We Deliver!!!

The Tru-Blu Biscuit Company was a local Spokane, Washington company that also sold Krause Candies. I spent many hours looking for some of their packaging, and in the process of searching and making inquiries of historical society sites - found little information about them.

I have in my possession a number of high school 'quarterly' yearbooks from the North Central High School in Spokane, which included advertising for a lot of local businesses, including Tru-Blu Biscuits. I brought these back from Seattle, Washington, and they'd been in the possession of my brother-in-law, Chuck Pefley. Chuck grew up in Spokane, and had more than several boxes of EPHEMERA that had come from the attic of his parents, some of it including some from his grand-parents as well. Chuck allowed me to go through what he had, and to take whatever I wanted. The yearbooks, from 1913 to 1916, are filled with 'good art' and perhaps I'll share some of it in the future, but for now -

I liked the Tru-Blu logo and color scheme. In early Spring my wife and I were on a trip to Havre, Montana to visit her family. We took a tour of Havre Underground, and on that tour I saw a tin about a foot square on one of the General Store shelves, and I took a picture of it. On that very same trip, I made a stop at one of my sources for old paper, and I found more than one piece of Tru-Blu Biscuit Company bill head. Further looking on the web led me to a photograph of employees standing beside a Tru-Blu delivery van. I did my level best to search out more photos of their vehicles, but this was the best I could do. I questioned old truck fans to try to determine from the photograph I had what type of truck it was. I drew blanks. I did the next best thing - I used another delivery van as a model. I wanted to get this piece ready for the Western Heritage Artists show in Great Falls, Montana on the 17th of March. So for now, this is a Tru-Blu delivery van, and that's all there is to it!

1928 Chevy Truck, Like A Rock #2

This is the second piece of Highway Garage bill head that I've done with a similar truck depicted. I posted that one back in early July and then donated it to the Marias Museum of History & Art in Shelby, Montana, my hometown. This one is going to go with me to the Western Heritage Artists show the middle of March. I thought that the Highway Garage was in Oilmont, but apparently it was also in Sunburst, since the name has been crossed out at the top of the billhead, and Oilmont is written in. The company for which the service was performed was the Hardrock Oil Company. I have no idea if they ever owned a 1928 Chevy with a tank and auxiliary engine on it, but I used my Artistic License on this one.

I'm going to be working on another piece of territorial (trout) FLY PAPER, which I'll post as soon as I get that one done. It's also going to go with me to the show with as many more new pieces as I can get done between now and the 17th of March.

GLORIA, PFF #20

Join Marie, The French Factrice for more interesting and colorful examples of art that travels the mailstream and is definitely not on a leash.

Gloria is my sister-in-law. She sent my camera back to me months ago, after I'd left it on the ranch while visiting. So - I not only owe her a THANK YOU that's long overdue, but I also owe her MONEY, something which poor, starving artists have very little of.

There's a little colored dot that I inked onto this cover, between the O in Gloria, and the R in River, and it indicates the spot where she lives on Beaver Creek. The map was made long before there was a town called Havre. It was once called Bullhook Bottoms, but Founding Fathers didn't think that name quite fitting for the location. The farm (and ranch, since she deals with the cattle) is about ten miles South of Havre. Ft. Assiniboine is about four miles South and West of the present city of Havre, and about three miles North of the farm.

It was my mother-in-law's homestead, established in the early Teens.

It is beautiful country, and Gloria's a wonderful lady. I shouldn't have delayed as long as I did in paying her back or in doing a nice Thank You. I hope she forgives me.

Flying Pig Lunch PFF #18

I eat Flying Pigs for lunch. Not really. The postage stamp on this cover is celebrating the Year of the Tiger not the Pig, but I couldn't resist. I just got my machine back from the mechanic and wanted to make sure that everything worked properly.

Be sure to stop by Marie's little corner of the blogosphere for MORE Flying Pig Posts!

Winchester Model 1892 44-40 DeluxeTakedown Rifle

This is a piece of paper that I found while looking through a large box of about 4,000 documents, and rightfully did not belong in the box. For the most part, when I began looking for paper to put my art work on, I was buying left-overs and the less-expensive pieces that I could not only afford, but could do something with. I set this piece aside in the keeper pile, and once I'd finished with the box, I had a rather 'short stack' to be considered for pricing.

When the shop owner started going through my selections, he came upon this and said "WHERE did you find THIS"? I explained that it was 'in the box'. His response was to tell me he really ought not to be selling it to me, because this kind of paper is very valuable to those who collect firearms and related ephemera. I bought it. It was expensive, but I knew I wanted it and I knew what I wanted to put on it. The rifle depicted is a very collectible firearm, and probably would sell for about $30,000 on today's market.

I can't wait for a gun collector to see it.

They're on their WAY

Back in mid-December, Susan - of This Old Paper welcomed me to their little community of links, and what a welcome it was. She 'discovered' a billhead for Baby Ruth and Butterfingers (by the box) on another site that I also follow called Forgotten Bookmarks. The billhead had been used for a bookmark, so I contacted Forgotten Bookmarks about obtaining the paper to use for my art, just as Susan suggested. The answer was YES, he still had it and would send it to me.

As a big THANK YOU to both of them for playing my game, I sent notes to both. I haven't decided YET what kind of Baby Ruth advertising I'm going to use on the billhead, but rest assured, when I do complete it, I'll be posting it here, linking to both of their fabulous sites, and framing the results for some other chocolate lover to hang on their wall.

By way of explanation, I've left the ground addresses off of the images. I use removable labels on my mail art now so that the recipients can have the envelopes to do with as they will, and I can post the images without revealing any addresses that are better left unrevealed.

My sisters Penny & Judy gave me a wonderful book of illustrated letters called "Your Friend, C. M. Russell". With the book came a bookmark that gave the history of Charlies use of the buffalo skull as part of every piece of art that he signed after 1906. The verse on the bottom was penned by Charlie in 1917, as a sort-of tribute to wordsmiths (he wasn't bad at telling a story with a pen either) whom he felt certain would tell the story of the West as he did with his brush.

I sent the bookmark to Forgotten Bookmarks as a bonus to him, since he had sent me the billhead. Along with the bookmark came a vintage Christmas postcard which had probably also come to him as a bookmark, so I passed that on to Susan. They should each receive their Thank You Mail Art by January 4th.

Penny & Judy also received Thank You's similar to the one I sent to Forgotten Bookmarks.

I hope everyone has a Blessed and Prosperous New Year.