to give you an idea of how overwhelmed I get...
when I have hundreds of these old photos...
spread out on my floor like tiling...
...and I can see my family as a whole.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
These Are My Faces
to give you an idea of how overwhelmed I get...
when I have hundreds of these old photos...
spread out on my floor like tiling...
...and I can see my family as a whole.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
New Directions, Inspiration, and The Family Circus
In case you haven't heard, the building that my Pioneer Square studio is in has been declared unsafe by the City of Seattle.
Earlier this year, we (the artist-tenants of 619 Western) were told by the Washington State Department of Transportation that we would have to be out of the building by March of 2012 in order for the tunnel (Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement option) to be dug and built right below the 101-year-old building. But two weeks ago, we were given notice to be out by October by the city. Also, "public assemblies" are no longer allowed in the building, either...effectively ending the largest artist concentration in the nation's oldest art walk. That's right - First Thursday Art Walks in Pioneer Square are all but finished - at least for the 100+ artists in the 619 Western Building.
Sad times, for sure. But it all seems to be out of our hands and I am going to move on. Nearly two years in the studio produced a bunch of great and memorable shoots, and quite the handful of amazing ark walks. I'll do my best to remember the good times.
In other news, I have begun working a contracted position at the Nordstrom photo studio. Those of you that know me can probably attest to my lack of fashion sense, not to mention my lack of interest in fashion in general. But working on the web catalog for the local upscale retailer? Bizarre, right? Right.
Still, it's nice working in a busy studio, regardless of what the subject matter is. But that got me thinking about fashion - mainly why I don't connect to it...and what it means to me. Searching for answers, I stumbled across an image by a photographer named Frances McLaughlin-Gill.
"Born in 1919, Frances McLaughlin-Gill became a fashion photographer and producer of television commercials. She studied at the Pratt Institure during the Depression and she was a staff photographer for Conde Nast publications 1944-1955 and went on to produce television commercials between 1964-1973. Frances built a successful career beginning in the 1940s at Vogue and she was the first woman under contract to Vogue."
I had never heard of her. But this shoot she did for Glamour magazine in 1952 grabbed me on so many levels. The colors, the staging, the set (yes, it's a set)...the fact that it was shot FIFTY-NINE years ago! I was able to find quite a few behind-the-scenes images, too. I always love those.
I try to have a sense of "deliberate intent" when I shoot and seeing this incredibly staged shoot reminds me exactly of what I love doing most with photography. Sure, you can see other shots where the models are in different poses or interacting with each other in various ways (or not at all), but the room for small adjustments like those are part of the deliberate intent when creating these scenes.
And it's a combination of the original vision and intended direction of a conceptualized shoot with the unexpected deviations that naturally occur within the framework that take the photos to the next level. I've never been able to shoot exactly what is in my head. And (regardless of what I say when I'm shooting or how frustrated I may look at the time), that's really my favorite part about staging large scenes...and photography in general. The magic really happens when the path is laid out before you (from hard work and plenty of preparation) and either by choice or by accident, you take a few steps off the path to get to your destination. Sometimes, you leave the path for good once you first step off. And sometimes you return - whether immediately or eventually. As much as I can't stand the Family Circus comic strip, I can't help but think of those stupid round-about dotted-line paths the kids take while going about their business. Sure, Bill Keane has used that exact same tired gag time and time again, but while the quickest way from A to B is the straight line, going in circles and zig-zags always makes for a far more interesting journey.
And, for me, usually a more interesting photo.
Hmmm, I just realized that none of the photos in this post are mine, so I think I should add one. Here is a mask I made with my friend and colleague, Clayton Ryan. It's part of a large project we are working on this year, so here's a sneak peak. Enjoy!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Lord Winbigler's Folly - The Process
Seeing a large project go through the entire process from initial conception to final product is always an interesting trip.
Let's take "Lord Winbigler's Folly," for example:
After brunch with friends one Sunday morn (probably less morn and more afternoon, honestly), we found that the neighbors were having a garage sale. The usual crap with dangling pricetags was strewn across the sidewalk, but one thing immediately caught our attention - a large, brass telescope. Now, the thing could be an antique, or it could be Restoration Hardware 2009. There's not much way for me to know and I really didn't care, either way. The thing looked cool and would make a great prop, one way or another. So I bought it right away.
The next two hours were well-spent sitting on my friend Adam's couch, looking towards his dining room. This was unusual as congregating in the kitchen is the norm in my circle, but we were still so full of pancakes and french toast and omelettes that walking another 30 feet was far too much of a chore. Thus, from the couch, nursing our bloated bellies, the whole story came about:
"So, what the hell do we do with a telescope?"
"Well, it will have to be by the window, with someone looking out it, no?"
"Yeah, he should have a beard, too. And be all stuffy. In an old suit...hmmm, maybe he's steampunk?"
"Oooh, we haven't shot steampunk yet! But the whole room is great - what's going to fill the rest of the room? We should put more people into the shot."
"There needs to be all sorts of action going on - maybe there's a fight in the far corner?"
"And some other action over in this corner? Maybe something is being spilled? Or things flying through the air?"
"OOooh, yeah! Just lots of chaos! With lots of people! And we should definitely be in this one, maybe hidden amongst the rest of the characters!?!"
"We're going to need some old maps."
"I've got those, but we'll need a lot of old bottles laying about, too."
"Oh, I have those. There should be old compasses, too."
"Got em. What about having people making dynamite on the table? We could have large scales for the measuring gunpowder or something?"
"I have scales!"
And so it built and built and within two hours, most of the details and characters were all scripted out in our heads already. We had debated between going steampunk or not again and again but finally decided to make it more of a period piece and not get too crazy on the metalwork and fantasy-science...for this one. Maybe another time.
As Adam travels a lot, and to Southeast Asia quite a bit, his house is filled with all sorts of furniture and knick-knacks from his travels. So we thought the setting should be Hong Kong and then we wouldn't have to move (too much) furniture around. As neither he nor I are Chinese, we figured we could be British and tie it in with their occupation and imperialism of the area. We wanted to make it old-timey, so we figured the turn of the century was an interesting time and the year 1899 was chosen.
Between the two of us, we actually had far more of the required old-timey props than is reasonable.
Days later, at some modest get-together in the same room, Adam and I were energetically attempting to explain our new idea to some other friends and Adam just stood up and told the story as if it was how he heard it from his grandfather a hundred times, who had heard it from his grandfather a hundred times. It was incredible. Instead of saying "well, these guys are over here, and she's standing over there, and flying checkers are over there" as I would have done, he just let this perfectly eloquent narrative flow. Everything was tied together on why each character was in the room and doing what they were doing. The shady characters involved were all described as "mostly British ruffians" and "ne'er do wells" and they were in Hong Kong as part of some carefully orchestrated plot of treachery.
The next day, I realized that we hadn't written down a single word of this and I asked Adam to try to remember what he had said. From that, he came up with the working back-story that carried us through the entire project. The year was changed to 1839, the actions of our characters were tied to real historical events that triggered the First Opium War...and the ending of the story took a very different turn from the original concept. In a moment of brilliance, Adam just added one final touch - that after all is said and done, the whole thing is a failure.
The name Winbigler was stolen from my "Book a Day" project, Ping Chang was a city in China that Adam and another friend of ours got kicked out of once, and other names just fell into place, either just by sounding old-timey or taken from ancestors (Elizer Hull was derived from someone the person playing that character was related to, and my character's name, Henry Fusselman, was my great-great-great-great-grandfather's name. We had a carefully woven narrative and series of events that, in the end, was futile. None of it mattered. And none of it changed history.
-----------------------------------------------
June 14, 1839.
The British Empire has been chugging steadily into the Industrial Revolution, fueled in part by Chinese tea. In exchange, the British have been importing vast quantities of opium to China, creating a drug-addled dynasty beholden to British political and economic whims. Lin Zexu has tired of seeing his country becoming crippled addicts. He has composed a letter, soon to be delivered to Queen Victoria, informing her that he has confiscated and destroyed the 20,000 chests of British opium due to arrive in Hong Kong any day now.
In a veranda overlooking Kowloon, Hong Kong, Lord F. Alastair Winbigler looks out over the bay, his stoic face belying his racing mind, occupied with calculating the next moves he will make. Intent upon amassing a personal fortune from both tea and opium, he too has his sights on the sizable shipment soon to arrive in Hong Kong. His plan is already in action. Behind the Lord, the hotel's table is a flurry of activity. Armed with sextants and compasses, his shrewdest strategists assess the port and access routes on a variety of well-worn maps. Bottles of rum, broken quills, and other detritus attest to the lengthy debates which have surrounded these maps. Also competing for space on the table is a bombmaking operation. Two lackeys, skilled in the art of conflagration, carefully measure black gunpowder and prepare bundles of explosivese for the coming siege.
Frustrated with the countless hours of seemingly fruitless debate, two of the Lord's thugs have reached their breaking point. After countless games of checkers and bottles of rum, an argument has erupted. The checkerboard is flung into the air, red and black pieces flying helter-skelter. The Lord's plot would not be possible without a turncoat, of course. The beguiling enchantress, Song Xi Xiu fans herself and scarcely hides a smirk as she watches over the scene. Having already been paid handsomely for access to the port commissioner, her profit is guaranteed, regardless of the success of the final siege. The commissioner, Ping Chang, still occasionally struggles against the heavy ropes which bind him to a chair. As if the injuries he's already sustained weren't enough, one of the Lord's lackeys is relishing in the opportunity to deliver another productive blow to the commissioner's already bludgeoned face.
And all the while, the Lord's mistress, the delicately perfumed, flaxen-curled Madame Mountbatten, patiently enjoys yet another cup of prized tea, while she envisions her coming days presiding over their very own Caribbean island, complete with sugar plantation, rum distillery, and most importantly, vast staff of servants to tend to her every whim.
None of these individuals know that their whole plan is to come to a disastrous conclusion, and that Lin will, in fact, destroy the 20,000 crates of opium, heralding the start of the first Opium War. But for now, let us relish in the potential of this highly coordinated effort.
-----------------------------------------------
The whole thing was in vain. What better mood to start a project of this scale with?
As a test, we did a mock-up shoot and composited 6 Adams and 5 Kevins as all the characters...just to see if we could even FIT eleven people into this room and have it make sense. It's funny looking back at this image now and seeing how very close it is to the final image, T-shirts and clean-shaven mustaches aside. Once we realized that this might actually work, the real process began.
Over the next three months, characters were cast and re-cast, facial hair was grown, more and more props were acquired (more than a few trips to Chinatown) or made (paper mache bombs!) or borrowed (sextants!). Costumes were bought, fitted, rented and even hand-made. Most of the wardrobe would be rented, but for the character Prewitt Prug, a British thug who was purely hired muscle, we figured he should be wearing the most raggedy clothing possible, just barely hanging off his body. In fact, as it was set in July in Southern China, it would have been hot and in all probability, 
Prug would most likely be shirtless, shoeless and have some torn pants hardly clinging to his waist. The original idea was for an unhealthy amount of his ass showing even, but, when I realized that he would be punching the equally near-naked Port Commissioner, Ping Chang, it would have been too much skin showing in one corner of the photo, as Chang would be shirtless as well, having been tied to a chair with large ropes. So a dirty shirt was given to Prug, but his pants were made from nothing more than burlap and twine, sewn together with a pencil for a needle.
At the vintage costume rental shop, the characters truly started to come to life as people began to play around with different combinations of pants, shirts, suspenders, hats, monocles, wirey glasses, pince-nez, who gets a pipe? Who gets a cigarette? It was great watching people get excited over one thing vs another that led to a more defined version of who they were becoming.
To further deepen the story, each person cast was asked to write their own character's bio. Since everyone was given the same back-story on the final image, it was up to them to explain who they were and how they got to that moment, that room. Those who didn't have the time to write something out, was told not to worry, as I would be happy to write as many of them as needed. Tying in made-up characters to actual historical events was too much fun and, in the end, Adam and I wrote more than half of the bios, either by ourselves or together.
The day before the shoot was spent collecting all the costumes and prepping the set. It took all day to get the whole table arranged just right, the lanterns hanging in the right spot, the checkers suspended from wires here and there... In the evening, our Port Commissioner came by for his haircut. 
The "queue" style haircut was imposed by the Qing Chinese and we wanted Ping to look just right. Adam shaved about 3/4 of his head, and left just the back portion. We pinned a nice ponytail to complete it and he was set. While this was going on, I was in the next room, preparing bruise and black eye make-up on myself. Going out that night looking like that was a great success. 
We hit up Lowe's Hardware for some last minute hardware and then went to Capitol Hill for dinner. Although I didn't feel it was a particularly good make-up job, there were more than a few comments from people thinking it was real. I'll have to play around with it in the future and see how more realistic I can get it.
Eventually, Adam and I were up late, writing the last few bios into the wee hours as I finished up Prug's burlap pants.
Yet, somehow, it always seems to all come together.
The shoot itself only took a few hours. The main shot was split up into 4 different parts, as I wanted a particular lighting on each area and it made more sense to shoot it separately and composite the quadrants together. The Greek professor schooling the British ruffian at checkers in the lower left of the frame was shot together, then Winbigler himself and the two cartographers were shot together, completing the left side.
Mountbatten was shot by herself up top, then the whole right side was shot together, so the action of the five characters over there blending together better. 
While shooting Mountbatten, the Port Commissioner was being prepped on the other side of the frame - tying someone to a chair and covering them with fake blood is always fun. He was incredibly patient, though, and sat through not only Mountbatten's shoot, but also while I went around and lit everything on the table separately. The fake blood we used was mint flavored and he didn't seem to mind, too much.
A few spit takes to get the right blood spray from his mouth while being punched, a few takes to get the checker players angry enough, a few takes to get the cartographers arguing properly about their differing strategies...it all came together frighteningly close to how the original idea was scripted, but actually seeing the right faces in the right clothing amongst all the clutter that we had been collecting for months? This is why I do this. Sure, I love the final photos from the shoot. But it really is all about the process that makes it so fun.
Let's take "Lord Winbigler's Folly," for example:
After brunch with friends one Sunday morn (probably less morn and more afternoon, honestly), we found that the neighbors were having a garage sale. The usual crap with dangling pricetags was strewn across the sidewalk, but one thing immediately caught our attention - a large, brass telescope. Now, the thing could be an antique, or it could be Restoration Hardware 2009. There's not much way for me to know and I really didn't care, either way. The thing looked cool and would make a great prop, one way or another. So I bought it right away.
The next two hours were well-spent sitting on my friend Adam's couch, looking towards his dining room. This was unusual as congregating in the kitchen is the norm in my circle, but we were still so full of pancakes and french toast and omelettes that walking another 30 feet was far too much of a chore. Thus, from the couch, nursing our bloated bellies, the whole story came about:"So, what the hell do we do with a telescope?"
"Well, it will have to be by the window, with someone looking out it, no?"
"Yeah, he should have a beard, too. And be all stuffy. In an old suit...hmmm, maybe he's steampunk?"
"Oooh, we haven't shot steampunk yet! But the whole room is great - what's going to fill the rest of the room? We should put more people into the shot."
"There needs to be all sorts of action going on - maybe there's a fight in the far corner?"
"And some other action over in this corner? Maybe something is being spilled? Or things flying through the air?"
"OOooh, yeah! Just lots of chaos! With lots of people! And we should definitely be in this one, maybe hidden amongst the rest of the characters!?!"
"We're going to need some old maps."
"I've got those, but we'll need a lot of old bottles laying about, too."
"Oh, I have those. There should be old compasses, too."
"Got em. What about having people making dynamite on the table? We could have large scales for the measuring gunpowder or something?"
"I have scales!"
And so it built and built and within two hours, most of the details and characters were all scripted out in our heads already. We had debated between going steampunk or not again and again but finally decided to make it more of a period piece and not get too crazy on the metalwork and fantasy-science...for this one. Maybe another time.As Adam travels a lot, and to Southeast Asia quite a bit, his house is filled with all sorts of furniture and knick-knacks from his travels. So we thought the setting should be Hong Kong and then we wouldn't have to move (too much) furniture around. As neither he nor I are Chinese, we figured we could be British and tie it in with their occupation and imperialism of the area. We wanted to make it old-timey, so we figured the turn of the century was an interesting time and the year 1899 was chosen.
Between the two of us, we actually had far more of the required old-timey props than is reasonable.
Days later, at some modest get-together in the same room, Adam and I were energetically attempting to explain our new idea to some other friends and Adam just stood up and told the story as if it was how he heard it from his grandfather a hundred times, who had heard it from his grandfather a hundred times. It was incredible. Instead of saying "well, these guys are over here, and she's standing over there, and flying checkers are over there" as I would have done, he just let this perfectly eloquent narrative flow. Everything was tied together on why each character was in the room and doing what they were doing. The shady characters involved were all described as "mostly British ruffians" and "ne'er do wells" and they were in Hong Kong as part of some carefully orchestrated plot of treachery.The next day, I realized that we hadn't written down a single word of this and I asked Adam to try to remember what he had said. From that, he came up with the working back-story that carried us through the entire project. The year was changed to 1839, the actions of our characters were tied to real historical events that triggered the First Opium War...and the ending of the story took a very different turn from the original concept. In a moment of brilliance, Adam just added one final touch - that after all is said and done, the whole thing is a failure.
The name Winbigler was stolen from my "Book a Day" project, Ping Chang was a city in China that Adam and another friend of ours got kicked out of once, and other names just fell into place, either just by sounding old-timey or taken from ancestors (Elizer Hull was derived from someone the person playing that character was related to, and my character's name, Henry Fusselman, was my great-great-great-great-grandfather's name. We had a carefully woven narrative and series of events that, in the end, was futile. None of it mattered. And none of it changed history.
-----------------------------------------------
June 14, 1839.
The British Empire has been chugging steadily into the Industrial Revolution, fueled in part by Chinese tea. In exchange, the British have been importing vast quantities of opium to China, creating a drug-addled dynasty beholden to British political and economic whims. Lin Zexu has tired of seeing his country becoming crippled addicts. He has composed a letter, soon to be delivered to Queen Victoria, informing her that he has confiscated and destroyed the 20,000 chests of British opium due to arrive in Hong Kong any day now.
In a veranda overlooking Kowloon, Hong Kong, Lord F. Alastair Winbigler looks out over the bay, his stoic face belying his racing mind, occupied with calculating the next moves he will make. Intent upon amassing a personal fortune from both tea and opium, he too has his sights on the sizable shipment soon to arrive in Hong Kong. His plan is already in action. Behind the Lord, the hotel's table is a flurry of activity. Armed with sextants and compasses, his shrewdest strategists assess the port and access routes on a variety of well-worn maps. Bottles of rum, broken quills, and other detritus attest to the lengthy debates which have surrounded these maps. Also competing for space on the table is a bombmaking operation. Two lackeys, skilled in the art of conflagration, carefully measure black gunpowder and prepare bundles of explosivese for the coming siege.
Frustrated with the countless hours of seemingly fruitless debate, two of the Lord's thugs have reached their breaking point. After countless games of checkers and bottles of rum, an argument has erupted. The checkerboard is flung into the air, red and black pieces flying helter-skelter. The Lord's plot would not be possible without a turncoat, of course. The beguiling enchantress, Song Xi Xiu fans herself and scarcely hides a smirk as she watches over the scene. Having already been paid handsomely for access to the port commissioner, her profit is guaranteed, regardless of the success of the final siege. The commissioner, Ping Chang, still occasionally struggles against the heavy ropes which bind him to a chair. As if the injuries he's already sustained weren't enough, one of the Lord's lackeys is relishing in the opportunity to deliver another productive blow to the commissioner's already bludgeoned face.
And all the while, the Lord's mistress, the delicately perfumed, flaxen-curled Madame Mountbatten, patiently enjoys yet another cup of prized tea, while she envisions her coming days presiding over their very own Caribbean island, complete with sugar plantation, rum distillery, and most importantly, vast staff of servants to tend to her every whim.None of these individuals know that their whole plan is to come to a disastrous conclusion, and that Lin will, in fact, destroy the 20,000 crates of opium, heralding the start of the first Opium War. But for now, let us relish in the potential of this highly coordinated effort.
-----------------------------------------------
The whole thing was in vain. What better mood to start a project of this scale with?
As a test, we did a mock-up shoot and composited 6 Adams and 5 Kevins as all the characters...just to see if we could even FIT eleven people into this room and have it make sense. It's funny looking back at this image now and seeing how very close it is to the final image, T-shirts and clean-shaven mustaches aside. Once we realized that this might actually work, the real process began.
Over the next three months, characters were cast and re-cast, facial hair was grown, more and more props were acquired (more than a few trips to Chinatown) or made (paper mache bombs!) or borrowed (sextants!). Costumes were bought, fitted, rented and even hand-made. Most of the wardrobe would be rented, but for the character Prewitt Prug, a British thug who was purely hired muscle, we figured he should be wearing the most raggedy clothing possible, just barely hanging off his body. In fact, as it was set in July in Southern China, it would have been hot and in all probability, 
Prug would most likely be shirtless, shoeless and have some torn pants hardly clinging to his waist. The original idea was for an unhealthy amount of his ass showing even, but, when I realized that he would be punching the equally near-naked Port Commissioner, Ping Chang, it would have been too much skin showing in one corner of the photo, as Chang would be shirtless as well, having been tied to a chair with large ropes. So a dirty shirt was given to Prug, but his pants were made from nothing more than burlap and twine, sewn together with a pencil for a needle.
At the vintage costume rental shop, the characters truly started to come to life as people began to play around with different combinations of pants, shirts, suspenders, hats, monocles, wirey glasses, pince-nez, who gets a pipe? Who gets a cigarette? It was great watching people get excited over one thing vs another that led to a more defined version of who they were becoming.
To further deepen the story, each person cast was asked to write their own character's bio. Since everyone was given the same back-story on the final image, it was up to them to explain who they were and how they got to that moment, that room. Those who didn't have the time to write something out, was told not to worry, as I would be happy to write as many of them as needed. Tying in made-up characters to actual historical events was too much fun and, in the end, Adam and I wrote more than half of the bios, either by ourselves or together.
The day before the shoot was spent collecting all the costumes and prepping the set. It took all day to get the whole table arranged just right, the lanterns hanging in the right spot, the checkers suspended from wires here and there... In the evening, our Port Commissioner came by for his haircut. 
The "queue" style haircut was imposed by the Qing Chinese and we wanted Ping to look just right. Adam shaved about 3/4 of his head, and left just the back portion. We pinned a nice ponytail to complete it and he was set. While this was going on, I was in the next room, preparing bruise and black eye make-up on myself. Going out that night looking like that was a great success. 
We hit up Lowe's Hardware for some last minute hardware and then went to Capitol Hill for dinner. Although I didn't feel it was a particularly good make-up job, there were more than a few comments from people thinking it was real. I'll have to play around with it in the future and see how more realistic I can get it.Eventually, Adam and I were up late, writing the last few bios into the wee hours as I finished up Prug's burlap pants.
Yet, somehow, it always seems to all come together.
The shoot itself only took a few hours. The main shot was split up into 4 different parts, as I wanted a particular lighting on each area and it made more sense to shoot it separately and composite the quadrants together. The Greek professor schooling the British ruffian at checkers in the lower left of the frame was shot together, then Winbigler himself and the two cartographers were shot together, completing the left side.
Mountbatten was shot by herself up top, then the whole right side was shot together, so the action of the five characters over there blending together better. 
While shooting Mountbatten, the Port Commissioner was being prepped on the other side of the frame - tying someone to a chair and covering them with fake blood is always fun. He was incredibly patient, though, and sat through not only Mountbatten's shoot, but also while I went around and lit everything on the table separately. The fake blood we used was mint flavored and he didn't seem to mind, too much.A few spit takes to get the right blood spray from his mouth while being punched, a few takes to get the checker players angry enough, a few takes to get the cartographers arguing properly about their differing strategies...it all came together frighteningly close to how the original idea was scripted, but actually seeing the right faces in the right clothing amongst all the clutter that we had been collecting for months? This is why I do this. Sure, I love the final photos from the shoot. But it really is all about the process that makes it so fun.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
A Book a Day, week 24
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYTWO
"Insights Into Reality" by Flower A. Newhouse, 1975.
Newhouse's name has come up before, with book #45, months ago. This is an actual book by her this time, though. The "Christian mystic and seer with unsurpassed credentials, her unbroken experience of the inner worlds stands as a landmark of human evolution." If I ever write a book, I hope I can get someone to put something like that about me on the back cover as well.
My grandmother's name is written on the first page, underneath an address label of hers. On the last page, three or four words are written, but I cannot make them out.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYTHREE
"Spiritual Unfoldment 1" by Grace Cooke, 1941 - this printing 1982.
My grandmother's name is written on the first page, and there is one paperclip bookmark on page 19/20.
There is also a pressed coin, of sorts, tied to some green string, attached to a metal clip that is grasping the binding. The coin bears the image of a large, ornate building, with the words "Mormon Temple - Salt Lake City". This is the only Mormon connection in any of the books.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYFOUR
"Chuang Tzu - Basic Writings" translated by Burton Watson, 1964.
Zhuangzi (or Chuang Tzu) was a 4th Century BC Chinese philosopher best known for this work known by his name. His philosophy was influential in the development of Chinese Buddhism and Murray Rothbard called him "perhaps the world's first anarchist".
Burton Watson is an accomplished translator of Chinese and Japanese literature and poetry.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYFIVE
"The Science of Mind" by Ernest Holmes, 1926.
The book that started the whole Religious Science movement to begin with, this one is based off the 1938 revision, but is a 26th printing with no publishing date.
There is an inscription on the first page to my uncle Jim, "On his graduation from the Junior Church Department of The Christ Church of Religious Science, Whittier, California. Yours in Love and Truth, Reena Lady Smith. September 17, 1961."
I'm not 100% certain of the name being "Reena", though, but that's the best as I can decipher the handwriting.
There are two of my grandmother's paperclip bookmarks a few pages apart, in Part Five: Lessons from the New Testament - Teaching of Jesus.
The dust yellow jacket has seen better days.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYSIX
"Des Moines Women's Club - 39th Annual Announcement" published by the DMWC, 1924-1925.
This is a year book of all the activity and business that went on in the club from 1924-1925. It includes a list of members w/addresses, officers, committees, past presidents, board of directors, by-laws, the secretary's report, reports from various committees, department directories, house rules, and even a section listing the art possessions and loans made during the year.
There is also a perforated page in the back to be torn out for application to the club. A $10 initiation fee and a $10 club dues "must be enclosed herewith."
As far as I can tell, two of my ancestors are listed in this book. Gertrude Garver, my great-great-grandfather's sister-in-law and Bayne and Bill's mother, and Ida Garver, on another further branch of the Garver side. Ida was in the Social Department and Gertrude was in the Art Department.
I find it interesting that all of the women in the directory, in fact throughout the entire book mostly, are listed under their husband's name. Gertrude is listed as Mrs. Carleton Garver, Ida as Mrs. John A. Garver. For a women's club, I would have hoped they had established themselves more so as individuals and less as who they married. Either way, I have a feeling that the names listed here are who's who of Des Moines in the 1920s.
The DMWC was founded in 1885 and is still operating. I see they even have a facebook page.
This book is in practically pristine condition. I hope I look this good at 85 years.
"Insights Into Reality" by Flower A. Newhouse, 1975.
Newhouse's name has come up before, with book #45, months ago. This is an actual book by her this time, though. The "Christian mystic and seer with unsurpassed credentials, her unbroken experience of the inner worlds stands as a landmark of human evolution." If I ever write a book, I hope I can get someone to put something like that about me on the back cover as well.
My grandmother's name is written on the first page, underneath an address label of hers. On the last page, three or four words are written, but I cannot make them out.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYTHREE
"Spiritual Unfoldment 1" by Grace Cooke, 1941 - this printing 1982.
My grandmother's name is written on the first page, and there is one paperclip bookmark on page 19/20.
There is also a pressed coin, of sorts, tied to some green string, attached to a metal clip that is grasping the binding. The coin bears the image of a large, ornate building, with the words "Mormon Temple - Salt Lake City". This is the only Mormon connection in any of the books.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYFOUR
"Chuang Tzu - Basic Writings" translated by Burton Watson, 1964.
Zhuangzi (or Chuang Tzu) was a 4th Century BC Chinese philosopher best known for this work known by his name. His philosophy was influential in the development of Chinese Buddhism and Murray Rothbard called him "perhaps the world's first anarchist".
Burton Watson is an accomplished translator of Chinese and Japanese literature and poetry.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYFIVE
"The Science of Mind" by Ernest Holmes, 1926.
The book that started the whole Religious Science movement to begin with, this one is based off the 1938 revision, but is a 26th printing with no publishing date.
There is an inscription on the first page to my uncle Jim, "On his graduation from the Junior Church Department of The Christ Church of Religious Science, Whittier, California. Yours in Love and Truth, Reena Lady Smith. September 17, 1961."
I'm not 100% certain of the name being "Reena", though, but that's the best as I can decipher the handwriting.
There are two of my grandmother's paperclip bookmarks a few pages apart, in Part Five: Lessons from the New Testament - Teaching of Jesus.
The dust yellow jacket has seen better days.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYSIX
"Des Moines Women's Club - 39th Annual Announcement" published by the DMWC, 1924-1925.
This is a year book of all the activity and business that went on in the club from 1924-1925. It includes a list of members w/addresses, officers, committees, past presidents, board of directors, by-laws, the secretary's report, reports from various committees, department directories, house rules, and even a section listing the art possessions and loans made during the year.
There is also a perforated page in the back to be torn out for application to the club. A $10 initiation fee and a $10 club dues "must be enclosed herewith."
As far as I can tell, two of my ancestors are listed in this book. Gertrude Garver, my great-great-grandfather's sister-in-law and Bayne and Bill's mother, and Ida Garver, on another further branch of the Garver side. Ida was in the Social Department and Gertrude was in the Art Department.
I find it interesting that all of the women in the directory, in fact throughout the entire book mostly, are listed under their husband's name. Gertrude is listed as Mrs. Carleton Garver, Ida as Mrs. John A. Garver. For a women's club, I would have hoped they had established themselves more so as individuals and less as who they married. Either way, I have a feeling that the names listed here are who's who of Des Moines in the 1920s.
The DMWC was founded in 1885 and is still operating. I see they even have a facebook page.
This book is in practically pristine condition. I hope I look this good at 85 years.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A Book a Day, week 23
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYFIVE
"The Moment Calls You" by Sara Robbins, 1956.
"Dedicated to the lay monks of the market place," this little booklet reads quicker and easier than some children's books I know. Simple, easy-to-understand messages.
There are no markings inside, except for a red inked stamp near the back of the book on a page listing "Other Inspirational Books" by Robbins. The stamp reads:
SARA ROBBINS - 719 E. Putnam St. Whittier, Calif.
There doesn't seem to be anything of note at that address anymore, but it's not terribly far from where my grandparents lived. It's also 5 blocks from an earlier residence that I've seen on one of my grandfather's address labels.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYSIX
"Jesus' Teachings for Young People" by Sidney Adams Weston, 1927.
Weston was a Bible instructor in New England. Among his works is an edited text from a 13th century zealot named Sa’id Ibn Hasan. Hasan converted from Judaism to Islam and wrote about it solving all the issues with Judaism, fiercely believing that his new faith should aggressively be installed as the only religion.
There are a few notes written on the pages - on the bottom on page 4 it reads "Does it make any difference how a person spends his money?" and on page 5 it reads "What is the value of this lesson to you + how can you make use of it + apply it?"
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYSEVEN
"She Changed Her Life Through Prayer" by L. Mila Warn, 1948.
A 35-page booklet published by the Willing Publishing Company out of Los Angeles, this has an inscription on the first page to my grandparents - "To Juliette and Gene, Stella Terrill Mann"
The only other marking is an underlined sentence on page 8: "I did not once turn back."
In the back of the book are two opposite-facing pages advertising this book, 'She Changed Her Life Through Prayer" by Warn, and then "Change Your Life Through Prayer" by Mann.
I see a theme here.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYEIGHT
"How To Get Rid of Trouble" by Dan Custer.
A tiny booklet published by the Institute of Religious Science in San Francisco, this has no printing date inside.
Only 15 pages, the back cover lists a few other works by Custer:
Patterns for Successful Living
How to Think in Time of War
The Amazing Power of Love
Metal Medicine
Life Never Ends
Know Thyself
Jesus: Human or Divine
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYNINE
"Yoga System of Study" by Yogi Hari Rama, 1927.
This weathered book starts with guidelines and directions for learning the yoga way of life, including marriage, child-raising, human ailments, breathing, and washing.
"We wash our face and hands automatically in the morning because we do not feel fresh and clean until we have done so. An inner washing is necessary as well. One to two cups of hot water for normal persons, four cups for those who are constipated."
Then it goes into yoga chants, and gives suggestions on bathing, sleeping, and waking. After that, colors are explained and when and how to use them. "Everybody should wear blue or green hats."
There are a few pages of poems, then the 2nd half of the book is entirely devoted to recipes. There is even a section for "Menus for Guests Who Are Not Yogi Students". More than half of the book is about food.
From the very first paragraph:
"The body is the boat, we must take care of the body, if we are going to sail this ocean, which is the world."
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTY
"Change Your Life Through Prayer" by Stella Terrill Mann, 1947.
A little foreshadowing, perhaps? Here is the book hinted at three days ago by Mann. This book is also inscribed by her, but to my great-grandmother this time.
This book explains How to Pray, When to Pray, and What to Pray For. In the latter section, there are four focuses: wealth, health, power, and love.
Tucked inside the front cover is a small leaflet advertising the book. It has an endorsement from Charles Fillmore, the founder of the Unity Church.
My grandfather affixed a large label with his name on it on the page with the inscription.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYONE
"Yoga Chanting Keys" by A. William Goetz.
A book of sheet music for yoga chanting, there are a few guidelines in the beginning, such as "All chanting should be done in the key of G."
Then the rest is filled with the chants, including Sub-Conscious Chanting, Christian Chants, Mohammedan Chants, Buddhist Chant, Hindu Chants, Tantric Chant of Desire, Peace Chant, Om Chants, and Universal Aum.
There is no publishing date in the book, but my great-grandmother's name is on the first page, so I will assume it is pre-1960s.
I can't seem to find any information on the publisher, Stables-Mason Company, or the author, both out of Los Angeles. There was a William Goetz, though, who was a Hollywood film producer and married the daughter of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer.
Nothing seems to indicate them being the same man, though.
"The Moment Calls You" by Sara Robbins, 1956.
"Dedicated to the lay monks of the market place," this little booklet reads quicker and easier than some children's books I know. Simple, easy-to-understand messages.
There are no markings inside, except for a red inked stamp near the back of the book on a page listing "Other Inspirational Books" by Robbins. The stamp reads:
SARA ROBBINS - 719 E. Putnam St. Whittier, Calif.
There doesn't seem to be anything of note at that address anymore, but it's not terribly far from where my grandparents lived. It's also 5 blocks from an earlier residence that I've seen on one of my grandfather's address labels.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYSIX
"Jesus' Teachings for Young People" by Sidney Adams Weston, 1927.
Weston was a Bible instructor in New England. Among his works is an edited text from a 13th century zealot named Sa’id Ibn Hasan. Hasan converted from Judaism to Islam and wrote about it solving all the issues with Judaism, fiercely believing that his new faith should aggressively be installed as the only religion.
There are a few notes written on the pages - on the bottom on page 4 it reads "Does it make any difference how a person spends his money?" and on page 5 it reads "What is the value of this lesson to you + how can you make use of it + apply it?"
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYSEVEN
"She Changed Her Life Through Prayer" by L. Mila Warn, 1948.
A 35-page booklet published by the Willing Publishing Company out of Los Angeles, this has an inscription on the first page to my grandparents - "To Juliette and Gene, Stella Terrill Mann"
The only other marking is an underlined sentence on page 8: "I did not once turn back."
In the back of the book are two opposite-facing pages advertising this book, 'She Changed Her Life Through Prayer" by Warn, and then "Change Your Life Through Prayer" by Mann.
I see a theme here.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYEIGHT
"How To Get Rid of Trouble" by Dan Custer.
A tiny booklet published by the Institute of Religious Science in San Francisco, this has no printing date inside.
Only 15 pages, the back cover lists a few other works by Custer:
Patterns for Successful Living
How to Think in Time of War
The Amazing Power of Love
Metal Medicine
Life Never Ends
Know Thyself
Jesus: Human or Divine
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYNINE
"Yoga System of Study" by Yogi Hari Rama, 1927.
This weathered book starts with guidelines and directions for learning the yoga way of life, including marriage, child-raising, human ailments, breathing, and washing.
"We wash our face and hands automatically in the morning because we do not feel fresh and clean until we have done so. An inner washing is necessary as well. One to two cups of hot water for normal persons, four cups for those who are constipated."
Then it goes into yoga chants, and gives suggestions on bathing, sleeping, and waking. After that, colors are explained and when and how to use them. "Everybody should wear blue or green hats."
There are a few pages of poems, then the 2nd half of the book is entirely devoted to recipes. There is even a section for "Menus for Guests Who Are Not Yogi Students". More than half of the book is about food.
From the very first paragraph:
"The body is the boat, we must take care of the body, if we are going to sail this ocean, which is the world."
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTY
"Change Your Life Through Prayer" by Stella Terrill Mann, 1947.
A little foreshadowing, perhaps? Here is the book hinted at three days ago by Mann. This book is also inscribed by her, but to my great-grandmother this time.
This book explains How to Pray, When to Pray, and What to Pray For. In the latter section, there are four focuses: wealth, health, power, and love.
Tucked inside the front cover is a small leaflet advertising the book. It has an endorsement from Charles Fillmore, the founder of the Unity Church.
My grandfather affixed a large label with his name on it on the page with the inscription.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDSIXTYONE
"Yoga Chanting Keys" by A. William Goetz.
A book of sheet music for yoga chanting, there are a few guidelines in the beginning, such as "All chanting should be done in the key of G."
Then the rest is filled with the chants, including Sub-Conscious Chanting, Christian Chants, Mohammedan Chants, Buddhist Chant, Hindu Chants, Tantric Chant of Desire, Peace Chant, Om Chants, and Universal Aum.
There is no publishing date in the book, but my great-grandmother's name is on the first page, so I will assume it is pre-1960s.
I can't seem to find any information on the publisher, Stables-Mason Company, or the author, both out of Los Angeles. There was a William Goetz, though, who was a Hollywood film producer and married the daughter of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer.
Nothing seems to indicate them being the same man, though.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A Book a Day, week 22
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFORTYEIGHT
"Power Through Constructive Thinking" by Emmet Fox, 1932 - this twelfth edition, 1940.
Another book from the popular Depression-era minister, this book was written the same year as book #91.
My great-grandmother wrote her name inside and dated it 1945. The cover is worn, but there are no other markings of note.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFORTYNINE
"Training for the Life of the Spirit - Pamphlet No. 1" by Gerald Heard, 1941.
The companion to book #53, the two copies of Heard's booklets here as in similar shape as the other set. One is marked up considerably, the other is practically pristine. They both bear the stamp of the Metaphysical Library and Bookshop at 177 Post Street.
The marked up copy is dated 5-17-47 and also has a small card tucked in between pages 30 and 31 - a prayer by Ella Syfers Schenck printed by the Unity School of Christianity out of Kansas City, Missouri.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTY
"The Doré Lectures" by Thomas Troward, 1909 - this fifteenth printing, 1946.
My great-grandmother's name is on the first page, dated Sept 1948. The beginning of the book has quite a few marked up pages, but not further in.
Between pages 56 and 57 is an old business card for the Central Chevrolet Company in Los Angeles. There are two ink stamps on the the card in two different colors: "FOR A DEAL See or Call SOL CALLAHAN" and "Luis 'Frenchy' Guitterrez".
"We Never Sleep" is the motto.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYONE
"The Later Poems of Tagore" by Sisirkumar Ghose, 1961 - this printing, 1975.
A critical study of the works of Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet who lived from 1861 to 1941. In 1913, Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYTWO
"From Darkness to Light - Poems and Parables - The Collected Works of Krishnamurti Volume One" by Jiddu Krishnamurti, 1980.
Another book of Krishnamurti's works, this one is in pristine condition and has two papers tucked inside the front cover.
The first is a Business Reply Card for Harper and Row Publishing, the other is an accompanying form letter from Clayton E. Carlson, the publisher of the Religious/General Books Department.
The letter describes the book being a donation to the library, and requests the reply card be filled out and sent back if the rest of the series is requested.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYTHREE
"All Things Are Yours" by Lillian De Waters, 1930.
Another booklet from De Waters, this one is part of her 'Practical Demonstration Series No. 2' and a few passages are underlined in pencil.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYFOUR
"The Impersonal Life" by Joseph Brenner, 1914 - this fourteenth printing, 1946.
One self-improvement website claims that this was the book that Elvis "had been looking for all his life" and that he would give out copies of the book for free. Although I cannot find a reference on the quote, even Amazon.com ranks it as his #1 favorite spiritual book, behind the Bible, of course.
My grandfather's address label is inside the front cover.
"Power Through Constructive Thinking" by Emmet Fox, 1932 - this twelfth edition, 1940.
Another book from the popular Depression-era minister, this book was written the same year as book #91.
My great-grandmother wrote her name inside and dated it 1945. The cover is worn, but there are no other markings of note.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFORTYNINE
"Training for the Life of the Spirit - Pamphlet No. 1" by Gerald Heard, 1941.
The companion to book #53, the two copies of Heard's booklets here as in similar shape as the other set. One is marked up considerably, the other is practically pristine. They both bear the stamp of the Metaphysical Library and Bookshop at 177 Post Street.
The marked up copy is dated 5-17-47 and also has a small card tucked in between pages 30 and 31 - a prayer by Ella Syfers Schenck printed by the Unity School of Christianity out of Kansas City, Missouri.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTY
"The Doré Lectures" by Thomas Troward, 1909 - this fifteenth printing, 1946.
My great-grandmother's name is on the first page, dated Sept 1948. The beginning of the book has quite a few marked up pages, but not further in.
Between pages 56 and 57 is an old business card for the Central Chevrolet Company in Los Angeles. There are two ink stamps on the the card in two different colors: "FOR A DEAL See or Call SOL CALLAHAN" and "Luis 'Frenchy' Guitterrez"."We Never Sleep" is the motto.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYONE
"The Later Poems of Tagore" by Sisirkumar Ghose, 1961 - this printing, 1975.
A critical study of the works of Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet who lived from 1861 to 1941. In 1913, Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYTWO
"From Darkness to Light - Poems and Parables - The Collected Works of Krishnamurti Volume One" by Jiddu Krishnamurti, 1980.
Another book of Krishnamurti's works, this one is in pristine condition and has two papers tucked inside the front cover.
The first is a Business Reply Card for Harper and Row Publishing, the other is an accompanying form letter from Clayton E. Carlson, the publisher of the Religious/General Books Department.
The letter describes the book being a donation to the library, and requests the reply card be filled out and sent back if the rest of the series is requested.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYTHREE
"All Things Are Yours" by Lillian De Waters, 1930.
Another booklet from De Waters, this one is part of her 'Practical Demonstration Series No. 2' and a few passages are underlined in pencil.
BOOK ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTYFOUR
"The Impersonal Life" by Joseph Brenner, 1914 - this fourteenth printing, 1946.
One self-improvement website claims that this was the book that Elvis "had been looking for all his life" and that he would give out copies of the book for free. Although I cannot find a reference on the quote, even Amazon.com ranks it as his #1 favorite spiritual book, behind the Bible, of course.
My grandfather's address label is inside the front cover.
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