Brownie Baseball

Occasionally I accept commissioned work to  supplement my passion for old paper. On top of that, I began to create collectibles in 1989, although it was unwittingly at the time. Having begun to put art work on envelopes in the mid Fifties after seeing the art of C. M. Russell, I had no idea that there were people who collected these little gems. I have posted a number of pieces of 'mail art' since I began publishing my blog, and looking for the mail art label HERE will keep you busy for awhile. Properly called first day covers, these regular envelopes carry stamps cancelled in the city where the stamp is first released for public sale, and in this case it was Cooperstown, New York.

In 1939, a person interested in creating a first day cover would have to send self-addressed envelopes and cash to cover the cost of the postage to the postmaster of the city where the stamp was to be released. I have three of these envelopes with the same name on them, and a little research informed me that Mr. Kleinod was a member of the American Philatelic Society as early as 1921.

As for the art work, it is a cigar label for the Beckett & Brown Company of Eastport, Maine, who sponsored and fielded a baseball team called the Brownie Nine. The cigars were a nickel. Before 1920, there were over 25,000 cigar manufacturers in the United States. Cigar sales were strictly regulated and taxed by the government, and the labels produced between 1880 and 1920 were works of art produced using a method of printing called stone lithography.

I urge those who are interested in the label as an art form to visit the Cigar Label Junkie for a virtual library of labels of every description. This is either my fourth or fifth cover that I have created for the same gentleman, and I have not run out of baseball related cigar labels quite yet.

Brownie Number 1 - I Shutter

A very significant piece of old paper from the ledger of C. W. Rank & Company in Virginia City, Montana. Water stained on the edges, chipped on the upper edge, and toning all around. Am I happy I found it? Yes, yes I am.

As can be seen in the lower section, the invoice is dated April 15, 1901. This date is significant not because it's the date our income taxes come due (income tax would not be a burden for another twelve years), but because by October of 1901, the Brownie Number 1 camera would be discontinued. George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, began selling the Brownie Number 1 in 1900 for the princely (not really) sum of ONE DOLLAR. Of course C. W. Rank got a discount of 33%, which brought his cost to only fifty cents, since his was a retail establishment. Probably a good move on C. W. Rank's part to turn around and sell this one camera, and order a few more.

For those of you interested in the history of the Brownie Camera, I urge you to visit a page devoted to all things Brownie Camera related, called The Brownie Camera Page. I decided a long time ago that if I ever found any Kodak paper that was of the right period for a Palmer Cox Brownie, I knew what was going to end up on it.

George Eastman was a marketing genius, and because this camera is considered to be the most significant camera in the history of cameras, he chose to team up with Palmer Cox. It was a good move. Children (and adults) at the turn of the century were well aware of the Brownies, and there was never a better way to encourage the sale of cameras to the common folk than Brownies.

The Irish Jig on a Pig

Hams. This Irish Brownie is hamming it up. A little history is in order, and for the record, I have several more pieces of this Swift & Company paper that will hopefully keep me high on the hog for awhile.

Simeon R. Buford drove an ox team to Virginia City, Montana Territory, in 1865 at the ripe old age of nineteen. He started a freight business on a route from Fort Benton to Virginia City. When the Union Pacific Railroad reached Corrine, Utah Territory, he began hauling freight from Corrine to Virginia City, as the railroad was a more reliable source of transportation that the steamboat.

In 1878 he opened a mercantile business in partnership with Henry Elling, and built the largest mercantile business in Montana in 1900. This billhead is for hams - $20.00 worth. Swift & Company had a Butte processing plant, and I'm assuming that the ham was transported to Virginia City by freight wagon.

Footprints Success

I had eleven Thank You cards to send after the Western Heritage Artists Footprints on the Trail Art Show and Sale this year. This first one was not a sale, but a gift. These folks bought the very first piece of old paper that I framed up and sold off the wall at an antique show here in Helena. They've been patrons ever since. They came to my room this year and gave me a color proof sheet from the second printing of "Good Medicine", which was a compilation of illustrated letters and envelopes by Charlie Russell. The proof sheet is old and brittle and stained in a couple of places, but it is like gold to me.

The second is to the patron who purchased My Brownie Baking Company piece which I did for the Quick Finish on Thursday evening, and a fun piece it was! He wanted the Chocolate as much as Uncle Sam did.

The third is to the patron who purchased My Breakfast Brownie piece on Saturday evening at the Art for Causes Quick Finish and Auction. And a lively auction it was! Our primary cause this year was Breast Cancer Awareness and we raised over $11,000.

To call this year's show a success is an understatement. And to top it all off, we welcomed a new grandchild to the family at 11:00 AM on Sunday, the last day of the show. Her name is Celine.

I Want Your Chocolate!

For this year's Western Heritage Art Show & Sale, I will be participating in two events: The Quick Finish and Auction on Thursday evening, and the Quick Finish and Live Auction on Saturday evening. I have not yet decided which one of these I will be doing for which event, so I could use some assistance from the audience.

I realize that  these images are not really 'finished', but that's the idea behind the Quick Finish events. Potential patrons get to watch more than twenty of us put forty-five minutes to good use.

The Thursday evening event supports the Western Heritage Artists by raising funds to defray the cost of putting on the five day show. The Saturday evening event is called Art Competing for Causes, and this year we are supporting Breast Cancer Awareness along with other worthy causes.

Candy Man - from C. M. Russell

The Western Heritage Artists Show will begin next Wednesday, March 13th at 6:00 PM, and will continue through Sunday, March 17th at 5:00 PM.  I've participated in this event for 4 years, and I'm pleased to say that every year it has become a more fulfilling experience. With an art show like this, each artist in a separate room, it is often difficult to get to know the other artists. Some return, some do not. There are several events that make it a little different than other shows in Great Falls during Western Art Week, and I'll point out just a few of them:

PREVIEW NIGHT

On Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM there will be an award ceremony and a welcome for the new artists for this year's show. The Lobby Show accepts one work from every participating artist, and the work is Juried earlier in the day. The artist rooms are open until 10:00 PM.

QUICK FINISH

to support the Lewis & Clark Foundation

Event begins at 6:00 PM Thursday evening 

This event offers patrons and supporters an opportunity to watch while the participating artists complete - or finish - a piece of art work in 45 minutes. It's like being in twenty studios and one gallery all at one time. The piece you see above will be completed by me. Last year's Quick Finish piece was a HUGE success, and I've used another piece from the C. M. Russell Museum Collection for this year's event. This little Russell 'Brownie' sits atop a birch bark and wooden candy box, and the Museum provided me with a high quality photograph to use as my model.

PAINT AROUND

and Roaring Twenties Sapphire Bash

This event begins at 4:00 PM on Friday, with the Paint Around beginning at 6:00 PM, as artists start a piece of art work, and then move to the next artist's station and work for five minutes using what has been provided by each artist. The event is followed by a Live Auction of the finished pieces. This event was also a HUGE success last year, and I'm participating again this year

.ART AUCTION BENEFIT
to support the WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT and
MONTANA WOUNDED WARRIORS

This is one event that shouldn't be missed. Beginning at 4:00 PM on Saturday March 16th, it will feature both a Silent and Live Auction. Please visit this page for a quick glimpse of what the Western Heritage Artists have provided to support our Wounded Warriors, not only nationally, but here in Montana as well. The piece that I have submitted for the Live Auction can be viewed HERE.

I hope to visit with old acquaintances and make some new friends as well!

C. M. Russell Brownie

I was introduced to C. M. Russell by my parents in 1953. He was the reason I'm doing what I'm doing.

I've done my best to depict a small figure that Russell carved and constructed out of birch bark, twigs, moss and what appears to be cedar driftwood. It's in the C. M. Russell Museum in the lower gallery.

This piece is to be finished next Thursday evening at the Quick Finish event to support the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. It's exciting to be part of Western Art Week in Great Falls, and one of my only opportunities to meet a lot of people and expose them to something they've perhaps never seen before.

The attraction to Great Falls is primarily focused on - Western Art.

There are over a half dozen shows going on at different venues around the city during Western Art Week.  Over the course of thirty years, the Western Heritage Artists show at the Holiday Inn has been a constant. Some of the shows are focused on dead artists, but I've never met one of them at the Western Heritage Artists show.

Charlie Russell is an obvious main attraction. The Quick Finish event gives artists who participate (about twenty) exactly forty five minutes to complete a piece of artwork which is then put up for auction. A very good cause, and although this is not my first event of this kind, forty five minutes to do what needs to be done (in this case) makes it enjoyable as well.

This is what I hope it will look like, only better, since I have now settled on what I'm going to use for the lettering colors, and I changed the composition slightly to better fit the overall piece.

Brownie Drummer PFF #53

 

This is my last post for the year 2011. The next time I get a chance to post we'll be into the new year. I leave Monday for Seattle to visit my brother Dan. Just Because.

Every good business needs a good drummer. I think this one has always fit the bill, even if he's always marched to his own beat. He was good. Really good - at both the first and second definition of drummer as the word is defined in Merriam-Webster.  Besides that, the Baker's (Grandpa, Sonny & Pops) at the Breakfast Brownies Company really could use a good  DRUMMER, second definition. Perhaps Dan will take the job.

This one has not been mailed yet. The reason it hasn't been mailed is that I want Dan to see it when he opens his mail box, and I want to be there with him when he does. So, I will launch it on Saturday. Just Because.

Make certain to stop by The Best Hearts Are Crunchy, where Beth Niquette is the Hostess for Postcard Friendly Friday, and to see what other drummers are doing!

All the Best - To You & Yours - From Me & Mine - for the coming year. And Thanks to all of you who follow me, or who stop by for a peek via Google.

Breakfast Brownies for a Penny

 

My sister Penny and her spouse Chuck Pefley produce a Christmas card every year, as they have since 1992. A collaboration - His image and Her verse, and it's always a welcome bit of Christmas Candy for your eyes.

And your heart.

Thank you to the both of you for making this Christmas so special to me.

The little critter in the upper left hand corner? His name is Do-Bee. That's Chuck on his Vespa. There's Bob on his sled, and Genie just pulled a gold Penny from his bag. I don't think that the little fellow witth his nose in a book is named Mark, but perhaps.

Meet the Bakers of Breakfast Brownies

 

From left to right:

Pops. He's holding the spoon.     Sonny.      Over on the Right is Grandpa.

You've seen this piece before. The artist (I'm not calling him a rip-off artist just yet) hired by the Breakfast Brownies Cereal Company created two, two  column advertising "cartoons" for them. You've seen them both, actually. At least in part. Of the images that I know of for newspaper advertising of this fabulous chocolate cereal, both the boy and girl are well done. The Brownies in the originals? Not quite. I tried working with the little "Brownies" the artist developed, but I kept having to fix them. They just didn't look right.

Then I rediscovered Palmer Cox, and decided I could become an advertising illustrator and come up with characters who could better represent the company.

The paper is not old. The same family friend that cleaned up the Palmer Cox Brownies used for my Christmas mail art was also able to clean up the original piece of Breakfast Brownies Company letterhead that I hold. I then had this recreated piece of letterhead printed on new paper. I'm also going to try using fifty year old toned paper to give the viewer the illusion that they are looking at a real document.

For now, this is a first go at creating a pair of documents to be displayed together, along with the continuing story of the Baker Family.

BROWNIES - The Breakfast Variety

 

This one is special. My first stamp. My first multiple using a basic greeting card envelope format, although all of my mail art has taken this form. I created a template from a piece of clear plastic which is proportioned to make a large five+ by seven inch+ envelope from a standard sheet of paper. It also accepts a five by seven inch blank greeting card, available to those who want to create their own cards - like me.

Is there more to this story? Yes, there definitely is.

Lenna, this started with YOU! We exchanged mail art months ago, and you started something with your whimsical Brownies that was simply irresistible. Two years before, I'd been given the opportunity to examine and crudely copy some newspaper print blocks for a product that was packaged (and apparently sold) right here in Helena, called Breakfast Brownies Cereal. This was long before Cocoa Puffs and Sonny, the Cuckoo Bird. I mean, what kid can resist a cartoon character on their box of Chocolated Cereal?

The advertising images for Breakfast Brownies extolled the virtues of eating this product which even a puppy could not resist. Breakfast Brownies Cereal was stirred and served up by three Brownies. They weren't Palmer Cox Brownies, and although I could work with the Breakfast Brownies characters, I started looking into Vintage Brownies, and discovered Palmer Cox. He is the Father of all things Brownie. I'll name a few companies to which he licensed the characters : Ivory Soap, Nabisco (Brownie Biscuits), Lion Coffee (stand-up paper dolls offered as premiums) and the famous Kodak Brownie camera. These businesses were all licensed to allow them to use his characters. He also marketed games, toys and dolls on his own. And he had imitators. Lots of them. Including the unknown artist who developed the Breakfast Brownies characters. This artist wasn't alone. It is surmised that there were more unlicensed uses than there were of the licensed variety.

Palmer Cox, who began creating his whimsical little characters in the 1890's, developed quite a following among kids and parents alike. The best part was, he caught the eyes and minds of everyone for almost forty years, and wrote over twenty-five books about his characters.

I'll not reveal the images for the other Brownies Mail Art that I've done - until after Christmas. They're all personalized. And those who are getting them can simply wait until they arrive. I'm into surprises that arrive in the mail.

Brownies - The Palmer Cox Variety

The day before yesterday I received a piece of what I took to be mail art. It had a little Brownie stamp on the front, made from a 13 Cent USPS stamp with the image replaced by one depicting two Brownies. That was more than enough to pique my curiosity, since I didn't recognize the name on the return address. Actually, it looked like the envelope had been made to fit a stiffener, so I carefully opened it to discover two pages from old children's books, both with wonderful illustrations by Palmer Cox, who originally created the Brownies in the 1880's. Both of the illustrations were by Palmer, and one of them was an illustrated one-page story. Both of them were Christmas related, one of them with Kriss Kringle taking top billing, but the Brownies weren't far behind.

I was stunned. That appeared to be all that was in the envelope until I had a friend stop by for coffee and scones. Homemade. Not what I'd call a Breakfast Brownie, but I like blueberries, and I make a mean scone.

After we'd sipped for a bit, he asked me what I was working on. I told him I was working on developing a Brownie envelope to use for mail art for my siblings. You know, the kind that are hard to gift. I showed him the pages that I'd received in the mail, and the envelope they came in. To me, it was like an early Christmas present from someone I'd never met. It is truly amazing where the path leads when you're generous and appreciative of other artists interests.

The reason I was so struck by the whole package was it was totally unexpected, coming just at the right moment as I tried to develop an envelope I could use for Brownie mail art. I really haven't let the cat out of the bag with this one because I intend to do something special with the Brownies for my siblings, but this really meant a great deal to me.

My friend picked up the envelope and examined both sides, and then looked in the envelope. He proceeded to shake a card out of it that I was unaware was still in the envelope. I read the wonderful note she's included, and suddenly it all came together. The pages that Beth Bynum gave to me meant a lot, but the fact she's a Nick Bantock fan as well sort of put the icing on the Brownies. Did I mention she has a blog? The fact that she'd taken a collage class from Lenna Young Andrews put another piece in the puzzle, as Lenna is a Brownie fan as well. Beth discovered I was a Brownie fan through Lenna, but what she didn't realize was that I like my Brownies for Breakfast.

The Breakfast Brownie Cereal is the real deal. Thank You, Beth. A wonderful Breakfast Treat!

Breakfast Brownie Doughgirl

Breakfast Brownie Doughgirl

Original newsprint advertisement

Luckily, the newsprint advertisement print block that I used as a model for this piece didn't go to the dogs!

There is little known about the Breakfast Brownies Company, and not a whole lot more about the Brownie Baking Company, except that they were not one and the same. The Breakfast Brownies Company was incorporated in 1919 in Montana, and although the officers were not all in or from Helena, the cereal was milled in Minneapolis and packaged here in Helena. Just exactly where in Helena I cannot determine, although I do know where their office was located.

I have seen a cardboard case for the cereal, a stock certificate, as well as one sample box and a dozen metal plates for newspaper print advertising. One of the plate images is the source for my Brownie Doughgirl.

I acquired several pieces of letterhead for the Brownie Baking Company, whose bakery was in Spokane, Washington. I do know that the Brownie Baking Company was once the Tru-Blu Biscuit Company, because I have seen five real photo postcards of the factory, and the message side of the card has the Tru Blu logo printed on it. Research on the web reveals very little about the company, other than the fact the factory bakery building is still in use – not as a bakery, but it's now artist studio space.

If you are interested in seeing my earlier version depicting the Brownie Doughboy which I completed in September of 2010, you can see it HERE. The Doughboy image was also taken from a newsprint print block.

I decided to put the Breakfast Brownies Doughgirl on this piece of Brownie Baking Company letterhead because the companies had one thing in common – they both used the images of Brownies to sell their products. Note the Brownie in the lower left corner of their letterhead. I've never done this sort of thing before, but my chances of ever finding a piece of Breakfast Brownies paper are slim and next to none.

Breakfast Brownies Doughboy

Pillsbury has their doughboy, so I think Breakfast Brownies Cereal can have theirs too!

There is little known about the Breakfast Brownies Company, and not a whole lot more about the Brownie Baking Company, except that they were not one and the same. The Breakfast Brownies Company was incorporated in 1919 in Montana, and although the officers were not all in or from Helena, the cereal was milled in Minneapolis and packaged here in Helena. Just exactly where in Helena I cannot determine, although I do know where their office was located.

I have seen a cardboard case for the cereal, a stock certificate, as well as one sample box and a dozen metal plates for print advertising. One of the plate images is the source for my Brownie Doughboy.

I acquired several pieces of letterhead for the Brownie Baking Company, whose bakery was in Spokane, Washington. I do know that the Brownie Baking Company was once the Tru-Blu Biscuit Company, because I have seen five real photo postcards of the factory, and the message side of the card has the Tru Blu logo printed on it. Research on the web reveals very little about the company, other than the fact the factory bakery building is still in use – not as a bakery, but it's now artist studio space.

I decided to put the Breakfast Brownies Doughboy on this piece of Brownie Baking Company letterhead because they had one thing in common – they both used the images of Brownies to sell their products. Note the Brownie in the lower left corner of their letterhead. I've never done this sort of thing before, but my chances of ever finding a piece of Breakfast Brownies paper are slim and next to none.

Well? Do you think this piece of advertising art would fly up against the Cocoa Puffs of the cereal world?