ORIGINAL - Christ Lived in Anaconda in '31

The most recent old paper and the very first piece of old paper I purchased. Did you know that Christ lived in Anaconda in 1931 and got his perfume from LA?

I am going to be showing this and every piece I have not sold at the Western Heritage Artists show in Great Falls, Montana, during Western Art Week. This is going to be a huge opportunity for me to obtain some exposure that I'd not be able to get any other way. I'll have a gallery/room at the Holiday Inn from Wednesday the 17th, through Sunday the 21st. I'm also participating in the Quick Finish on Thursday evening, and I'll be doing a piece of mail art complete with a hand-drawn card that can be used in the envelope. I'll also be doing mail art in my room and taking orders for old paper and mail art as well. My first love is the old paper, however, and I think I've got that base pretty well covered.

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.