Lost Art Press

My daughter Maddy reports that we’re nearing the end of this latest batch of stickers, which includes the awesome/weird “Disobey” sticker designed by Jason Weaver.

Maddy has graduated from Ohio State University and is headed for her first job at a government research facility on the East Coast. But she says she still wants to sell stickers, so here are the details.

As of now, she doesn’t have a PO box. So the only way to get the stickers is by ordering through her etsy.com store here. A set of three stickers is $6, which includes domestic shipping. She also accepts international orders (unlike her old man) for a small upcharge.

These stickers (from Stickermule) are top notch. They are 100 percent vinyl and weatherproof.

So get this set while you can. And thanks (as always) for supporting Maddy – she’s a hardworking woman. And entrepreneurial enough that maybe she might run her own laboratory or company someday.

— Christopher Schwarz

Oh, I want a bench for my garden! With a few cushions and wrapped in three layers of  mosquito netting I would be happy on this bench. It is the form known as a vendebenk and was made in Norway by Olaus Engelstrup.

The center carving of a daisy and foliage is framed by carved script (with the back flipped over the writing on the bottom is now right-side up). The carving was done on panels pieced together, not on one long board. The ornamentation on the bench edge and stretchers can also now be seen.

Olaus used the turning top of the vendebenk to full advantage. Along the top edge of the back is a boar hunting scene with more foliage at the bottom edge.

The top script for anyone interested in translating the Latin.

The script along the bottom edge (spliced together). Click on the image for a closer view.

Chaucer was enamored with the daisy, a flower that is open during the day (“eye of the day”) and closes at night. Like Chaucer, I don’t have words “suffisaunt this floure (or bench) to praise aright.”

Several months ago Klaus Skrudland sent me the link that led to finding this bench. Thanks, Klaus!

All photos are from the Norsk Folkmuseum.

You can read about some French, German and Swedish versions of the vendebenk  here.

–Suzanne Ellison

There are lots of vernacular stick chairs styles out there if you do a little digging. Researcher Suzanne Ellison has been turning over a lot of rocks lately to find stick chairs in countries such as Sweden, Germany and Italy.

Today she sent over a load of images of Irish chairs, and this one stuck in my head. It’s a fairly common form and common paint scheme. Interestingly, these chairs were referred to as “fool’s chairs,” “famine chairs” or “hedge chairs.” Sometimes this form is called a “Gibson chair.”

I need to do a lot more digging to learn about the names of the chairs. I couldn’t find much on the origin of “fool’s chair,” except for a reference in “A Dictionary of English Phrases: Phraseological Allusions, Catchwords” (1922). That book defined “fool’s chair” as:

A chair with a leg missing, on which fools attempt to sit and consequently fall.

The origin of the name “famine chair” is said to relate to the Great Famine in Ireland (1845-1852), during which the great poverty of the country resulted in furniture that was made by tenant farmers that was on the crude side.

I haven’t been able to dig up much on why it would be called a “Gibson chair.” So more research is ahead.

While this particular chair doesn’t grab me as much as some Welsh designs, it does have its charms. I particularly like the front-on view and the dramatic lean to the back sticks.

— Christopher Schwarz