When I saw the first almost-covering-the-wall painting by Kerry James Marshall, I zeroed in on the charcoal black faces of the men who peopled it. They were in a barber shop, much like any you’d…
Month: January 2017
As soon as I saw the mammoth TV with the wide screen, I thought of a friend of mine. The big-screen TV was a floor model that probably weighed a ton, and was sitting in…
I’ve always been intrigued by cabinet cards. Not so much by the unsmiling and stiff people in the portraits but by the fancy designs promoting the photographers. Cabinet cards were very prominent during the latter part…
Souvenir paperweights made to your liking
Posted in Art, collectibles, and Glassware
Most of the photos seemed to have turned a slight sepia brown with age, but they easily could have been shot that way. They were all encased in clear crystal, and both them and it…
You can’t have enough pigs
Posted in Animals, and collectibles
“We’re going to sell the rest of the pig collection next week,” I heard the auctioneer say as I was browsing the tables at the auction house. What on earth was he referring to? I…
I was walking among the furniture and other large tabletop items at the auction house when I came upon a display of oversized machines. There were about a half-dozen wood and iron contraptions – one of them was…
In Paul Robeson’s day, Russia was the enemy
Posted in Black history, Music, Performers, Politics, and theater
Paul Robeson must be turning over in his grave. That’s what we say in the South when something unbelievable happens that a now-deceased person had fought/spoken for or against. That saying keeps coming to my…