Fantastic Subway Interior

This is the inside of a New York City subway car.  NYC has been using 'wrap' advertising where the entire exterior and/or interior are covered with images.  These pictures are from an S (or shuttle) train between Grand Central and Penn stations.   Those plush looking seats are actually hard and plastic! .  Pretty cool to see wainscoting on your morning commute.

If you peer out the library window, you can see a gentleman resting on the library's grounds.

Makah Indian diorama

Here's a picture of a model done by one of this blog's young fans out in Oklahoma.  Cole Bettridge, who is ten years old and in fifth grade, built this diorama of a Makah Indian scene.  I like the mixture of materials he used, the appropriate earth colors and all the activity going on.  Great job Cole!  (Cole's dad, Troy, writes the blog Tulsatinystuff which presents his impressive collection of antique miniatures).

Sinister Pumkins in the Village

Saw these pumpkins today  in the West Village, New York City, from across the street.  Upon closer inspection I saw that they look really sinister and very well done.  One of the characters even has a meta (tin foil) tooth.   If pumpkins were to ever come to life and attack people, it would be these guys.

Cream and Coffee.........ring.

Courtesy of designyoutrust.

Can your can do this? Gadget Canes Part I

As a lover of gadgets, particularly those that are not electronic, I am fascinated by system (or gadget) sticks (or canes).  What are they?  They are canes that have functions - canes that are more than canes.  They make up the most collectible category of canes.  The above cane features a handsome silver corkscrew, but they get much more complex as you will see.  There are flask canes, weapon canes, professional canes (like those used for horse measuring or cheese weighing!) and just plain fun canes.  It amazes me that so many varied functions were crammed into a simple cane.  Over the course of a few postings I will present you with the canes that I think are the most interesting.  If you check out some of the links below you will see many clever and unique canes.  Enjoy!   

Some great references:

Rau Antiques - they have great canes for sale, but also a reference library with articles on cane collecting.

Antique Cane World

Michael German Antiques

Cane Curiosa by Katherine Dike - the most coveted book on gadget canes (out of print but available used from $100 and upward). 

 

An artists cane.  From Rau Antiques:

6 hole flute cane.  Very cool.  French.  1860.  There's a whole sub-genre of musical canes  - flutes, guitars, violins.   

8 ball lighter

This is a clock cane with a sterling silver top.  To wind the clock you twist the top (1890).

This one is described as a hansom cab cane.  The top lights up and can be used to hail a cab.   Antiques are retrofit with batteries, but I'm unsure how they were illuminated in the 1870s.  (1870).

Sword cane.

English (1890).  Space for storing ciggies.

Compass and sundial.  English 1820.

Pipe cane

Conductors baton.

Double sword cane. 

This is not a pencil sharpener!  It's a ear trumpet hearing cane.  French, 1870.

English. life preserver cosh stick, 1900. 

Bamboo cane that turns into a fishing pole, 1870.

A novel fan cane.

Elegant silver tipped dagger cane.