{"title":"Just In!","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"critical-eye-finds-gift-cards","title":"critical eye finds GIFT CERTIFICATES","description":"\u003cp\u003eFinally, gift certificates! A nice gift for those who like to choose their own finds, or for shop regulars, or for anyone you think might enjoy the kinds of things I hunt for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust enter the name and email address of the recipient in the notes field at check out and I'll email the gift certificate directly to them for whatever amount you specify.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI'll also be glad to customize however you might wish --- including putting a physical gift certificate in the mail to the recipient along with a personal note using your words, and\/or using a redemption code of your choice. (i.e. HappyBirthday). And of course I'm happy to issue a card in any amount. Just let me know your wishes in the \"notes\" field at checkout, or shoot me an email or message. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"$10.00","offer_id":45475550232830,"sku":"","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"$25.00","offer_id":45475550265598,"sku":"","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"$50.00","offer_id":45475550298366,"sku":"","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"$100.00","offer_id":45475550331134,"sku":"","price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"$200.00","offer_id":45475550363902,"sku":"","price":200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_4737.jpg?v=1718492817"},{"product_id":"the-hague-1921-surveillance-evoking-early-kodak-photo-print-on-card","title":"\"The Hague, 1921\"-- Surveillance Evoking Early Kodak (?) Photo Print on Card","description":"\u003cp\u003eI presume this was taken with an early Kodak camera (invented 1888), which produced round images, which I am personally obsessed with, especially for how the circular format makes everything seem as is viewed through a scope--and so all about watching, from some degree of remove-- i.e. voyeurism, and in this case feeling very much like surveillance. (This image was printed directly on card, rather than mounted to a Kodak mount, which is what one usually sees, so I'm not completely sure, but whatever the case, the effect is the same.) I love when vernacular photography and conceptual art converge, and this image, with solitary  woman on the street in coat at dead center seeming very much the subject, makes me think of works by everyone from Sophie Calle to Vito Acconci to Jill Magid. And also, very much, Hitchcock. The drama is in the watching, the imagining, the mystery and the projected narrative. And in this case the simple notation on reverse, \"The Hague, 1921,\" feels just right--global hub of international law and arbitration, the name of which \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan title=\"Dutch-language text\"\u003e\u003ci lang=\"nl\"\u003eDen Haag\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (anglicised as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Hague)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e derives from the Middle Dutch word\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan title=\"Middle Dutch (ca. 1050-1350)-language text\"\u003e\u003ci lang=\"dum\"\u003ehag(h)e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, meaning \"enclosure\", or \"hunting ground\"--\u003c\/span\u003eand which seems just the sort of city for tracking undercover agents through scopes!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4 1\/4\" x 3 1\/4\", very good condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47378530533630,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_1325.png?v=1759239486"},{"product_id":"rural-south-carolina-c-1890-pair-of-early-kodak-snapshots-1","title":"Rural South Carolina, c. 1890-1900, Pair of Early Kodak Snapshots","description":"\u003cp\u003eI purchased this pair from a favorite dealer in Cohoes, NY, who always has lots of interesting photographs. They are early Kodaks, c. 1890s\/very early 1900s I believe. On the back of one is written \"SC\" and on the other, the lower photo in first image, \"Negro cabin, SC\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI must say that I was first struck by them formally--the composition of the first one, with wooden pole a perfect vertical in the foreground echoed by the pipe rising tall from the shed and trail of smoke rising from behind it; all those piles of logs, the very vernacular construction of the structures, etc; and the almost eerie light and shadows of the second. As documents of rural South Carolina in the late 19th\/early 20th century, closely following the passage of Jim Crow laws in the 1880s that were especially severe there, they are also very much charged with the history and legacy of American slavery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach 5 1\/4\" x 4 1\/4\". Good condition, very minor curling, and a few small stains\/scuffs to the surface of the second one. Sold as a pair. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47437457195262,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_1176copy.png?v=1760558520"},{"product_id":"early-20th-century-folk-art-ship-in-mohan-meakin-bottle-with-bridge-houses-and-real-rocky-shore","title":"Early 20th Century Folk Art Ship in Mohan Meakin Bottle with Bridge, Houses and (Real) Rocky Shore","description":"\u003cp\u003eI love an old ship in the bottle, and will always marvel at them, but am fussy about the ones I like, preferring very folky ones, with lots of color and lots packed in, as is the case with this one. Fabulous play of strings on the masts, colorful paint on the hull and houses on the shore behind, plus gray painted mountains, with what I believe are actual stones along the shoreline, and an arching bridge at far right too. With canvas\/burlap rolled up and stuck into the opening (there may be cork at the center of it, a bit hard to tell)--which has done the job very well, as there is next to no dust inside. The bottle is a Mohan Meakin rum bottle, earlyish 20th century I believe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10 1\/4\" l x 2 7\/8\" d and in very good condition, reading bright and clean. Lies upright without the aid of a stand. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47573891711230,"sku":null,"price":150.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_7049_d47c1297-42b6-4848-9c73-a663420eab75.jpg?v=1764036111"},{"product_id":"very-sweet-antique-carved-out-box-in-red-paint-with-slide-lid","title":"Very Sweet Antique Carved Out Box in Red Paint with Slide Lid","description":"\u003cp\u003eI really love an old carved out wooden box. Feels so visceral and direct, not messing around with jointed corners, just digging out the inside. And this old one with a sweet little carved knob at the end of the sliding lid. Could be that the unpainted pine lid replaced an earlier one, but if so has been with it for a very long time, lovingly done and perfectly fitting. Perhaps made to hold slate pencils, but good for whatever little odds and ends now, and a nice one for the top of a stack. With old red paint\/stain on the box itself and and a warm dry patina to to the slide lid. Humble and honest, super warm presence, teeming with labor and love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6 13\/16\" x 2 1\/8\" x 1 1\/8\" t. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eLooks maybe like a repair to a hairline split on the lid, running part of the way down the lid along one side--but very well done and really hard to detect. Lid fits snug and slides smoothly. All sturdy and sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47661530874110,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_9168_3df66caf-c650-4d08-b52d-2267e7d9753c.jpg?v=1767620780"},{"product_id":"operating-room-no-6-u-s-evacuation-hospital-ww1-with-extensive-notes-detailing-contents-on-reverse","title":"Operating Room No. 6, U.S. Evacuation Hospital, WW1, with Extensive Notes Detailing Contents on Reverse","description":"\u003cp\u003eInterior of Operating Room No. 6 at the U.S. Evacuation Hospital No. 1. This hospital was established in early 1918 near Sebastapol Barracks in France and became a \u003cspan\u003ecrucial World War I medical unit. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/achh.army.mil\/history\/book-wwi-fieldoperations-chapter5\"\u003e(Lots more about it and the other U.S. Evacuation Hospitals during WW1 here.)\u003c\/a\u003e I believe this photo was likely taken just before or just after it opened, with meticulous, beautifully handwritten notes on reverse detailing its contents, down to diagramming the components of the tray sitting on the side table. I love an old photograph taken for documentary purposes but now full of all sorts of expanded resonances, and what could be more poignant than an empty but fully prepped operating room during wartime? To my eye quite a formally beautiful image as well as a historically rich one. (And feels quite contemporary in ways too, making me think of the work of Lucinda Devlin, for example.)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e5 3\/8\" x 3 3\/8\". Very good condition, richer and more beautiful in hand; I've tried to get photos close but the contrasts of dark and light in my photos are a but too pronounced.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47705364398334,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_1387_c07e77c1-1320-4904-8212-761d907eb1b7.jpg?v=1768755447"},{"product_id":"beautiful-pair-of-19th-century-inuit-caribou-bone-and-hand-forged-iron-knives-1","title":"Beautiful Pair of 19th Century Inuit Caribou Bone and Iron Knives","description":"\u003cp\u003eThese two I purchased from a favorite family run shop in New Hampshire, a great cabinet of curiosities always filled with interesting things, ancient to modern. They came from a much larger collection of antique Inuit objects that I believe were formerly held in the collection of an academic institution in New England--many many beautiful tools and fragments of tools, most all of which I took the time to pick up and hold, one by one, to  to my great pleasure. (And these two I felt like I could not then put down again.) The larger knife here is a \"crooked knife,\" or mocotaugan, an essential tool with hooked end to the blade, used as a draw knife (pulled toward the user) with one hand, for \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehollowing, carving, and shaping wood (f\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eor canoes, sleds, tools, etc) among other things. The function of the smaller one I am uncertain of, but certainly for more precision work, with short blade with hooked tip and one end, and squared tip at the other. The handles are caribou bone, perfectly shaped for the grip of a hand, and the blades hand-forged iron--\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e as I understand it, these were often \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003erepurposed from trade goods like files and saws, brought to North America from Europe by the Hudson’s Bay Company. And indeed, the blade on the small one here bears a partial maker's mark on one side: looks like E\u0026amp;C. A great deal of knowledge and history and life held in these tools, which you can very much feel, very beautiful things.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrooked knife: 7 1\/4\" l measured on the square, 15\/16\" w end of handle, visible blade 3 9\/16\" l . Smaller knife: 4 3\/4\" l, 7\/8\" w handle, blade 1\". Both in very good antique condition with obvious long histories of use which is much of what makes them so beautiful. Good structural condition, sturdy and sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47778194194686,"sku":null,"price":165.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_4291_09deb070-65f8-44b7-8d12-523c2eb96e65.jpg?v=1770423111"},{"product_id":"character-full-c-late-19th-century-end-of-the-day-sewer-tile-folk-art-high-heeled-shoe","title":"Character-full c. Late 19th Century End of the Day Sewer Tile Folk Art High Heeled Shoe","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn excellent example of an end of the day sewer tile whimsy of sorts, and an early one, late 19th century I believe. Sewer tile creations of this sort, easy to recognize my the character of the clay (and in this case the clay is especially, wonderfully craggy and the dark brown glaze richly applied), were made by factory workers, especially in and around Ohio, using leftover (hence, \"end of day\") clay from industrial sewer pipe production. Like the macrame baskets of sailors, and the spruce gum boxes of loggers, often these were sweetheart gifts, as I would think was likely the case here--and of course I am always delighted by the image of a factory worker sculpting something quite delicate. I don't always jump on sewer tile pieces but this one sold me immediately--excellent form (especially the shape of that heel!), surface, color, scale (I've seen a few tiny examples but this is not; perhaps it was made to hold matches), and detailing of seams, lace holes, etc. Terrific presence, too, feels singular and substantial. And a perfect fit in a lineage of folk art shoe shaped creations, from carved snuff boxes to pin cushions. (And then there are the salesman samples!) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 7\/8\" x 2\" t x 1 5\/16\" w. Excellent antique condition, no chips or any other issues at all that I can see. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47813894832382,"sku":null,"price":165.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5015_39ed12bd-2dfc-49c2-9f0c-02d41f6b31f9.jpg?v=1771347040"},{"product_id":"boxless-box-elemental-and-poetic-antique-carved-out-holder-for-straight-edge-and-compass","title":"Boxless Box, Elemental and Poetic Antique Carved Out Holder for Straight Edge and Compass","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere are things the beauty and poetry of which one feels deep in one's gut (or maybe that's the soul?!)--this is very much one of those for me. A box that is not a box, custom carved long ago to carry a ruler\/straight edge on one side and a drafting compass on the other, with carved out recesses into which each would surely have perfectly fit, and then two thinly woven straps stretched all the way around to hold them in place. I am not sure that I could envisage a purer embodiment of the verb \"to hold\" than this. (And it embodies \"to carry\" pretty well too.) A very beautiful gesture of an object.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13 5\/8\" x 1 7\/8\" x 7\/8\". Very good antique condition, much better than photos--my camera picks up too much of the undertones in wood. Super rich patina to the dry pine.  Third quarter 19th century I would guess. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47813902991614,"sku":null,"price":90.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5085copy.jpg?v=1771279250"},{"product_id":"lovingly-carved-old-slide-lid-blades-box-2","title":"Lovingly Carved (and Painted) Old Folk Art Slide Lid Blades Box","description":"\u003cp\u003ePhotos do no justice to this sweet old hand-carved slide lid box; details give a better sense of the care invested in (quite delicately) carving BLADES in relief down one side, with carved flourishes above and below the letters too. Then three X's painted across the reverse side (making me think it may have been Xacto blades it held) and yellow squares with green outlines on the short ends. Quite a special feeling one for holding knives or razor blades--or blades of easter grass!--now. (And certainly would be a good one for holding dominoes, too.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 6 1\/8\" x 2 1\/4\" x 1 13\/16\". Good condition, earlyish 20th century I believe, nice warm patina. Slide lid opens easily and closes flush. Photos make it look as if there might be splits in the slide lid but there are not; rather, it was carefully carved with slight recesses to fit the grooves of the box as it slides.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47867000553726,"sku":null,"price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5220_c4df984a-9b38-4e60-abbb-b1a9e51af993.jpg?v=1772116303"},{"product_id":"huge-old-crown-of-thorns-whimsy-garland-in-red-white-blue-and-gold-in-two-parts","title":"Huge Old Crown of Thorns Whimsy Garland in Red, White, Blue and Gold, (in Two Parts)","description":"\u003cp\u003eI recently learned that some wooden wreaths constructed of interlocking carved wooden bits were Scandanavian in origin, used for the preservation of yeast in beer and mead making. This is not one of those, but I have to imagine the former informed the construction of later \"crown of thorn\" type frames and whimsies or garlands like this one, which I might guess was fraternal (Masonic or Odd Fellows?) in origin, earlier 20th century. Definitely it was once all one piece, running 53 inches long, and perhaps even longer to make a complete loop, but I am not certain of that. As found it is in two parts, with one loose (half-broken) piece, the cause of the rupture I presume. (Someone smarter than I am might manage to rejoin the two parts--that's beyond my skill set!) As is, the smaller one is itself of a nice (manageable!) scale at a little over a foot, and the larger could probably run the whole length of a mantle (evoking flames in the fireplace as it does!) at about 40 inches. They are quite fun to arrange and to twist and curl, revealing different colors and facets as one does. In two places are painted what appear to be accession numbers: Acc. 6859. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e53\" long total (40\" + 13 1\/2\") Approx 3\" wide and 3\" tall. Good condition, crisp and bright. There is one single piece in the larger that is shows a partial loss--noticeable really only when searching for it. One broken piece as shown in last photo which I believe is why it has split in two pieces. One wants to be gentle handling the longer one--it is a somewhat unwieldy! \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47867032338686,"sku":null,"price":200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5720_e848f86a-7503-4efd-a7c4-1b5ee4b05efe.jpg?v=1772116852"},{"product_id":"the-life-of-christ-1870-with-unholy-endpaper-drawings","title":"The Life of Christ, 1870, with Unholy Endpaper Drawings!","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of two old books with end paper drawings today, which I'll never stop hunting for, even if just building a collection for myself. Two great graphite drawings here, the work of an L.M. Willis who signed his name twice--one drawing on the front inside cover and one on the back. Of course I especially love the juxtaposition of these unholy looking characters, one drinking and one smoking (with great little hand pointing at him as if in admonishment) with \"The Life of Christ,\" making this to my sensibilities an excellent found object as a whole, too.  Book by Robert Mimpriss (great name), published by Donn \u0026amp; Mead, NY, 1870. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\" x 3 7\/8\", 100 pp. Good condition. A few stains and toning\/spotting to around the drawings and general cover wear, book itself in good, clean condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47924841447678,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_6830_d2e9e327-f359-4595-817e-05e7e64bbd79.png?v=1773252208"},{"product_id":"scarce-1802-fables-of-aesop-with-engravings-throughout-great-bedtime-reading-1","title":"Scarce 1802 Copy, Samuel Croxall's Fables of Aesop, First Wilmington Edition, with Engravings Throughout (Great Bedtime Reading!)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis one made me very happy to find--an 1802 copy of Aesop's Fables, translated into English by Samuel Croxall, this copy specifically \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ethe \"First Wilmington Edition,\" printed and sold by Peter Brynberg, Wilmington, De. Seems quite a good time to revisit these allegorical tales delivering moral instruction, and I must say the tales take on a special sort of gravitas when delivered in a book more than 200 years old, the reading of which requires one to navigate the \"long s\" among other things. Spending some time with this makes me wish I had children around; it would be a great one to read from out loud at bedtime, and with woodcut engravings animating most every page. These are not stories for the faint of heart, though--no sugar coating to cruel behaviors and betrayals--which makes them feel quite right for reading right now. The front cover is detached, but otherwise it is in quite good shape\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e5 1\/2\" x 3 5\/8\". 316 pages + index. Front cover detached as shown and plenty of exterior wear but the pages in overall good condition, general toning but no notable tears, all pages well bound, paper not brittle. Engravings throughout, illustrating each fable, with table of contents at front and index at back.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47924890075390,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_7120_1792ee48-4e5c-40a4-a3e9-967e5ccc3dea.png?v=1773411978"},{"product_id":"c-betram-hartman-1882-1960-three-cats-gestural-graphite-drawing-with-abstract-watercolor-c-1940s-1","title":"C. Betram Hartman (1882-1960) Three Cats, Gestural Graphite Drawing with Abstract Watercolor, c. 1940s","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis and a second graphite and watercolor sketchbook drawing of cats today, by American painter C. Bertram Hartman\u003cspan\u003e (1882–1960), which I purchased from an artist\/dealer in Cambridge, MA. This one with no year to the date (late 1940s I believe) but is stamped B. Hartman, R. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eCastellane Gallery. (\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe Richard Castellane gallery acquired the Estate Collection of Hartmann around 1960, from the former Rabin \u0026amp; Krueger Gallery Newark, New Jersey. ) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI think it is a wonderful, very full of life drawing, for me all about gesture and specifically the exposure of the underbelly of the cat. (Perhaps this is the mother cat pictured in the other drawing?) With the application of the watercolor making it something of an abstract color field painting at the same time! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHartman studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, and in Paris, then remained, with his wife Augusta (\"Gusta\"), based in New York City, where they was especially close to Gaston Lachaise and his wife\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eIsabel Nagle Lachaise.\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003csup id=\"cite_ref-butlerbio_3-2\" class=\"reference\"\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eIn 1933\/1934 Hartman was represented by two works in the first ever Whitney Biennial, with works held in the collections of the Whitney,  the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum, among other museum collections. He also produced numerous murals as part of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9 1\/2\" x 7 5\/8\". Very good condition, graphite and watercolor strong, minimal toning. Rough right edge from spiral binding, could be trimmed. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48007695696126,"sku":null,"price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_7985_b83cb143-a505-426d-aef9-ee13ddb39e83.png?v=1774119739"},{"product_id":"19th-century-small-size-handmade-school-slate-with-charming-etched-monogram-stars-and-shapes-1","title":"19th Century Small Size Handmade School Slate with Charming Etched Monogram, Stars and Shapes","description":"\u003cp\u003eLots of different reasons for falling in love with antique school slates--beautiful old mends, carvings into the wood, or, in this case, etchings into the surface of the slate itself. It's a lovely, unusually small, 19th century example to begin with, with wooden pegs at the jointed corners, but it is the work of R.P.T that really sold me, between those dimensional block initials, and cubes for periods, and stars and shapes and flourishes surrounding. Detail photos give the best sense. Feels as if executed while staring at a pile of geometric solids, while also imagining their own future stardom! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8 1\/2\" x 6 3\/8\". Loss to front of frame at lower left corner as documented, still holding together fine but one wants to be a little gentle and the slate as a whole has a little wiggle. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48007700218110,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_9057_c0befd48-9a87-45f6-92f4-956c1b25d399.jpg?v=1774645986"},{"product_id":"glorious-1850-pennsylvania-german-fraktur-watercolor-bookplate-with-pointing-hand-berks-county","title":"Glorious 1850 Pennsylvania German Fraktur Watercolor Bookplate with Pointing Hand, Berks County","description":"\u003cp\u003ePhotos don't quite do justice to the richness and radiance of the color on this 1850 Pennsylvania German fraktur bookplate--I find it just glorious. The lower half reads \"In Ober [Upper] Bern Township, Berks County, 1850.\" The upper portion is the name of its owner--I read it as Eleisa Mager, but I think I may have a letter or two wrong as I've not found a match; perhaps Mayer? (Surely someone better at reading fraktur lettering than I am can figure it out!) Best of all that green pointing hand at upper right, known as a \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003emanicule (\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003efrom Latin \u003cem data-processed=\"true\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" class=\"eujQNb\"\u003emanicula\u003c\/em\u003e, \"little hand\"), typically used to highlight important information, but here pointing toward the blank page opposite (to my mind the void!--but I presume as intended toward the contents of the hymnal.) I also like how the hand itself almost looks as though lettering the word \"of.\" The volume itself is \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eDas Gemeinschaftliche Gesangbuch\u003c\/i\u003e (\"The Joint Hymn Book\") printed in 1846 in Philadelphia by Mentz und Rovoudt, with the text in German, fraktur style lettering throughout. I would be inclined to remove the cover to frame it, a lovely example. Note the way in which Township [Tounschip] is spelled and wraps from one line to the next.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEndboard with fraktur: 6 1\/8\" x 3 5\/8\". Book overall 6 1\/98\" x 3 7\/8\", 374 pages. Dark green leather cover with gold title on spine. Pages show a good bit of toning\/spotting, but bookplate is in good condition, color very strong and bold, much better in hand. A bit of bleeding to the ink and watercolor here and there (as on the decorative dots around \"Ober\", minor and original to it. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48007701037310,"sku":null,"price":110.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_8660.png?v=1774445826"},{"product_id":"nailed-heart-hand-tooled-details-c-early-19th-century-leather-and-wood-snuff-shoe","title":"Nailed Heart, Hand-tooled Details, c. Early 19th Century Leather and Wood Snuff Shoe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eI love a carved shoe, and especially a carved shoe shaped snuff box, but I look at a whole lot of them and mostly let them go. I purchased this and a second today on Ebay from a seller who seemed to have come into a very good small collection of them, all fine early examples-- I think this one c. late 1700s based on form and materials and compparison to related examples out there. A fairly unusual one, hand-tooled leather rather than wood, every inch (centimeter!) animated with decorative detail, including (and very much so!) the sole. My favorite of course the heart nailed out in pique (or probably more correct to call these studs, with larger heads than pique decoration) on the hinged leather lid. Quite a charmer, and the survival of these, especially one made of leather like this, always feels like a small miracle to me, too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 1\/8\" x 1 1\/8\" x 1 7\/8\" t. Very good antique condition, 200+ years old. Wear and dryness to the leather along the hinge of the lid, but it remains well attached. No losses and not fragile overall, though I would be gentle opening and closing the lid, which plugs the opening very snugly.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48030099144958,"sku":null,"price":120.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_9415_832e23d1-1dab-4250-8701-fd258f5dcc49.jpg?v=1775075603"},{"product_id":"woman-in-finery-with-hand-drawn-face-wonderful-late-18th-early-19th-century-silk-embroidery-on-paper","title":"Woman in Finery with Hand-drawn Face, Wonderful Late 18th\/Early 19th Century Silk Embroidery on Paper","description":"\u003cp\u003eI purchased this one from a very knowledgable, longtime dealer of antique textiles and folk art with an exquisite eye. A few years ago I purchased a marvelous silk embroidery of a very folky bird on brown paper just like this, in original frame under very thin blown glass--one of my favorite things ever, and which immediately came to mind when I saw this. This is very early 19th century or perhaps even late 18th, American I believe, and the dealer speculated that the finely dressed woman portrayed here is black, based on her features and face appearing a slightly darker shade than the paper. I'm not certain, but sure love that graphite-drawn face whatever the case, and her very wonderful hat, which looks rather like a picket fence in front of a bank of trees! Every inch terrific, deftly communicating structure, texture and material as well as form \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ethrough the way the stitches were pulled (see the folds of her golden skirt, for example) --about as pure an example of drawing with thread as it gets. Really radiant, too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFramed overall: 12\" x 10. Paper approx 7 3\/4\" x 6\". Period frame, under glass, as found, with wood back to frame. Water stain to the paper along right edge and toning around the edges, embroidery itself in excellent condition. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48030099505406,"sku":null,"price":275.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_9439_ac2c32e6-29f3-45f6-8eac-6d896990a81f.jpg?v=1775078739"},{"product_id":"old-hand-carved-wooden-mold-for-lead-shot-still-filled-1","title":"Old Hand-carved Wooden Mold for Lead Shot, Still Filled","description":"\u003cp\u003eI found this in inland Maine and just thought it was an interesting and satisfying object. It is a sizer\/mold for making lead shot, with old shot still held in each of the holes. A power strip of sorts, packed with potential! Hand-carved, nice old wood, and I doubt it had traveled far from where it was made. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\" x 3\/4\" x 1\/4\". Very good condition. Each hole is lined with a woven fabric, which I believe functioned to mold, and hold, the shot. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48056382324990,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_0342copy.jpg?v=1775873426"},{"product_id":"the-royal-manufacturing-co-detroit-c-1900-canvas-roll-up-for-flatware-salesman-samples-with-leather-buckle","title":"The Royal Manufacturing Co, Detroit, c. 1900 Canvas Roll Up for Flatware Salesman Samples with Leather Buckle","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI just thought this was cool and great looking too. It is a canvas roll up with leather strap stamped by The Royal Manufacturing Co, Detroit, MI,  which was a late 19th-early 20th century producer of mostly silver plated items, including flatware, serving pieces and \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ewatch cases. This roll is stamped \"Samples\" and then what looks to me like \"Best\" and \"Good.\" It unrolls to reveal two vertical woven cloth straps punctuated by leather mounts, which I am guessing would have held samples of various pieces of flatware, in various patterns. The blue (I'd call it Tiffany blue!) fabric (with flaps that open like wings) is of the sort used to store and polish silver. Certainly it could be used for storing silver now, or other sorts of things (tools, paint brushes, who knows?) but I also just like it as a thing, both outside and in. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10\" w x approx 2 1\/2\" d when rolled up. 21\" x 10\" w unrolled (with flaps closed.) Very good condition with just some age toning to the blue interior cloth. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48056391074046,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_0383_769f03df-c11b-43b3-a9d9-4edc27903e1b.jpg?v=1775665217"},{"product_id":"beach-scene-with-heads-turned-and-black-cloud-following-handsome-life-guard-c-1940s-snapshot","title":"Beach Scene with Heads Turned and Black Cloud Following Handsome Life Guard, c. 1950s Snapshot","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe more time I spend looking at it, the more I love this photo, which (as someone who often looks at compositions of bodies through the lens of modern\/contemporary dance) feels almost like a dance still to me--but also one enhanced by this blur of a black cloud hovering over our very handsome young lifeguard. Like three separate choreographed vignettes sharing the same frame: young women in foreground (with great faces!) turning their heads, child with pail and mother bending squarely at the waist in the middle distance, and then this lifeguard looking rather as if winking at the camera in an almost conspiratorial sort of way, as if that cloud were the devil on his shoulder, coming for them all!  (That's one reading, anyway!) All to say I think it's pretty compelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5\" x 4\". Glossy snapshot, c. 1950s, good condition. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48086362194174,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_1242.png?v=1776347873"},{"product_id":"young-man-in-bucket-hat-with-palm-trees-and-folding-camera-c-1940s-50s-snapshot-1","title":"Young Man in Bucket Hat with Palm Trees and Folding Camera, c. 1940s-50s Snapshot","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis feels so mid century southern California to me, and the light with that \"golden hour\" quality--I can only imagine our young man here about to head to the beach and photograph the surfers.  I love a portrait like this, lots packed into it is an effortless sort of way. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\". Very good condition. My first photo makes it appear as though a little yellowing around the edges, but really no evident toning at all. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48086362259710,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_1472.png?v=1776430928"},{"product_id":"e-m-goads-wood-signed-june-5-1886-and-may-16-1884-on-reverse-1","title":"E.M Goad's Wood, Signed June 5, 1886 ( and May 16, 1884 on Reverse)","description":"\u003cp\u003eJust an old chunk of wood (i'm terrible identifying woods or I would identify it!) but surely it had some special significance to E.M Goad, and I sure love the way he proudly lettered his name in graphite, which makes it feel significant to me, too. Significant too for having endured just shy of 140 years (or 142 if one goes by the May 16, 1884 written on the reverse) to be found now.  And then there is \"Goad\" itself, a great word, the original\/specific meaning being a pointed rod or stick used to prod and drive livestock; in the broader sense meaning to incite or push someone to act. Which one could do by knocking them with this! I like its closeness, especially as he writes it, to GooD too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\" x 1 7\/8\" x 3\/4\". Good condition, nice  presence as an object, nice warm patina.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48086388048126,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_10212_8f87f44c-0fd4-4cc2-97f4-123d611176d5.jpg?v=1776476988"},{"product_id":"speed-kings-racing-to-the-finish-early-1900s-snapshot-with-best-hand-written-caption-1","title":"SPEED KINGS Racing to the Finish, Early 1900s Snapshot with Best  Hand written Caption","description":"\u003cp\u003eNot speed queens, SPEED KINGS! In all caps, excellent lettering, just right. And no small feat to be a speed king while wearing a skirt or a dress. Love them, and the great crowd of spectators lined up to cheer them on. Wonderful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 5 3\/16\" x 4\". Earlyish 20th c. Good condition, with general wear, some bumping and surface abrasion at a couple far corners.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48086401450238,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_1425.png?v=1776429378"},{"product_id":"ruth-reynolds-six-sweet-bird-drawings-1","title":"Ruth Reynold's Six Sweet Bird Drawings","description":"\u003cp\u003eI found a whole folio of sweet graphite drawings by young Ruth Reynolds of Lancaster County PA depicting a variety of animals, her birds I think my favorites among them, which I'm listing here as a set. (This is all of them.) Done in school I presume--graphite on lined paper--and what a good thing I think for kids to learn their birds in detail, cultivating future bird watchers and lovers! I'm forever a sucker for drawings of birds, the more naive and earnest the better, and best when identified with hand-written labels. C. 1930s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs reference: Warbler (upper left) 5 3\/4\" x 4 1\/2\". Peacock (center) 3\" x 3\". Sold as set of six. All in very good condition, graphite on lined paper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48140969214206,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_2510_073c3606-5510-485f-a544-af31b0491071.png?v=1777686172"},{"product_id":"maria-in-cardigan-with-arbor-ultra-atmospheric-antique-sepia-snapshot-1","title":"Maria in Cardigan with Arbor, Ultra Atmospheric Antique Sepia Snapshot","description":"\u003cp\u003eFeels like she's in a dreamy world of her own. Just lovely and super atmospheric. Antique sepia paper print, glossy surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 3 1\/2\" X 3 1\/2\". Light crease to upper right corner, small surface tear (not all the way through paper) coming in from right edge just below corner crease, very tiny tear coming in just a hair from left edge center. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48141003227390,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_2283.png?v=1777483679"},{"product_id":"dangling-grapes-mother-with-child-very-finely-painted-c-1850s-watercolor-on-card-1","title":"Dangling Grapes, Mother with Child, Very Finely Painted c. 1850s Watercolor on Card","description":"\u003cp\u003eMaybe not exactly my typical style, but this (and a second by the same maker listed separately) is amazing--hard to understand scale from photos, but it took me getting out a magnifier to confirm it as a watercolor rather than a print, so finely and precisely executed. Perhaps there were once four of them, representing the four seasons? This mother, dangling grapes just out of reach of her child, a bounty of fruit beside her, seems to suggest summer, with fall on the near horizon. I am guessing English but possibly French, watercolor painted on card.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e5 1\/8\" x 4\". Excellent condition, bright and crisp, with slightly trimmed corners. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48141015384318,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_2252.png?v=1777495753"},{"product_id":"hair-wreaths-and-ruffles-everywhere-very-finely-painted-c-1850s-watercolor-on-card","title":"Hair Wreaths and Ruffles Everywhere, Very Finely Painted C. 1850s Watercolor on Card","description":"\u003cp\u003eMaybe not exactly my typical style, but this (and a second by the same maker listed separately) is amazing--hard to understand scale from photos, but it took me getting out a magnifier to confirm this as a watercolor rather than a print, it is so finely and precisely executed. Perhaps there were once four of them, representing the four seasons--these two, flowers in their hair and everywhere, clearly visions of spring. Mid 19th century, I am guessing English but possibly French, watercolor painted on card.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 3\/8\" x 4\". Excellent condition, bright and crisp, with slightly trimmed corners. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48141016137982,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_2263.png?v=1777496332"},{"product_id":"satisfying-grids-pair-of-much-handled-antique-hand-carved-cracker-stamps-2","title":"Satisfying Grids: Pair of Much Handled Antique Hand-carved Cracker Stamps","description":"\u003cp\u003eI don't do much with carved wooden butter and cookie molds which are not my expertise, but as a lover of little carved wooden objects--and modular patterns-- just couldn't resist these, with their perfectly gridded ends. The seller described them as cracker stamps, which I think could just as well mean small biscuits or cookies. Both very much used, with rich patinas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDark wood: 3 7\/8\" x 3\/4\" x 11\/16\". Blond wood: 3 7\/16x 5\/8\" x 9\/16. Sold as a pair, which is how I found them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48141042483454,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_1764_9d952c76-a58d-461f-a772-ee52f82455bb.jpg?v=1777469577"},{"product_id":"calender-1856-dramatically-inked-fraktur-bookplate","title":"Calender, 1856, Dramatically Inked Fraktur Bookplate","description":"\u003cp\u003eI'm very tempted to get this one in a simple frame and keep it for myself forever--possessing a drama and gravitas that far exceeds it scale, and feeling as if it holds all of the weight of time and its passage in those very heavily black inked letters, which have burned through the paper here and there. The bookplate of a Christina Kern, 1856, found in Pennsylvania.(Love that lonely comma after the 1856, too.) And note the spelling of Calender with an e--a sort of hybrid of the German \u003cspan class=\"eujQNb\"\u003eKalender and English Calendar.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 6 3\/16 x 4\". Ink has burned through the paper here and there as evident, but the paper is not brittle. One wants to handle it by the edges but it is stable. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48141066961150,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_2377_06d6197c-1e5c-438c-b87a-8af3d9b903cf.png?v=1777592534"},{"product_id":"antique-tin-toy-truck-in-best-original-blue-green-and-yellow-paint-1","title":"Antique Tin Toy Truck in Best Original Blue, Green (and Yellow) Paint","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt is the original painted color on this antique tin toy truck that really makes it for me, green and blue and some mustardy yellow inside the bed. The driver's seat and steering wheel are long gone (and perhaps a driver too), but I really like the lines of it as it stands--and rolls--now. German or American, I'm not entirely sure, c. early 20th century.   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7 5\/8\" x 2 7\/8\" x 2 3\/4\" t. No seat or steering wheel as evident. As is, great color, great surface, quite a satisfying thing. Stable and sound, wheels turn. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48167246987518,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3029_fccc7680-f3d1-4c08-a40f-31a8d528574b.jpg?v=1778075166"},{"product_id":"gorgeous-large-antique-french-minnow-bait-bucket-with-wire-latch-lid-and-best-original-paint","title":"Gorgeous Large Antique French Minnow (Bait) Bucket with Wire Latch Lid and Best Original Paint","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a beautiful thing, whether or not one has ever cast a fishing line in one's life. It is a large antique bait bucket\/minnow pail in original green (beautifully worn and aged) paint,  French I believe, early 1900s. With a very lyrical, perfectly working wire clasp mechanism locking the lid, as detailed--that loop of wire raises as a handle for locking\/unlocking it, then lies flat once closed.  Great form, nice bail handle, perfect patina, just lovely. Makes me want to be a kid heading to the creek to catch ever evasive tadpoles--or frogs!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBucket itself (vessel;) 11\" w x 7 1\/8\" t. With handle 12\" w x 12\" t. Very good antique condition, just right patina.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48167249346814,"sku":null,"price":110.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_2959_c831f924-75ca-43a5-af4e-46ab9ad4942d.jpg?v=1778075474"},{"product_id":"my-passion-never-can-be-told-gentleman-man-with-bird-and-letter-c-1840-hand-colored-block-print-valentine","title":"My Passion Never Can Be Told, Gentleman with Bird and Letter, C. 1840  Hand-colored Block Print Valentine","description":"\u003cp\u003eA hand-colored printed valentine, c. 1840. I rarely come across an example like this, and just thought it was lovely. And of course I believe it is always time for a valentine. \"I feel more than the pen can write \/ For, true as the refiner's gold \/ My passion can never be told.\" With letter in hand, which this golden bird looks poised to take in its beak and fly off to deliver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 5 3\/8\" x 4 1\/8\". Uneven long edges as evident with a few clean tears coming in from the edges and a bit of loss along old fold line as documented. Hand-colored. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48167258718462,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3356.png?v=1778171865"},{"product_id":"unusual-and-very-painterly-hybrid-19th-century-albumen-cabinet-card-photo-of-dog-with-painted-backdrop","title":"Unusual (and Very Painterly) Hybrid: 19th Century Albumen Cabinet Card Photo of Dog with Painted Backdrop","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt first I took this for a photograph of a painting of a dog, but I believe in fact the portrait of the dog, and the carpet it lies on, is photographic; it is just the background that was painted. And with some blurring of the lines along the back of the dog where photo and illusion meet, yielding a very atmospheric and painterly portrait of a clearly much beloved pet. With Howard \u0026amp; Co.'s Plattsburgh, NY printed on the back of the cabinet card--all of the photographs and records for which I can find date to the 1860s and 70s, so an early one I believe, c. 1870s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6 3\/8\" x 4 1\/4\". General spotting to the card, a bit of wear around the edges of the photograph, and a couple of small stains to the carpet in the photo, looks like blue ink, in foreground. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48167267139838,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3198_852f9e90-d969-4824-bf9c-10cdbc9ee79e.png?v=1778087164"},{"product_id":"men-with-hats-in-field-with-palm-trees-striking-c-1900-silver-print-on-thin-paper","title":"Men with Hats in Field with Palm Trees, Striking c. 1900 Silver Print on Thin Paper","description":"\u003cp\u003eStark and lush feeling at the same time, highly atmospheric while capturing every detail with clarity, rich blacks and silvery white sky, quite striking. With these men in hats and bow ties dotting the tropical landscape, almost as if exotic creatures being observed in habitat, staring back at the camera while dwarfed by the palm trees. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 4 3\/4\" x 3 7\/8\". Good condition, a little surface peeling along the top edge in a couple of spots, silver print on thin paper, c. 1900. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48167268778238,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3400.png?v=1778097438"},{"product_id":"on-the-path-forever-elusive-dreamily-atmospheric-and-mysterious-feeling-antique-sepia-paper-print","title":"On the Path, Forever Elusive, Liminal Feeling Antique Sepia Paper Print","description":"\u003cp\u003eA dream of a photo to my eye, super atmospheric and with this woman on her path lingering forever just beyond focus, in the realm of the unknowable. And the whole image--enhanced by the sepia tonality, which makes time of day, season, etc. feel elusive--hovers like a portrait of liminality itself. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 4 1\/8\" x 3 1\/16\". Good condition, c. 1900 I believe, mounted to black paper.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48167270056190,"sku":null,"price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3149_1f4d9f21-16dd-49ab-8a51-fbe681cfa2e6.png?v=1778098211"},{"product_id":"ernest-young-man-tenderly-holding-chicken-c-1940s-50s-snapshot-1","title":"Ernest Young Man Tenderly Holding Chicken, c. 1940s-50s Snapshot","description":"\u003cp\u003ePortraits of very sincere looking boys holding farm chickens is one of my very favorite genres ever! And a very loving relationship captured here, I'd say. Looks like a view to the coop in the background, and a couple of nice diagonals framing him and the bird too. Sweet and tender.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 1\/8\" x 3 1\/16\". Clipped corners as evident, and some toning as evident. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48167285457150,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3327.png?v=1778103801"},{"product_id":"a-dreadful-bore-excellent-victorian-trade-card-for-atlantic-garden-temperance-resort-danielsonville-ct-1","title":"A Dreadful Bore, Excellent Victorian Trade Card for Atlantic Garden \"Temperance Resort\", Danielsonville, CT","description":"\u003cp\u003eI find the art of hand shadowing, or \"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eshadowgraphy,\" a fantastic thing (and have been watching antique books illustrating it fetch high prices), so I jumped on this scarce Victorian trade card when I came across it. (Of course I also love puns.) And \"Atlantic Garden\" as \"the only temperance amusement resort in town\" is interesting too, with pool tables, shooting gallery and a first class lunch counter to boot. Danielsonville CT became Danielson in 1895, and I believe this dates a decade or two earlier than that. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 4 9\/16\" x 2 3\/4\", very good condition. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244670398718,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5113_770f3f58-1b14-4980-97ec-8976ae67f2ab.png?v=1779195066"},{"product_id":"intense-looking-woman-with-lighthouse-beautifully-spare-and-stark-antique-tintype-1","title":"Intense Looking Woman with Lighthouse,  Beautifully Spare and Stark Antique Tintype","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the sort of tintype portrait I love most: stark looking subject, spare (and also quite painterly) sort of image. Here with just the edge of a lighthouse  (a painted backdrop I assume) making it into the frame. Some sort of apron (?) stretched across her lap, wedding ring exposed on those long fingers, cloth in the other hand. She looks a bit like a bird, and also makes me think of both Emily Dickinson and Georgia O'Keefe. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 3 3\/16\" x 2 3\/8\". General light surface scratching and few more pronounced scratches near lower edge corner, all of a piece with it. No dings or bends.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244888764670,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5112.png?v=1779211178"},{"product_id":"fabulous-hand-drawn-paper-doll-in-hot-pink-and-silver-foil-dress-plus-2-more-outfits-1","title":"Fabulous Hand-drawn Paper Doll in Hot Pink and Silver Foil Dress (Plus 2 More Outfits)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIf ever there were a paper doll to be the star of her own show, I'd say this charmer in bright pink and silver is her.(And I'd bet the girl who made her was fabulous too. Two additional outfits found with her, but I'd be disinclined to ever strip her of her pink. Wonderful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoll in pink dress 4 3\/8\" t x 2 1\/2\" w. All included and in good shape, with a bit of silver foil missing from the blue dress. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244902756606,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_4707.png?v=1779137713"},{"product_id":"his-sign-is-the-lion-pennsylvania-german-1803-fraktur-watercolor-birth-announcement-in-brilliant-color","title":"His Sign is the Lion, Pennsylvania German 1803 Fraktur Watercolor Birth Announcement in Brilliant Color","description":"\u003cp\u003eI just cannot walk away from color like this. And I find it a very wonderful thing that the birth of a child should be recorded and celebrated in such a glorious way.  Here: Johannes Esjchleman \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eborn on March 31, 1803. (I believe I've got it right--often names were spelled phonetically; I've found a record for a \"John\" \u003cspan itemprop=\"familyName\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/familyName\"\u003eEshleman born on the same day in \u003c\/span\u003eLancaster, PA to father Johannes, certainly this is he.) Best here is the following inclusion: \"und sein zeigen ist der lowe,\" translating to \"and his sign is the lion.\"  Born on March 31, it seems his sign was not really that of the lion (Leo), but from what I understand, the sign of lion was often invoked on fraktur birth and baptismal certificates, carrying associations of\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e strength, courage, and the \"Lion of Judah,\" intending to place the child under spiritual protection. It appears our Johannes lived to the age of 72 and had five children, all his life in Lancaster County, PA. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e8 1\/2\" x 6\" framed, original frame and glass I believe. Fraktur and frame both in good condition, ink and watercolor strong and bright. Some general toning\/soiling to the paper, all of a piece. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244909900030,"sku":null,"price":200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3786_a10bf635-6666-499f-ac4b-b315ebffd988.png?v=1779231870"},{"product_id":"extracts-vol-4-densely-packed-notebook-of-presumed-ship-medic-with-excellent-red-leather-anchor-embossed-cover","title":"Extracts Vol.4, Densely Packed, Far-ranging Medical Research Notebook (Ship Medic?) with Excellent Red Leather, Anchor Embossed Cover","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis one sold me on the red leather with embossed golden anchor cover alone, especially with that evocative hand inked \"Extracts Vol. 4\" at top. Inside, its pages are very densely and completely filled with notes of a medical nature, though I must admit I have not been able to make great sense of them. They cover quite a range, for notes about the brain and nerves, heart and circulatory system, and various sorts of treatments it seems, but then also notes about of the size of the population in England in the early 19th century and the average ages of various animals, and a quote from Milton, too. Lots of what seem citations of research\/publications by others and I'm really not sure what all. Seems quite possibly notes for (definitely ambitious!) book its author was preparing to write. Lots to dig into here, though I will say it takes some effort to decipher the writing and to try to follow. Photos, taken somewhat at random, give some sense. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6 1\/4\" x 3 15\/16\". About 70 pages densely filled front and back. General wear to to covers but overall quite good condition, I believe c. 1850s or so and likely British. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48298311942398,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_3758.png?v=1780351158"},{"product_id":"three-old-painted-lead-royal-navy-sailors-with-bayonettes-lined-up-in-a-row-1","title":"Three Old Painted Lead Royal Navy Sailors with Bayonettes Lined Up in a Row","description":"\u003cp\u003eJust something about these three old lead sailors lined up in a row on this base, together forever, at the ready. Hand-painted, with pink cheeks, and the face of each with a different character than the next.  Nice early ones, late 19th\/very early 20th century, with the base I believe the work of their original owner. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2 7\/8\" l x 2 1\/4\" t x 1\" d base. Very good condition, very nice patina. Sturdy and sound, with just the tips of their bayonettes of of a more bendable-weight lead, looks like the very tip lost of the one of the man at far right. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48308032110846,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_6257_3191c227-4f14-4f35-8d97-53347df2d75d.jpg?v=1780275628"},{"product_id":"make-happy-look-up-at-tree-100-vintage-graphite-school-drawing","title":"Make Happy Look Up at Tree, Laverne’s 100% Excellent Graphite School Drawing","description":"\u003cp\u003eAnother today by a young Laverne Lovell, from a handful by her I plucked from a much larger stack (her entire oeuvre of schoolwork I think!) at Brimfield. I love the combination of the mimeographed test and Laverne's illustrations here (especially her depiction of \"Happy\"  as he looks up at the tree, with \"Spot\" perched atop it like the star on a Christmas tree!) And then the 100 in red pencil the perfect addition. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8 1\/2\" x 5 1\/2\". Good condition, with some scattered smudges and stains and irregular top edge, all very much of a piece with it. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48308161806590,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_4068_deb1fa0b-6a38-43d2-b9f1-55cc708f5f05.png?v=1780236558"},{"product_id":"empire-state-grapes-hand-stenciled-page-from-c-1868-nursery-specimens-salesman-sample-catalog","title":"Empire State Grapes, Hand Stenciled Page From c. 1868 Nursery Specimens Salesman Sample Catalog","description":"\u003cp\u003eSuch luminous and voluptuous grapes, I do want to eat--or drink!--them right up. I've handled a few examples (of apples and peaches and pears) of this type before--this would have been one page in a salesman sample type horticultural specimen catalogue (unbound, but held together in a large folio\/case). This is not a lithograph--rather, the grapes here were rendered in a manner akin to a theorem watercolor, using multiple, hand-cut stencils and meticulously applied layers of watercolor\/gouache. This technique is often called Pochoir, from the French, or a hand stencil print. With ink printed text below describing the attributes of these gorgeous Empire State grapes, originated in Newburg, NY. On the reverse appears \"1868\" which seems quite likely the date of its making; most examples of these date to the 1870s-early 1880s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8 1\/2\" x 5 1\/2\", beautiful antique condition, crisp and radiant. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48308205748478,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5434.png?v=1780078462"},{"product_id":"lovely-19th-century-handmade-book-shaped-candy-box-hand-painted-paper-and-velvet-over-board-1","title":"Lovely 19th Century Handmade Book-Shaped Candy Box, Hand-painted Paper and Velvet Over Board","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis I believe was made as a bonbon box, with the padded interior compartment framed  with paper lace. (Those doily lined Russell Stover Valentine's chocolate boxes didn't come out of nowhere!) Of course I love it for its book form, and especially that hand-hand-printed checkerboard patterned paper across the front (with the patterns on those tiny squares evincing pressed seamoss), perfectly bordered in embossed silver and green trim. More silver trim inside around the perimeter of the covers and interior, and black velvet for the spine. C. mid-third quarter 19th century I believe, and in crisp and bright condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 3\/8\" x 4 3\/16\" x 1 3\/8\", very very good condition, with just minor edge and corner wear.  Stands squarely like a book or lays flat. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48321974960382,"sku":null,"price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5257_0920fad9-9668-4a56-aa17-5e7c4129544e.jpg?v=1780080808"},{"product_id":"to-paul-from-grand-ma-1925-cut-paper-lattice-with-brilliantly-toned-pink-backing","title":"To Paul from Grand-ma, 1925 Cut Paper Lattice With Brilliantly Toned Pink Backing","description":"\u003cp\u003eI love a miracle of toning, and don't think it gets much better than this. And the cut paper work a 1925 gift from Grand-ma! (certainly exercising paper cutting skills acquired in her youth.)  I'd be inclined to frame these side by side as shown in first photo, with the lattice-like cutting and the toned paper (its original bright red-pink on reverse) both full of dynamism and embodiments of the passage time. (But the paper cut in front of the painterly--almost Rothko-esque--pink paper is pretty good too.) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Toned pink paper 10 3\/8\" x 6 7\/8\". Cut paper 8 1\/8\" x 4\". Both in very good condition. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48355143319806,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_7110.png?v=1781199689"},{"product_id":"wicker-wheelchair-big-bow-folky-afgan-in-the-garden-wonderful-antique-rppc-portrait-1","title":"Wicker Wheelchair, Big Bow, Folky Afgan, In the Garden, Wonderful Antique RPPC Portrait","description":"\u003cp\u003eI love this portrait. What a face! And what an afgan too. Bundled up, in the garden, with the potted plants behind. Feels like someone with many stories, who one-I!-would much enjoy hearing. Her (?) expression also feels just right for the moment. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 1\/2\" x 3 3\/8\". Very good condition, early 20th century, unused postcard back.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48407049502974,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_7629.png?v=1781900236"},{"product_id":"alexander-peach-c-1868-hand-stenciled-watercolor-illustration-from-horticultural-salesman-sample-catalog-1","title":"Alexander Peach, c. 1868 Hand-stenciled Watercolor Illustration from Horticultural Salesman Sample Catalog","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis Alexander peach, and a Wealthy apple listed separately today--I don't find these often, but recently came across a handful, and I just think they're gorgeous. This would have been one page in a salesman sample type horticultural specimen catalogue (unbound, but held together in a folio I believe). This is not a lithograph--rather, the peach and leaves here were rendered in a manner akin to a theorem watercolor, using multiple, hand-cut stencils and meticulously applied layers of watercolor\/gouache. This technique is often called Pochoir, from the French, or a hand stencil print. With ink printed text below describing the attributes of this \"handsome\" specimen. C. 1870.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8 3\/8\" x 5 3\/8\". Very good condition, watercolor and ink on watermarked wove. With a fingerprint showing a bit of red\/orange ink at bottom edge of peach, I would guess preserved when color was still wet. A bit of imperfection to  the ink on the text, original to the printing I believe. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48407059464446,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5464.png?v=1781898951"},{"product_id":"wealthy-apple-c-1868-hand-stenciled-watercolor-illustration-from-horticultural-salesman-sample-catalog-1","title":"Wealthy Apple, c. 1868 Hand-stenciled Watercolor Illustration from Horticultural Salesman Sample Catalog","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eHere a Wealthy apple, and an \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eAlexander peach, listed separately today too--I don't find these often, but recently came across a handful, and I just think they're gorgeous. This would have been one page in a salesman sample type horticultural specimen catalogue (unbound, but held together in a folio I believe). It is not a lithograph--rather, the apple and leaves here were rendered in a manner akin to a theorem watercolor, using multiple, hand-cut stencils and meticulously applied layers of watercolor\/gouache. This technique is often called Pochoir, from the French, or a hand stencil print. With ink printed text below describing the attributes of this \"beautiful and excellent\" specimen. C. 1870.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8 3\/8\" x 5 3\/8\", very good condition, ink and watercolor on watermarked wove. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48407059923198,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_5448.png?v=1781899630"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.criticaleyefinds.com\/collections\/just-in.oembed?page=10","provider":"critical EYE Finds","version":"1.0","type":"link"}