Watch Vault

Paul Thorpe, Brighton, U.K.

The YouTube watch collecting world is rather tight-knit and small, but growing, as watches became a highly coveted commodity during the recent world-wide pandemic and fueled an explosion of online watch channels.

There is one name many know, The Time Piece Gentleman. This name for me [...] Read more →

The Black Grouper or Jewfish.

 

Nov. 5. 1898 Forest and Stream Pg. 371-372

The Black Grouper or Jewfish.

New Smyrna, Fla., Oct. 21.—Editor Forest and Stream:

It is not generally known that the fish commonly called jewfish. warsaw and black grouper are frequently caught at the New Smyrna bridge [...] Read more →

Clover Wine

Add 3 quarts clover blossoms* to 4 quarts of boiling water removed from heat at point of boil. Let stand for three days. At the end of the third day, drain the juice into another container leaving the blossoms. Add three quarts of fresh water and the peel of one lemon to the blossoms [...] Read more →

Texas Tarpon

Early Texas photo of Tarpon catch – Not necessarily the one mentioned below…

July 2, 1898. Forest and Stream Pg.10

Texas Tarpon.

Tarpon, Texas.—Mr. W. B. Leach, of Palestine, Texas, caught at Aransas Pass Islet, on June 14, the largest tarpon on record here taken with rod and reel. The [...] Read more →

Chinese Duck Cooking – A Few Recipes

Chen Lin, Water fowl, in Cahill, James. Ge jiang shan se (Hills Beyond a River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan Dynasty, 1279-1368, Taiwan edition). Taipei: Shitou chubanshe fen youxian gongsi, 1994. pl. 4:13, p. 180. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei. scroll, light colors on paper, 35.7 x 47.5 cm

 

Platform of the American Institute of Banking in 1919

Resolution adapted at the New Orleans Convention of the American Institute of Banking, October 9, 1919:

“Ours is an educational association organized for the benefit of the banking fraternity of the country and within our membership may be found on an equal basis both employees and employers; [...] Read more →

Fortune, Independence, and Competence

THE answer to the question, What is fortune has never been, and probably never will be, satisfactorily made. What may be a fortune for one bears but small proportion to the colossal possessions of another. The scores or hundreds of thousands admired and envied as a fortune in most of our communities [...] Read more →

The Effect of Magnetic Fields on Wound Healing

The Effect of Magnetic Fields on Wound Healing Experimental Study and Review of the Literature

Steven L. Henry, MD, Matthew J. Concannon, MD, and Gloria J. Yee, MD Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Missouri Hospital & Clinics, Columbia, MO Published July 25, 2008

Objective: Magnets [...] Read more →

Cup of Tea? To be or not to be

Twinings London – photo by Elisa.rolle

Is the tea in your cup genuine?

The fact is, had one been living in the early 19th Century, one might occasionally encounter a counterfeit cup of tea. Food adulterations to include added poisonings and suspect substitutions were a common problem in Europe at [...] Read more →

Protecting Rare Books: How to Build a Silverfish Trap

Silverfish damage to book – photo by Micha L. Rieser

The beauty of hunting silverfish is that they are not the most clever of creatures in the insect kingdom.

Simply take a small clean glass jar and wrap it in masking tape. The masking tape gives the silverfish something to [...] Read more →

Curing Diabetes With an Old Malaria Formula

For years in the West African nation of Ghana medicine men have used a root and leaves from a plant called nibima(Cryptolepis sanguinolenta) to kill the Plasmodium parasite transmitted through a female mosquito’s bite that is the root cause of malaria. A thousand miles away in India, a similar(same) plant [...] Read more →

AB Bookman’s 1948 Guide to Describing Conditions

AB Bookman’s 1948 Guide to Describing Conditions:

As New is self-explanatory. It means that the book is in the state that it should have been in when it left the publisher. This is the equivalent of Mint condition in numismatics. Fine (F or FN) is As New but allowing for the normal effects of [...] Read more →

Watch Fraud on eBay

EBAY’S FRAUD PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE

EBay has had a problem with fraudulent sellers since its inception back in 1995. Some aspects of the platform have improved with algorithms and automation, but others such as customer service and fraud have gotten worse. Small sellers have definitely been hurt by eBay’s [...] Read more →

The Cremation of Sam McGee

Robert W. Service (b.1874, d.1958)

 

There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold; The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, But the queerest they ever did see Was that night [...] Read more →

Fresh Water Angling – The Two Crappies

 

July 2, 1898 Forest and Stream,

Fresh-Water Angling. No. IX.—The Two Crappies. BY FRED MATHER.

Fishing In Tree Tops.

Here a short rod, say 8ft., is long enough, and the line should not be much longer than the rod. A reel is not [...] Read more →

Target Practice

Nov. 12, 1898 Forest and Stream Pg. 396

The Veterans to the Front.

Ironton. O., Oct. 28.—Editor Forest and Stream: I mail you a target made here today by Messrs. E. Lawton, G. Rogers and R. S. Dupuy. Mr. Dupuy is seventy-four years old, Mr. Lawton seventy-two. Mr. Rogers [...] Read more →

Cocillana Syrup Compound

Guarea guidonia

Recipe

5 Per Cent Alcohol 8-24 Grain – Heroin Hydrochloride 120 Minims – Tincture Euphorbia Pilulifera 120 Minims – Syrup Wild Lettuce 40 Minims – Tincture Cocillana 24 Minims – Syrup Squill Compound 8 Gram – Ca(s)ecarin (P, D, & Co.) 8-100 Grain Menthol

Dose – One-half to one fluidrams (2 to [...] Read more →

The Field of the Cloth of Gold

Reprint from the Royal Collection Trust Website

The meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I, known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold, took place between 7 to 24 June 1520 in a valley subsequently called the Val d’Or, near Guisnes to the south of Calais. The [...] Read more →

Shooting in Wet Weather

 

Reprint from The Sportsman’s Cabinet and Town and Country Magazine, Vol I. Dec. 1832, Pg. 94-95

To the Editor of the Cabinet.

SIR,

Possessing that anxious feeling so common among shooters on the near approach of the 12th of August, I honestly confess I was not able [...] Read more →

Indian Modes of Hunting – Setting Fox Traps

Aug. 13, 1898 Forest and Stream, Pg. 125

Game Bag and Gun.

Indian Modes of Hunting. III.—Foxes.

The fox as a rule is a most wily animal, and numerous are the stories of his cunning toward the Indian hunter with his steel traps.

The Shirk – An Old but Familiar Phenomena

STORE MANAGEMENT—THE SHIRK.

THE shirk is a well-known specimen of the genus homo. His habitat is offices, stores, business establishments of all kinds. His habits are familiar to us, but a few words on the subject will not be amiss. The shirk usually displays activity when the boss is around, [...] Read more →

Herbal Psychedelics – Rhododendron ponticum and Mad Honey Disease

Toxicity of Rhododendron From Countrysideinfo.co.UK

“Potentially toxic chemicals, particularly ‘free’ phenols, and diterpenes, occur in significant quantities in the tissues of plants of Rhododendron species. Diterpenes, known as grayanotoxins, occur in the leaves, flowers and nectar of Rhododendrons. These differ from species to species. Not all species produce them, although Rhododendron ponticum [...] Read more →

Why Beauty Matters

Roger Scruton by Peter Helm

This is one of those videos that the so-called intellectual left would rather not be seen by the general public as it makes a laughing stock of the idiots running the artworld, a multi-billion dollar business.

https://archive.org/details/why-beauty-matters-roger-scruton

or Click here to watch

[...] Read more →

On Bernini’s Bust of a Stewart King

As reported in the The Colac Herald on Friday July 17, 1903 Pg. 8 under Art Appreciation as a reprint from the Westminster Gazette

ART APPRECIATION IN THE COMMONS.

The appreciation of art as well as of history which is entertained by the average member of the [...] Read more →

Audubon’s Art Method and Techniques

Audubon started to develop a special technique for drawing birds in 1806 a Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. He perfected it during the long river trip from Cincinnati to New Orleans and in New Orleans, 1821.

Home Top of [...] Read more →

The English Tradition of Woodworking

THE sense of a consecutive tradition has so completely faded out of English art that it has become difficult to realise the meaning of tradition, or the possibility of its ever again reviving; and this state of things is not improved by the fact that it is due to uncertainty of purpose, [...] Read more →

Arsenic and Old Lace

What is follows is an historical article that appeared in The Hartford Courant in 1916 about the arsenic murders carried out by Mrs. Archer-Gilligan. This story is the basis for the 1944 Hollywood film “Arsenic and Old Lace” starring Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane and directed by Frank Capra. The [...] Read more →

Money Saving Recipe for Gold Leaf Sizing

Artisans world-wide spend a fortune on commercial brand oil-based gold leaf sizing. The most popular brands include Luco, Dux, and L.A. Gold Leaf. Pricing for quart size containers range from $35 to $55 depending upon retailer pricing.

Fast drying sizing sets up in 2-4 hours depending upon environmental conditions, humidity [...] Read more →

Books Condemned to be Burnt

BOOKS CONDEMNED TO BE BURNT.

By

JAMES ANSON FARRER,

LONDON

ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW

1892

———-

WHEN did books first come to be burnt in England by the common hangman, and what was [...] Read more →

Chinese 9 Course Dinner

The following recipes form the most popular items in a nine-course dinner program:

BIRD’S NEST SOUP

Soak one pound bird’s nest in cold water overnight. Drain the cold water and cook in boiling water. Drain again. Do this twice. Clean the bird’s nest. Be sure [...] Read more →

Mortlake Tapestries of Chatsworth

Mortlake Tapestries at Chatsworth House

Click here to learn more about the Mortlake Tapestries of Chatsworth

The Mortlake Tapestries were founded by Sir Francis Crane.

From the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 13

Crane, Francis by William Prideaux Courtney

CRANE, Sir FRANCIS (d. [...] Read more →

Chantry Chapels

William Wyggeston’s chantry house, built around 1511, in Leicester: The building housed two priests, who served at a chantry chapel in the nearby St Mary de Castro church. It was sold as a private dwelling after the dissolution of the chantries.

A Privately Built Chapel

Chantry, chapel, generally within [...] Read more →

The Public Attitude Towards Speculation

Reprint from The Pitfalls of Speculation by Thomas Gibson 1906 Ed.

THE PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARD SPECULATION

THE public attitude toward speculation is generally hostile. Even those who venture frequently are prone to speak discouragingly of speculative possibilities, and to point warningly to the fact that an [...] Read more →

Something about Caius College, Cambridge

Gate of Honour, Caius Court, Gonville & Caius

Gonville & Caius College, known as Caius and pronounced keys was founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, the Rector of Terrington St Clement in Norfolk. The first name was thus Goville Hall and it was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. [...] Read more →

Proper Wines to Serve with Food

Foie gras with Sauternes, Photo by Laurent Espitallier

As an Appetizer

Pale dry Sherry, with or without bitters, chilled or not. Plain or mixed Vermouth, with or without bitters. A dry cocktail.

With Oysters, Clams or Caviar

A dry flinty wine such as Chablis, Moselle, Champagne. Home Top of [...] Read more →

A Crock of Squirrel

A CROCK OF SQUIRREL

4 young squirrels – quartered Salt & Pepper 1 large bunch of fresh coriander 2 large cloves of garlic 2 tbsp. salted sweet cream cow butter ¼ cup of brandy 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar 6 fresh apricots 4 strips of bacon 1 large package of Monterrey [...] Read more →

The Billesden Coplow Run

*note – Billesdon and Billesden have both been used to name the hunt.

BILLESDEN COPLOW POEM

[From “Reminiscences of the late Thomas Assheton Smith, Esq”]

The run celebrated in the following verses took place on the 24th of February, 1800, when Mr. Meynell hunted Leicestershire, and has since been [...] Read more →

How Long is Your Yacht?

Dominion, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club,Winner of Seawanhaka Cup, 1898.

The Tail Wags the Dog.

The following is a characteristic sample of those broad and liberal views on yachting which are the pride of the Boston Herald. Speaking of the coming races for the Seawanhaka international challenge cup, it says:

[...] Read more →

U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act – Full Text

WIPO HQ Geneva

UNITED STATES PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT

TITLE I – PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION OFFICE Chapter Section 1. Organization and Publications . 1 2. Legal Provisions as to the Plant Variety Protection Office . 21 3. Plant Variety Protection Fees . 31

CHAPTER 1.-ORGANIZATION AND PUBLICATIONS Section [...] Read more →

Art Fraud

A la Russie, aux ânes et aux autres – by Chagall – 1911

Marc Chagall is one of the most forged artists on the planet. Mark Rothko fakes also abound. According to available news reports, the art market is littered with forgeries of their work. Some are even thought to be [...] Read more →

Pickled Eels

Vintage woodcut illustration of a Eel

 

This dish is a favorite in Northern Europe, from the British Isles to Sweden.

Clean and skin the eels and cut them into pieces about 3/4-inch thick. Wash and drain the pieces, then dredge in fine salt and allow to stand from 30 [...] Read more →

Blunderbuss Mai Tai Recipe

Blackbeard’s Jolly Roger

If you’re looking for that most refreshing of summertime beverages for sipping out on the back patio or perhaps as a last drink before walking the plank, let me recommend my Blunderbuss Mai Tai. I picked up the basics to this recipe over thirty years ago when holed up [...] Read more →

A Survey of Palestine – 1945-1946

This massive volume gives one a real visual sense of what it was like running a highly efficient colonial operation in the early 20rh Century. It will also go a long way to help anyone wishing to understand modern political intrigue in the Middle-East.

Click here to read A Survey of Palestine [...] Read more →

What’s the Matter?

A rhetorical question? Genuine concern?

In this essay we are examining another form of matter otherwise known as national literary matters, the three most important of which being the Matter of Rome, Matter of France, and the Matter of England.

Our focus shall be on the Matter of England or [...] Read more →

Rendering Amber Clear for Use in Lens-Making for Magnifying Glass

by John Partridge,drawing,1825

From the work of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake entitled Materials for a history of oil painting, (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1846), we learn the following:

The effect of oil at certain temperatures, in penetrating “the minute pores of the amber” (as Hoffman elsewhere writes), is still more [...] Read more →

Beef Jerky

BEEF JERKY

Preparation.

Slice 5 pounds lean beef (flank steak or similar cut) into strips 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, 1 to 2 inches wide, and 4 to 12 inches long. Cut with grain of meat; remove the fat. Lay out in a single layer on a smooth clean surface (use [...] Read more →

Preserving Iron and Steel Surfaces with Paint

Painting the Brooklyn Bridge, Photo by Eugene de Salignac , 1914

 

Excerpt from: The Preservation of Iron and Steel Structures by F. Cosby-Jones, The Mechanical Engineer January 30, 1914

Painting.

This is the method of protection against corrosion that has the most extensive use, owing to the fact that [...] Read more →

Fruits of the Empire: Licorice Root and Juice

Liquorice, the roots of Glycirrhiza Glabra, a perennial plant, a native of the south of Europe, but cultivated to some extent in England, particularly at Mitcham, in Surrey.

Its root, which is its only valuable part, is long, fibrous, of a yellow colour, and when fresh, very juicy. [...] Read more →

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Officers and men of the 13th Light Dragoons, British Army, Crimea. Rostrum photograph of photographer’s original print, uncropped and without color correction. Survivors of the Charge.

Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the [...] Read more →

Public Attitudes Towards Speculation

Reprint from The Pitfalls of Speculation by Thomas Gibson 1906 Ed.

THE PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARD SPECULATION

THE public attitude toward speculation is generally hostile. Even those who venture frequently are prone to speak discouragingly of speculative possibilities, and to point warningly to the fact that an overwhelming majority [...] Read more →

CIA 1950s Unevaluated UFO Intelligence

 

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

INROMATION FROM FOREIGN DOCUMENT OR RADIO BROADCASTS COUNTRY: Non-Orbit SUBJECT: Military – Air – Scientific – Aeronautics HOW PUBLISHED: Newspapers WHERE PUBLISHED: As indicated DATE PUBLISHED: 12 Dec 1953 – 12 Jan 1954 LANGUAGE: Various SOURCE: As indicated REPORT NO. 00-W-30357 DATE OF INFORMATION: 1953-1954 DATE DIST. 27 [...] Read more →

A Creative Approach to Saving Ye Olde Cassette Tapes

Quite possibly, the most agonizing decision being made by Baby Boomers across the nation these days is what to do with all that vintage Hi-fi equipment and boxes full of classic rock and roll cassettes and 8-Tracks.

I faced this dilemma head-on this past summer as I definitely wanted in [...] Read more →

A Cure for Distemper in Dogs

 

The following cure was found written on a front flyleaf in an 1811 3rd Ed. copy of The Sportsman’s Guide or Sportsman’s Companion: Containing Every Possible Instruction for the Juvenille Shooter, Together with Information Necessary for the Experienced Sportsman by B. Thomas.

 

Transcript:

Vaccinate your dogs when young [...] Read more →

Books of Use to the International Art Collector

Hebborn Piranesi

Before meeting with an untimely death at the hand of an unknown assassin in Rome on January 11th, 1996, master forger Eric Hebborn put down on paper a wealth of knowledge about the art of forgery. In a book published posthumously in 1997, titled The Art Forger’s Handbook, Hebborn suggests [...] Read more →

The Character of a Happy Life

How happy is he born and taught. That serveth not another’s will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill

Whose passions not his masters are; Whose soul is still prepared for death, Untied unto the world by care Of public fame or private breath;

Who envies none that chance [...] Read more →

A History of the Use of Arsenicals in Man

The arsenicals (compounds which contain the heavy metal element arsenic, As) have a long history of use in man – with both benevolent and malevolent intent. The name ‘arsenic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘arsenikon’ which means ‘potent'”. As early as 2000 BC, arsenic trioxide, obtained from smelting copper, was used [...] Read more →

Horn Measurement

Jul. 23, 1898 Forest and Stream, Pg. 65

Horn Measurements.

Editor Forest and Stream: “Record head.” How shamefully this term is being abused, especially in the past three years; or since the giant moose from Alaska made his appearance in public and placed all former records (so far as [...] Read more →

Coffee & Cigarettes

Aw, the good old days, meet in the coffee shop with a few friends, click open the Zippo, inhale a glorious nosegay of lighter fluid, fresh roasted coffee and a Marlboro cigarette….

A Meta-analysis of Coffee Drinking, Cigarette Smoking, and the Risk of Parkinson’s Disease

We conducted a [...] Read more →

Painting Plaster Work and the History of Terra Cotta

The 1896 Victorian terracotta Bell Edison Telephone Building – 17 & 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham, England. A grade I listed building designed by Frederick Martin of the firm Martin & Chamberlain. Now offices for firms of architects. Photographed 10 May 2006 by Oosoom

[Reprint from Victoria and Albert Museum included below on [...] Read more →